NEED
When IBM launched the highly successful “Smarter Planet” advertising campaign, it resonated with consumers and cast IBM as a forward-thinking innovator.
Although the image campaign was successful, IBM still needed to sell products and services in the B2B market. The company wanted to:
- Develop a B2B strategy for the overall Smarter Planet campaign
- Weave the “Smarter Planet” idea into sales and marketing for each of the IBM global business units
- Unify the company’s B2B messaging under one theme, rather than a mishmash of a half-dozen past campaigns.
SOLUTION
- Created Smarter Planet messaging for eight different IBM product groups in IBM Software and IBM Systems
- Rebranded of marketing materials for all IBM clients
- Interviewed with more than 100 client, partner, and IBM executives to launch “We Work Smarter Together,” a series of videos about Smarter Planet initiatives
- Created Smarter Planet marketing materials and sales enablement for nine high-growth industries: healthcare, oil and gas, energy and utilities, transportation, telecommunications, retail, banking, government, and electronics
- Wrote hundreds of customer reference slides and case studies for the IBM Analytics division that was an integral part of the Smarter Planet story.
RESULT
- Smarter Planet became one of IBM’s most successful and longest-running brand campaigns
- The IBM Smarter Planet initiative generated billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of client engagements from 2009 to 2013
- The strategy established a uniform brand throughout all IBM materials and business units after years of fragmented campaigns
- Created a uniform storyline for all IBM Software, IBM Systems, and IBM Analytics business units