DHL EXPRESS

All businesses face security risks, whether physical or cyber-related. For a company that operates globally, with hundreds of offices and operational facilities in different countries, the number of external threats to its employees, company assets and operations is significant.

Recognising the challenge of security risks, DHL Express aimed to transform employee perceptions and behaviours around security, ensuring that everyone understands their role in protecting the company’s employees, assets, customer shipments, and brand reputation.

With insights showing that employees can view security measures as productivity hurdles, while underestimating internal threats and neglecting their personal responsibility in safeguarding the business, it became clear that an engaging approach to security awareness was needed.

DHL Express partnered with us to create a global security awareness campaign to engage employees and encourage proactive behaviour – staying vigilant, reporting risks, and following security procedures. The campaign built on a previous initiative but introduced a fresh, brand-consistent identity. It highlighted that when it comes to keeping DHL secure, it is everybody’s responsibility, and we can all play our part.

By leveraging an avatar gaming style, the campaign aimed to engage employees and help them understand their roles in maintaining security. With engaging titles and character-led visuals illustrating how colleagues can support security efforts using their skills. To ensure representation, we utilised AI to create the characters, considering diversity, age, and gender identities, adding special details to make the avatars bespoke and unique to DHL.

The “DHL Defenders” campaign, with the theme Play Your Part, brought subtopics like facility, shipment, and vehicle security to life, showing how each employee’s actions contribute to keeping DHL secure.

To ensure global relevance, the materials were designed to be adaptable, diverse, and brand compliant, with tools that could be easily customized across regions.We also developed a new DHL Defenders logo to symbolise vigilance across all campaign materials. The final toolkit included posters, animated internal screens, email banners, and more, all designed to be eye-catching and easily digestible.

By providing clarity through clear messaging and relatability through inclusive avatars, we made security awareness more engaging. The “DHL Defenders” campaign increased awareness of security topics and their importance while promoting a sense of shared responsibility among employees. This initiative encouraged proactive behaviour in identifying and addressing risks, unifying DHL Express employees globally.