Discuss: Campaign Against Rival Could Haunt Fed Ex

[cheryl]

Campaign Against Rival Could Haunt FedEx - New York Times
The word bailout has gone from descriptive to derogatory.

The FedEx-sponsored Web site BrownBailout.com (brown is both U.P.S.’s color and nickname) says that U.P.S. is “quietly seeking a Congressional bailout designed to limit competition for overnight deliveries.” Along with a “bailout-o-meter” showing U.P.S.’s revenue, and a spoof of a U.P.S. commercial, the site includes statements like, “This is a bailout, plain and simple, and the American people won’t stand for it.”

“Hinging so much of this — even the site itself and the URL name — to a bailout brings some pretty significant risks,” said Scott Elser, a partner in LaunchPad Advertising, which is not working with either company. “It’s arguably one of the most controversial terms that you can define in politics today. They draw you there based on that, and you don’t have to surf very long to realize that this is clearly not a bailout as most consumers and business people would define it, which is writing a check to a troubled business.”

“It’s a little bit of a bait and switch,” Mr. Elser said, which “has the ability to potentially harm their brand.”

[chev]

Sounds like FedEx is running scared with the smear campaign. Pathetic. All UPS wants to do is level the playing field.

[pickup]

If this is Fed-ex's definition of a bailout, then maybe this legislation should be passed so that fed ex no longer gets the daily bailout they have been receiving all these years as a result of government legislation

[Momo]

Come on Fred.

Are you that scared of having to compete toe to toe?

[TechGrrl]

Originally Posted by Momo

Come on Fred.

Are you that scared of having to compete toe to toe?

Yes, yes he is....

What is funny is that UPS' real advantage over FedEx is the airline. UPS has a huge cost advantage over Fred due to a couple of things:
1) We really are fully integrated: one truck to bring them all!
2) Our airfeed costs are much lower because our IE guys actually have a much more efficient air network than FedEx does. Since airplanes are large machines that burn money, this is critical.
3) Worldport helps a lot, too, although sorting costs are actually the least expensive piece of delivering the package.
Since the bill wouldn't affect his airline guys, I'm not sure why he is so uptight, except for that Memphis plantation mentality, maybe.