ABOUT ZIM
Established in 1945, ZIM Integrated Shipping Ltd. has grown and developed into one of the largest carriers in the global container shipping industry.
Today, ZIM’s global reach extends to over 120 countries, with a network of global and regional shipping services that operate in hundreds of ports around the world.
ZIM is committed to providing its clients with reliable, flexible shipping solutions based on its many years of expertise. The company remains at the forefront of the carrier industry by rapidly adapting to commercial developments and emerging markets.
This approach is an integral part of ZIM’s working philosophy, and drives the expansion of its operations in established East-West trade routes. At the same time, the company pursues the development of its carrier services in the world’s most dynamic and newest markets.
OPPORTUNITY AND OBJECTIVES
ZIMonitor is an innovative service by ZIM, that allows tracking,
monitoring and controlling valuable cargo from source to destination.
Xtra mile has been working with ZIM as its digital marketing agency for several years.
Recently, the carrier entrusted Xtra mile with the task of managing the digital strategy for ZIMonitor in all digital outlets and media.
In this particular campaign, which Xtra mile chose to carry out in LinkedIn, the objectives were clear and measurable:
- Increase awareness to ZIMonitor
- Generate at least 30 qualified leads in each campaign (leads defined as relevant stakeholders who want to hear more about ZIMonitor), and schedule meetings between ZIM’s US Sales Manager and prospects
- Reduce cost per lead compared to alternative marketing channels used by ZIM
APPROACH
LinkedIn is an excellent platform for microtargeting and peer-to-peer (P2P) marketing, as it provides several major advantages, including the ability to:
- Identify and contact a VIP list of potential prospects based on specific criteria to generate awareness and engagement
- Slice and dice professional groups according to job title, seniority, language, industry, keywords, location and more
- Select the professional groups to target and reach relevant audience
- Define the budget and control costs with pay per click (PPC) or cost per impression (CPM)
Xtra mile implemented its unique methodology to build a funnel that ranged from setting the goals to drawing conclusions, measuring results, and providing reports to the customer on a weekly basis.
The process included:
- Writing the right content for predefined target audiences
- Publishing professional content in relevant discussion groups in LinkedIn
- Establishing a strong professional link between ZIM’s representatives and prospects
- Formulating the marketing messages and calls to action
- Sending personal notes
- A/B testing each and every message
All these were constantly measured and optimized, and were orchestrated by an Xtra mile account manager that worked in direct contact with ZIM on all tasks.
RESULTS
The LinkedIn campaigns were extremely successful in each one of the objectives defined.
- In terms of awareness, Xtra Mile engaged and reached a target audience of more than 1,500 people directly and via professional groups with several thousand people.
- The cost per lead was less than 10% of the cost ZIM had been spending before. And the campaign obtained 48 qualified leads, 60% more than the target of 30! Xtra Mile is involved in many other digital campaigns for ZIMonitor, all of which have so far measured up and brought the results desired.
