IBM in the City

5% of TVs budget yields 7,000% ROI

Exemplifies the power of business-objective-driven communications planning and implementation to shift the brand perception in one of IBMs most valuable customer communities: the City of London. Angus Jenkinson Professor of Integrated Marketing Luton Business School [email protected]

The Centre for Integrated Marketing has been funded by industry to research best practice and develop intellectual and other tools on behalf of leading marketers and their agencies.

Contents

Integrated Marketing Identity management Mobilising everyone IBM and global Integrated Marketing IBM COL and Integrated Marketing 1. Investing in valuable customers 2. Optimising the whole customer relationship 3. Building reputation through ethics and brand values 4. Creating relevant service for each customer community 5. Creating customer value first 6. Managing the relationship at all appropriate touchpoints. 7. Designing customer experience with imagination 8. Learning 9. Creative use of technology 10. Making it good for everyone Conclusion

3 5 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 15 17 19 20 22 23 23

First issued as a case study for the IDM in 2001 and then edited and re-released in 2004. With grateful thanks for IBM personnel who assisted in providing the data. Integrated Marketing is a holistic discipline that involves the whole organisation in developing congruent, sustainable and high-value brand experience for all stakeholders.

Permission is given for this paper to be copied, forwarded, distributed or quoted from provided that the authorship is acknowledged. For further information and case studies, visit the Centre website on www.integratedmarketing.org.uk

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This case-study demonstrates the role of Customer Relationship Management strategy within the wider Integrated Marketing framework. The example is from business-to-business marketing by the third most valuable brand in the world, IBM. IBM has been active in CRM-related thinking, technologies and practices for over 20 years, developing local and national marketing databases, integrated call centres and direct business channels since at least the early 1980s, as well as being a pioneer and leader in multi-channel sales and service, customer-aligned sales and service organisations and, more recently, e-business marketing and distribution. In the mid-1990s IBM planned and implemented an ambitious global marketing and contact database system, MSM, which enables IBM not only to manage local marketing campaigns but also to consolidate data on a regional and global basis for analysis and planning. The new generation of CRM technology, partnered by Siebel, has been operational since 2003. The CRM discipline and associated technology is viewed by IBM as a key aspect of their Integrated Marketing practice.

Integrated Marketing
The emergent discipline of Integrated Marketing builds on the principles of organisational alignment, leadership, lean management, and 360-degree brand experience, effectively extending and deepening the traditional marketing paradigm. Integrated Marketing is a holistic discipline that involves the whole organisation in developing congruent, sustainable and high-value brand experience for all stakeholders. Integrated Marketing develops existing marketing thinking and practice into a harmonized whole (see Table 1).
Customer Relationship Management Project rollout includes web, call centres, sales force and other channels supporting objectives and idea. Internal marketing activities. Database enhancement. Knowledge management. Integrated Marketing Communications Brand Media Neutral Planning Big creative idea harmonising communications across media and disciplines Co-ordinated marcoms plan including PR. Seasonal Integrated Marketing

Management Range

Internal media and customer touchpoints

Culture, vision and brand alignment. Seamless customer-facing organisation. Total communications planning and execution. All-stakeholder value.

Relationship Marketing

Marcoms Media:

Sustained brand positioning and communication harmony to maximise brand equity. IMC deployed in relationshipmanagement programmes to optimise customer equity. Investment in one-to-one management competence. Sustained Timeframe

Table 1: Integration practices CRM deals with best practice in developing customer equity, sustained brand building and touchpoint management, and Integrated Marketing Communications
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(IMC) and its more evolved form of Media Neutral Planning (MNP) focus on best practice in the use of commercial communications media. Integrated Marketing (IM) not only merges all of these but also integrates them with best practice in other organisational fields such as strategy, finance, production and HR. Integrated Marketing proposes three inter-related objectives: 1. A customer experience that satisfies the customer and feels relevant, congruent and coherent across all touchpoints/media and builds brand and customer equity. 2. The whole organisation works as an aligned, creative team. Processes smoothly deliver value to customers, employees and company/shareholders. 3. The marketing team, including agencies, harmoniously executes best ideas across optimum platforms and leads in the development of brand alignment. Integrated Marketing implies a systemic approach. It recognizes the relative value of isolated initiatives but it calls for integration if any of the above objectives are to be met. This means that Integrated Marketing consists of a vertical creative alignment throughout the organisation and a horizontal creative alignment throughout all media, channels and touchpoints, as shown in below.

