What Can Brown Do For You?

I can't believe it. We're in the midst of a blizzard in northern Wisconsin, virtually no vehicles are on the road, and nearly every store, restaurant and business within a 100-mile radius is closed. That's why I was astounded when my doorbell rang and a carrier from United Parcel Service (UPS) handed me a package.

My response to the carrier? "What can brown do for you? Deliver in a blizzard! Wow!" He smiled, delivered the packaged, jumped into his brown truck and headed out for his next delivery.

Brown; it's how UPS expresses its brand as the world's largest package delivery company, delivering more than 14 million packages a day to more than 200 countries around the world. The company nickname for delivery trucks is "The Big Brown Machine," and the brown color is carried through to uniforms and tagline. Turns out the "UPS brown" was chosen because it is the same color that was used on Pullman railroad sleeper cars and was seen as professional and elegant. UPS has trademarked the color brown, which prevents other delivery companies from using it as part of their brand.

What can brown do for you? Deliver on time, even in a blizzard! I'm impressed.

© 2007 BoostYourBottomLine.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Marketing Spitfires Holly George and Leslie Hamp are creators of the Fast Track to Marketing Mastery program. To learn more about the step-by-step program, and to sign up for their *FREE* Marketing Mastery Success Kit, visit www.boostyourbottomline.com