DHL teams up with Cirque, Man U

Han Byung-koo

DHL Korea is teaming up with art troupes and sports clubs to promote its brand and make its name more familiar to the Korean public.

In 2014, it signed an agreement to provide logistics support to Cirque du Soleil for its worldwide tours.

The Seoul office of DHL also started a program to take local soccer fans to Manchester in England to see Manchester United games.

The Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Han Byung-koo, CEO of DHL Korea, to learn how the freight business leverages art and sports performances to enhance its brand image.

Q. What led DHL to support such performances?

A. DHL and Cirque du Soleil have things in common. Both have grown from entrepreneurial beginnings into global brands.

DHL started off as a door-to-door express delivery service in 1969 with three founding members: Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn. The name DHL is based on the first letter of their names. Likewise, the performance team also has humble beginnings as a small group of street performers. The two entities also emphasize the same values: teamwork and speed.

What does DHL do to support the show?

The main logistics requirements of Cirque du Soleil include transferring installations and equipment needed for the show between tour venues. The stage settings are really huge, so they require two Boeing 747 flights.

The logistics support encompasses the use of air, sea and land transport and customs clearance services. We also work with the Canada-based headquarters of Cirque du Soleil. DHL engages in a range of standard supply chain requirements within the Canadian company’s day-to-day business operations, including small-package shipping, warehouse management and merchandise distribution.

How did DHL pick participants for the tour of Manchester United Club?

We selected 14 participants based on the stories they submitted to us. They talked about their dreams and the experiences that drove them to apply for the program. We chose people with different backgrounds of all age groups, providing them with a full tour package including flight fares, accommodations fees and tickets for football matches. We heard that all of the participants genuinely enjoyed the trip in September.

What motivated DHL Korea to engage in this type of marketing?

DHL sponsors more than 150 global events, and the types of events vary. There are many sports programs, such as the F1. The reason is that many sports share the qualities that DHL considers important, such as speed, teamwork and can-do spirit. In line with this, DHL will support the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to help athletes with off-season training.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]