The diagram shows a model of the Integrated Marketing framework with its vertical creative alignment throughout the organisation and horizontal creative alignment throughout all media, channels and touchpoints

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Integrated Marketing ideas are essential to contemporary leaders if they are to meet their business challenge. Figure 2 illustrates the Integrated Marketing model for action, the three areas for management:

Mobilising Everyone

Figure 2: The three key areas of Integrated Marketing action

Identity management
Organisational identity should reflect the companys true character rather than being merely a faade. The value that it delivers should reflect its uniqueness and make the organization easily identifiable. In addition, it must identify a set of aspirations that are coherent with its character. Who are we really, why are we different, what are our aspirations, what value do we offer?

Mobilising everyone
Leaders are responsible for implementing change. Their success depends on the level of support they are able to achieve across the organisation and external parties involved. Any change encounters an initial degree of resistance and can only happen if people believe that they (individually and/or collectively) will benefit from it. Contact management The understanding of what constitutes marketing communication must be broadened out away from the traditional media silos, and must embrace the management of every possible customer touchpoint. Managing touchpoints effectively entails exploring wholly open ideas about communications.

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IBM and global Integrated Marketing

IBM is committed to global Integrated Marketing strategies. To achieve this, it invests in new services, systems and other collateral including technology systems, solution research and development, business partnerships, employee development and internal marketing, website resources, white papers, global and regional road shows, global TV, PR and one-to-one communication campaigns. Much of its marketing communication is planned at least as outline at a global level, and many of the communication properties are designed and executed for global rollout, particularly TV communication. Most communication is also organised and/or approved on a regional basis, in the case of the UK by IBM EMEA (Europe Middle East Africa) . Depending on the size of the local market, communications are then tailored to a greater or lesser extent based on local needs. To facilitate global/international Integrated Marketing Communications, IBM has appointed global business partners for each of its major disciplines (mass communication, one-to-one solution selling, one-to-one product demand generation, PR, event marketing and media planning and buying). This enables more integrated planning, development, tailoring, execution, feedback and learning. Most of the partners belong to the WPP group in order to enhance synergy and reduce the potential for conflict or competitiveness. According to both IBM's senior marketing executives and its agency partners this leads to: 1. Development of communication properties and resources that could not be afforded at the national level. 2. Global alignment, consistency and focus of businesses, message and brand positioning/image. 3. Greater mutual commitment, and enhanced knowledge, co-operation and business practices among IBM and its partners. 4. Superior output and results. IBM's customer-centric planning is based on identifying major market/community opportunities where it is ideally suited to provide solutions and where, by focusing on the needs and requirements of the community, IBM can leverage its brand image and competencies to achieve increased market and mind share. By harnessing its highly sophisticated CRM and IMC skills within the over-arching discipline of Integrated Marketing, IBM has achieved significant marketing success. This case-study is of IBM COL (City of London), a CRM-focused Integrated Marketing campaign implemented through a series of campaign initiatives between 2000 and 2002. That campaign now serves as an exemplary new role model for the IBM Corporation, and it is a superb example of classic CRM strategy principles applied within an Integrated Marketing framework.

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IBM COL and Integrated Marketing

Figure 3: The landing page for the COL campaign Source: Ogilvy Interactive/IBM

IBM research in 1999/2000 showed that it had less than half the market share it would have expected in the City of London (COL), the fastest growing sector in financial services in the UK and the most significant market in that category in Europe. Although its members operate in a global marketplace and according to global competition and challenges, however, the community itself consists of a network or club of a very specifically local character, bias and set of needs. Here was a major potential customer community that was yet not global. IBM's surprisingly low share of spend in this powerful customer-set warranted specific investment in enhancing communication across critical touchpoints in order to change attitudes and behaviour and recover a "normal" market share. The Integrated Marketing solution, IBM COL, comprised a UK planned, designed and executed investment in: 1. A new IBM sales and service branch tuned to the City. 2. A series of Integrated Marketing communication campaigns, funded by just 5% of IBMs total UK TV budget, and led by IBMs UK brand manager (at the time, Lorraine Peel). 3. Data, systems and multi-channel CRM capability.

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It should be noted that IBM guards its TV budget very carefully, resisting any encroachment from tactical campaigns and market adversity. Hence, getting even this budget for the projects represents a major strategic thrust. Learning from the early stages of implementation also contributed to a reorganisation of the EMEA Northern Region marketing function into a more effective IMC structure. This is also now seen as a potential international role model within IBM. Regional and global participation consisted of approval and positive support for the initiative. The implementation of IBM COL brilliantly demonstrates the principles of CRM strategy as a key aspect of Integrated Marketing: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Investing in valuable customers. Optimising the whole customer relationship. Building reputation through ethics and brand values. Creating relevant service for each customer community. Creating customer value first. Managing the relationship at all appropriate touchpoints. Designing customer experience with imagination. Learning. Creative use of technology. Making it good for everyone.

