FedEx Office saw high unemployment levels in early 2009 as an opportunity to support job seekers and demonstrate their commitment to customers. They declared March 10, 2009 "Free Resume Printing Day" where their 1,600 locations nationwide would provide free resume printing to help the unemployed and underemployed. The event was a success with over 23,600 customers served and positive media coverage, demonstrating FedEx Office's customer service amid the economic challenges.

1. FREE RESUMES FOR THE MASSES
Ketchum and FedEx Office, Jan 1,2010 - Silver Anvil Award
Summary: 2010 SILVER ANVIL AWARD WINNER - EVENTS AND OBSERVANCES - SEVEN OR
FEWER DAYS - BUSINESS SERVICES
By January 2009, recession-induced layoffs had driven U.S. unemployment to astonishing
levels – 7.6% and climbing. FedEx Office (FXO) saw this challenge as an opportunity to support
unemployed/underemployed customers while enhancing loyalty and demonstrating the
company’s improved customer service. FXO declared March 10, 2009, Free Resume Printing
Day at the 1,600+ FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers throughout the U.S. FXO
communicated the news through traditional and social media channels, donating 853,000+
resume copies to 23,600+ customers. Media placements topped 2,090 – with more than 404
million impressions and coverage in all priority media markets. Customer feedback also
indicates positive loyalty implications.
Full Text: SITUATION ANALYSIS
In December 2007, the U.S. economy entered its deepest recession in decades. Massive
layoffs drove unemployment sky high – 7.6% and climbing by January 2009.
That month, an executive with FedEx challenged employees to face this difficult time with a
spirit of service. FedEx Office (FXO) employee Seth Travis saw the challenge as an opportunity
for the company, suggesting it offer customers free or discounted resume printing – helping
those affected by the recession while leveraging FXO skills and resources. The FXO PR team
agreed, immediately diving in to create the framework for and execute Free Resume Printing
Day (FRPD) on March 10, 2009, at 1,600+ FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers nationwide.
That day more than 23,600 customers participated in the event.
FXO had a natural connection to job seekers, as they sought to place printed resumes in the
hands of recruiters and hiring managers. Additionally, FXO – formerly Kinko’s and FedEx
Kinko’s – has struggled with a reputation for poor customer service, despite making significant
improvements in that area in recent years. With FRPD, the company addressed a tangible
need in communities nationwide, while reinforcing its ability to provide high-quality products and
exceptional service when customers need it.
RESEARCH
In light of the economic and employment situation facing many of FXO’s customers, the
company closely considered the suggestion made by its team member to provide free resumes
nationwide. To move forward with a national give-away of this size – something FedEx had
never undertaken – many factors had to be considered.
Retail Industry In its 40-year history, FXO had not undertaken a product giveaway promotion of
this scale. Additionally, few retailers were yet directly connecting giveaways to the recession.
The team looked to major retailers for best practices, including Starbucks free coffee and
Denny’s free breakfast events.
Media Environment A media analysis was conducted to determine the best approach to
generate positive buzz for a program closely connected to negative economic themes.

2. PLANNING
From the outset, FXO PR established clear objectives aligning with the FRPD program in order
to build a campaign with measurable outcomes in the areas of customer behavior, business
results and communications.
Behavioral Objectives: Convince customers to participate in FRPD by visiting FXO locations
in-person on March 10. Drive traffic to the FedEx Newsroom and Blog for additional
information.
Business Objectives: Highlight FXO’s brand, value proposition, and customer service strength
among new and prospective customers. Improve FXO customer loyalty levels. Reinforce the
reputation of FedEx as a company that makes strategic use of corporate resources to meet
community needs.
Communications Objectives: Secure sustained coverage for FRPD in national and local market
print, broadcast and online news and social networking channels from the date of the official
program announcement on March 4 through March 10. Ensure prominent inclusion of FedEx
Marketing’s key message: “We Understand.”
Program Strategies
• Demonstrate support for FXO customers who are unemployed/underemployed as a result of
the current economy by leveraging the company’s commitment to customer service and
professional printing capabilities during FRPD.
• Leverage widely-covered monthly Unemployment Situation Report from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) for enhanced media appeal.
• Pursue broad swath of traditional and social media outlets to reach
unemployed/underemployed consumers across all demographics.
• Aggressively target major media markets of importance to FedEx for their dense customer
populations.
Target Audience Unemployed or underemployed individuals in the United States who are either
current or prospective customers.
Operational Planning To flawlessly execute FRPD across 1,600+ locations, PR worked with
Operations, Workplace Communications, Marketing and Advertising teams to ensure:
• Employees were briefed;
• Additional resume-weight paper was stocked;
• In-store signage was developed;
• Staffing levels were aligned with projected customer needs.
EXECUTION
The 1,600+ FXO stores in the U.S. offered customers 25 black-and-white copies of their
resume on resume-quality paper on March 10, 2009. Customers were invited to participate by
visiting their nearest FXO location, securing FXO’s opportunity to demonstrate the significant
strides made in the area of customer service and highlight the brand value.
Traditional Media
• Advance interviews conducted between FXO CEO Brian Philips, Associated Press and
Reuters.
• Release issued two days before BLS’ report, one week before FRPD; posted to FedEx
Newsroom, generating e-mail blast to subscribers.
• Alert distributed to outlets in targeted DMAs, providing event details and instructions for b-roll
download, live filming and interviews.
• Support materials developed and leveraged to conduct media training with managers tapped
for local interviews.
• Follow-up alert issued post-event announcing number of copies produced and customers
served.

3. Social Media
• Article from Philips posted to FedEx Citizenship Blog highlighting FRPD rationale and FXO’s
commitment to customers and communities.
• Release posted to FedEx Twitter feed; immediately retweeted by followers.
Marketing Integration
• Aligned with Advertising to create/place FRPD ads with USA Today print and online editions,
driving traffic directly to the FedEx Newsroom.
• Coordinated with Marketing to develop in-store FPRD signage.
EVALUATION
Behavior Goals:
• 23,600+ customers successfully served in-person during FRPD.
• FXO donated 853,000+ resume copies on FRPD.
• The release was the fifth most viewed FedEx Newsroom Web page in March and has
received 39,996 unique page views to date. For comparison, the company’s earnings release
issued March 19 has received 2,528 unique page views to date.
• Philips’ FedEx Blog post has been viewed 1,719 times.
Business Goals:
• Stores across the country successfully met customer demand throughout the event,
reinforcing FXO’s brand promise to be “the access point to printing and shipping expertise with
reliable service when and where customers need it.”
• Stores noted positive feedback from customers and employees; there were no instances of
lengthy lines or paper shortages thanks to advance preparations with Operations.
• Customer feedback via, e-mail, mail and hundreds of online comments indicates positive
loyalty implications directly resulting from FRPD.
• Results of regular customer polling on the “friendly and polite” nature of FXO team members
showed steady improvement from February through April 2009.
• With imitation as the sincerest form of flattery, the FRPD concept was replicated by
competitors including Office Depot, Staples and UPS Store franchisees.
Communications Goals:
• 404+ million audience impressions:
• 2,092 traditional media and blog placements; 66 captured the “We Understand” message.
• Coverage in all FedEx priority markets.
• 200 media requests for details, interviews and in-store filming authorization.
• 1,500+ tweets.
• Facebook fans created four FRPD events.
Public Relations Society of America © 2010
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