A story about client centricity, building trust and growing business
Client
IBM Client Advocacy
Services
Concept Design/Messaging
Live Action Video
Print Production
UI/UX
The challenge
Is anybody listening?
As an enterprise, IBM was dealing with the perception that they weren’t really listening to or acting on feedback. Even if they were, how could clients be sure a system was in place to help them solve problems and grow their business? The real enemy was a general sense of apathy, amplified by a deep sense of skepticism and resentment for what clients perceived to be empty gestures when it came to resolution.
The approach
(Re)introducing IBM Client Advocacy.
When clients share their experiences — good and bad — that feedback guides real improvements in solutions, services and partnerships. Rejuvenating the IBM Client Advocacy story meant reintroducing both IBMers and IBM clients to the global architecture of platforms, processes and advocates hard at work gathering and taking action on feedback.
Storytelling through teamwork.
What started as an in-person workshop with the IBM Client Advocacy team extended into an ongoing team effort. Together we established the need to refresh how IBMers and IBM clients alike value partnership, feedback and growth with a new, global conversation.
A new concept, from the inside out.
At heart, our focus is on empathy, authenticity and action. The story would be told through interconnected assets featuring a new, ownable look, feel and tone, under parent guidelines of IBM, but unique in every execution and touchpoint, inside and out.
The color story.
IBM Client Advocacy is an entirely unique business unit, building brand and driving sales without selling products. So, an alternate color palette was chosen. Each color tells its part of the whole story.
Blue was chosen as the core campaign color, reflecting the IBM parent brand, but in a tone that emphasizes the empathy behind the initiative.
The pink, teal and purple tones represent the specific focus areas of IBM Client Advocacy efforts driven by feedback, from pervasive internal improvements to solution innovations and strengthening relationships.
The human side.
Expressing empathy in campaign imagery means using real people in real settings. From authentic, approachable client portraiture to real IBMers on film, we let the people on both sides of the advocacy conversation shine.
The initiative
Feedback matters.
By creating assets where none existed or unifying disparate messages under one signal, we bridged the internal, enterprise-wide audience of IBMers with IBM clients around the world. Here’s how each asset, with its own value, purpose and strategic placement, tells the big story: Feedback — good and bad — matters.
Social
Social assets were strategically developed to amplify the advocacy message both internally on the IBM intranet and externally on global social channels.
Landing page
A new landing page on IBM.com provides a closer look at how the award-winning advocacy drives client success on a global scale, giving the initiative a place to call home as the story evolves.
Video
The IBM Client Advocacy story is best told by the IBMers doing the work. By being vulnerable, funny and honest, we shine the spotlight on the real people making real change for clients behind closed doors and in face-to-face conversations. No polish, just perseverance.
Success stories
The IBM Client Advocacy story is best told by the IBMers doing the work. By being vulnerable, funny and honest, we shine the spotlight on the real people making real change for clients behind closed doors and in face-to-face conversations. No polish, just perseverance.
Advocacy you can touch – and feel.
Beyond digital, we wanted IBM Client Advocacy to feel real. Tangible assets like the handbook, which tells the advocacy story from cover to cover, enable sales teams to share something their clients can hold onto, while stickers and postcards let IBMers share their support internally.
The results
Ongoing growth.
What began as a new narrative continues to evolve. We continue to focus on client experiences, breaking paradigms and connecting IBMers with IBM clients. And we’re making sure the world knows that hearts, ears and minds are open at IBM.
