Franchise reality, fragile connection
Amazon’s last mile is powered by independent Delivery Service Providers (DSPs) and their Delivery Associates (DAs), who hand-deliver goods directly to Amazon’s customers. Great for scale; tough for belonging. Because DAs aren’t Amazon employees, outreach and training were constrained—feeding low morale and high attrition.
Understanding what matters
We ran stakeholder interviews, DSP focus groups, and repeatable surveys among DAs to surface pain points, aspirations, and tone preferences. Insights shaped psychographic profiles and testable message territories; new DA-facing copy was A/B-tested against existing language to validate what resonated.
From “thanks” to proof-based, tenure-smart guidance
Northbound created a durable messaging framework to be deployed with the DAs. Messaging was segmented by tenure, topics, and the territories of engagement, complete with voice/tone, style guardrails, and copy-ready messages—moving from generic appreciation to specific, situation-anchored recognition that DAs said felt meaningful.
Integrated, scalable, and executive-ready
The DA Communications team deployed the guidance across digital channels, integrated the framework into strategy, and used the data and findings from this project to present their communications strategy to Amazon’s executive leadership team.
Services
- Quantitative and qualitative research
- Customer Insight & Empathy
- Brand strategy & Positioning
- Messaging Strategy & Frameworks
- Employer Brand & Culture Practices
Customer testimonial
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