Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid, T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessible online http://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/ #passion4digital This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

1. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Chapter 6 Developing an Effective Digital Presence
Case Study Chapter 6: My Parcel Delivery
The case illustrates how a UK SME, My Parcel Delivery www.myparceldelivery.com, has
built a robust brand through an effective digital presence.
Overview
My Parcel Delivery provides a service comparison website that allows users to compare
different parcel delivery services, giving them access to reliable, trackable and cost-effective
courier services. The service aims to help business and consumers find the best deals in a
complicated and fragmented courier sector.
This multiple award business illustrates how an SME can build a successful digital brand by
being simple, consistent and delivering on excellent service to instill trust among their
customer base.
My Parcel Delivery was created to solve a rather simple problem: How can individuals and
small businesses benefit from the kind of bulk discounts and services that bigger businesses
achieve with their buying power? The founder quickly realized that by grouping demand
together they could benefit from bulk buying power. Better price from bulk buying is passed
on to customers who, as a result, benefit from more competitive parcel delivery rates.

2. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
MyParcelDelivery.com is the brainchild of two young and exciting entrepreneurs Paul
Haydock and David Grimes. They both had the idea whilst trying to negotiate reasonable
courier rates for another business.
Target market:
Businesses, small retailers, eBay sellers and the general public
The aims of My Parcel Delivery are to:
● Reach customers from around the world
● Encourage visitors to request a quote and use the service
● Encourage current customers to leave a review
● Ensure customer satisfaction and recommendation
Implementation
Brand clarity
Online brand building is essential, particularly for those services only offered online. My
Parcel Delivery exhibits the brand through an easily identifiable statement where their
brand promise is presented clearly (sending made simple). Clarity and trust are vital for
brand success and are central to My Parcel Delivery’s digital presence.
Owned media:
My Parcel Delivery website is easy to use, fast, and you can find answers to all the questions
around sending and receiving parcels in a FAQ section. FAQs are always a great way to
increase user satisfaction and also helps with search engine rankings.
One of the most accentuated brand building efforts is achieved by offering their users an
optimal User Experience.

3. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
My Parcel Delivery executes this by following the UX design principles of:
- being contextual: through their offering a quick quote menu on the side of the
content area of the webpage, no matter which link the user pushes, and a useful
stuff menu option to easily retrace steps
-
- being human: through easy to follow steps and language with a friendly brand
persona (character) and imagery.
- being findable: through SEO and easy header options of getting a quote, tracking a
parcel and a clearly marked help section.
- being easy: through a clear visual hierarchy and grouping relevant information
together, such as the ‘ways to book’ section linked to different delivery options.
- being simple: through simple language since most users won’t have a degree in
logistics (i.e. using the term CSV Upload but with the meaning right under the term)
and a great use of contrast with lots of white space and the colour orange used for
all calls-to-actions buttons.
Consistency
The brand presence is consistent throughout the use of the same typography, and colour
usage, which matches the brand’s colour (a lighter shade of green). Visual consistency is

4. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
important for brand recognition but more importantly, the brand needs to be consistent
with the delivery of its promise. In this case, the brand’s motto “sending made simple” is
aligned with what the company does, how the company behaves (excellent service), how
the company communicates (easy to use website and easy to deal with) and what the
company knows (e.g. market research, customer reviews, etc.)
Usability and responsive design
The usability of My Parcel Delivery’s website is key to their success, since they offer an
online service, which allows users to compare and make bookings on parcels in a highly
competitive market. Therefore, users do not want to be more than a few clicks away from
their goal, in this case making a booking, tracking a delivery or getting a quote. Such

5. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
features are always readily available on the site by simply clicking ‘getting a quote’, ‘tracking
my parcel’ or choosing delivery-type option.
They have also maintained usability through a quick and responsive site design, and a clear
and consistent layout, which is dependable and reliable through all internet browsers. Even
when a user clicks a link that is no longer valid (i.e. their blog), the user is redirected to a
happy image with a clear call to action to get a quote, the main use of the website.
Brands like My Parcel Delivery need to ensure a responsive website
design as more users are using their mobile devices to access web
pages and reach their goal.
This means minimizing the content and sticking to basics to ensure
faster loading times. As such, the brand sticks to using one line to
describe the USP with it’s friendly persona image (since the screen is
much smaller a few simple words and a simple image are easily
readable and understood on a mobile device), and offers easily
clickable quoting functions.
Responsive designs always need to have an easily found sidebar
menu to scroll through the various pages of the webpage, as this brand has done by offering
five basic options to allow the mobile user easy access to all pages of the mobile site. My
Parcel deliveries mobile site is most prominently simple, with a few colors and a lot of white
background along with only providing a few key options, which makes it user friendly.
Blog and social media profiles
The website also features a useful blog (owned media) where the brand can engage with
current and potential customers by covering topics that are of interest to their target

6. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
audience and their needs. For example, useful posts such as 5 tips for selling internationally
on ebay, tips to package your parcel perfectly or seasonal posts with deals for mother’s days
or valentine’s day.
The company also has a presence in social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn,
Twitter and Google plus. These profiles provide an effective avenue for the company to
feature their blog posts and achieve earned media coverage through shares and facilitate
customer reviews.
Earned media:
Since launching in 2010 the company has positioned itself as one of the most disruptive and
pioneering online delivery companies in the UK, winning an impressive number of awards
and attention from relevant media. The company has been mentioned in such publications
as Money Saving Expert, Forbes, Daily Mail, the Times, The Guardian and Tech Crunch.
My Parcel Delivery capitalizes on these earned media impressions by offering customers
direct links to these articles via the footer on their site, and also present users with their
high star rating from a third party agency known as Trust Pilot where customer reviews can
also be found.
As discussed in chapter 6, to build strong brand equity, trust is paramount. Thus earned
media impressions and endorsements from relevant third parties provide reassurance to
current and potential customers enhancing credibility. Earned media also drives traffic to

7. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
owned media (own website, paid online advertising, etc.), which makes building an effective
digital presence cost effective.
AIDA in action
My Parcel delivery makes clear use of the AIDA model, by creating awareness through
earned media of SEO and mentions in large publications and testimonials, sparking interest
through their social media webpages and generating desire through the statements of the
clear benefits they offer users (i.e. “save up to 74% compared to Royal Mail” or the option
to “Compare the prices of top couriers”) and very evident calls-to-action through their use
of orange buttons throughout the site with actionable language.
The brand’s AIDA concept is truly understood though their strategic visual content. By using
their persona in all content, they offer users the same friendly brand experience. The
reassuring persona is always smiling and showing just how easy and enjoyable it is to use
the brand’s service.
This is imperative since the brand is offering a service which some consumers, many of them
not even businesses, may find slightly technical. The use of this persona may also allow the
brand to later name him and/or use in commercials/ads or in potentially viral content,
especially if they add humour to the plot. They also use this simple content for their
Facebook page (Owned media), which uses a logo for the cover page and easy to read,
contrasting cover page, thus ensuring the content is pleasing to the eye, and offers a clear
value to their customers.

8. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Results
Since their launch the company has won over 20 business awards. The long list of awards
include INNOVATION & EXCELLENCE IN ONLINE DELIVERY SERVICES 2015, Trafford Business
Awards 2015, Salford Business award 2015 (Entrepreneur and online business award),
Forbes Britain’s most exciting startup 2013 and many more.
http://www.myparceldelivery.com/hub/who-are-we/awards
Further Information
1. www.myparceldelivery.com
2. https://www.linkedin.com/company/myparceldelivery-com
3. https://twitter.com/myparcel?utm_source=sitefoot&utm_medium=tags&utm_camp
aign=Twitter
4. https://www.facebook.com/Myparceldelivery-112941958733230/
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4YbJ6-gnfE
6. Interested in becoming an entrepreneur? Get inspired: Founder’s business advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tif1JuidEkg
7. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/myparceldelivery#/entity
Discussion questions
1. Summarize My Parcel Delivery’s owned and earned media, and how they have used
these to their strategic benefit. Then brainstorm what type of paid media they could
use to further enhance their media strategy.
2. How does My Parcel Delivery signal users towards a clear and strong call-to-action? Is
their call-to-action effective? Do you think it contributes to the company’s bottom line?
Visit their website, and come up with some other suggestions of how they could use
additional call-to-action methods.

9. Source: Heinze, A., Fletcher, G., Rashid,T., & Cruz, A. (Eds.). (2017). Digital and Social Media Marketing: A
Results-Driven Approach. Routledge. Accessibleonlinehttp://mastersindigitalmarketing.org/book/
#passion4digital Thiswork is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
3. What are the benefits of customer recommendations and testimonials? How does My
Parcel Delivery utilize these? Could they incentivize more consumers to participate? If
so, how?
Class activities
1. Hypothetically, you are now hired as My Parcel Delivery’s new Social Media Marketing
Manager. Briefly summarize policies and procedures outlined for how staff of the brand
are to maintain the brand’s social media presence, while sustaining consumer trust and
underscoring calls-to-action. What type of posts would you suggest? Who would have
access to the pages?
2. My Parcel Delivery may be based in the UK, but the brand has international potential.
Assume you are about to present the business at a tradeshow in Beijing, China. Prepare
a brief presentation on how the online branding would differ for targeting an Asian
market such as China. Would you simply change the language or is more needed to
relay the branding to this new market?