The entire IBM COL campaign was very much based on measurement and learning, from its initiation (in the recognition of the problem) to the ongoing evolution of the campaign and to the changes in internal marketing structure and practice that it generated. CRM technology played an important part in the management of IBM COL, but it also demonstrated the central and vital importance of people, with technology merely the tool that made them more effective. The campaign was recognised as a success, but it also led to new ways of working that have been approved by customers, IBM and IBM business partners. It has also generated significant improvements in brand equity, financial equity and knowledge equity.

1. Investing in valuable customers

IBM identified a named set of prioritised customers and prospective customers and focused their resources on these sets. In 2000, the City of London represented a $4.5 billion market for information technologies within the fastest growing financial services sector in the UK. Financial services companies in the City of London run on IT and make huge investments in the latest systems, infrastructures and software. IBM had a relatively powerful offering and as a result of its size and business partners was one of the few companies capable of providing end-to-end solutions for many of the needs of COL companies, and yet it had a relatively low share of wallet. Focusing on this strong market with high ROI opportunities therefore made excellent business sense. IBM's prioritised approach to the market/community demonstrated classic Pareto thinking (that only a vital few factors are responsible for producing most of the problems). They identified approximately 30 existing major accounts, which at the time were worth approximately 80% of IBM's COL revenue, and designated these 'managed accounts' to receive higher levels of sales and service resources. They then identified a further 450 development accounts tiered into major opportunities
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and significant opportunities, and then developed and implemented contact strategies and service resources for these. IBM funded all of this by taking just 5% of their general TV advertising budget, applying it to a more potent and targeted opportunity.

2. Optimising the whole customer relationship

The primary aim of the City of London campaign was to understand the acquisition and development barriers that were leading to reduced market share, and to find a way to shift or overcome them. Within this aim there were three primary objectives: 1. To enhance relationships with existing customers, increasing their share of wallet with IBM. 2. To build a platform for recruiting major new customers, by developing new awareness of IBM solutions, and by ensuring that IBM was included more often in the consideration set during major selection processes. 3. To put barriers in place to prevent losses of custom and customers. Furthermore, the project as implemented represented a major commitment to managing long-term business relationships with this important customer community, rather than just running a localized communications campaign.

Figure 4: IBM focused its resources and its most valuable customers and prospects in the City.
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(Reproduced by kind permission of IBM from the campaign plan)

3. Building reputation through ethics and brand values

In partnership with their lead advertising agency Ogilvy, IBM invested heavily in understanding and communicating their brand signature (which Ogilvy calls the BrandPrint). This is used in briefing all marketing communications. IBM also invests in brand tracking studies and takes the commitment to live the brand very seriously. Brand attitudes were identified as being at the root of the problem in the City of London situation. Most specifically, senior business people in the City who understood technology and how it could be applied needed to have their faith in IBM as a major partner in consultancy, services and technology, renewed or enhanced. The problem was that IBM was not seen as an expert in "City solutions", which as understood by City business leaders also meant leading-edge and business-critical solutions. The City of London financial services companies (through their business and technology managers) were well versed in IBM's solutions for back-office needs, and here IBM had a strong market share. However these technologies were increasingly regarded as relatively uninteresting, and money and commitment were being focused on front-office business solutions such as dealer trading floors, and on solutions to integrate, enhance and protect the overall technologies and business processes of the company. In these areas, despite actually having an extremely powerful set of solutions to offer, IBM had not acquired the reputation of being a major player. Indeed it is possible that IBM's historic strengths and residual image actually played against their participation in new trends applying technology solutions to business problems. This demonstrates the way that customer loyalty and commitment can erode or stagnate if not continually maintained with an evolving understanding of needs and value supplied. As a result of this brand image problem, technology managers tended to turn to IBM for technology kit to meet routine business needs, rather than for strategic consultancy and solutions. This in turn perpetuated perceptions that positioned IBM as a seller of technology rather than a provider of strategic business solutions. The maintenance of such brand attitudes could have increasingly locked IBM into a positioning at odds with its capability and strategy. Furthermore, the City of London is an extremely influential market. Its companies are powerful opinion leaders and therefore the effect of better or worse positioning could have had a major impact not only within the City but also throughout the UK and world markets. The City of London campaign therefore needed to restore trust in IBM as a provider of critical business solutions based on leading-edge technology systems and consultancy. Customers needed to experience and be reaffirmed in the values of the brand. Indeed, as Figure 5 shows, IBM's global brand reputation is based on the perception that IBM has the imagination and expertise in business and technology to see and seize opportunities that convert into business advantage for their clients. Their image resonance of Bright Blue is based on the perception that IBM has the intelligence, assurance and global resources to provide insightful solutions to major
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business challenges. In the City of London, Bright Blue was looking a little dull and it needed polishing.

Figure 5: Extract from IBM BrandPrint as developed by Ogilvy for IBM. (Reproduced by kind permission of IBM. This is only an edited subset of the IBM brand signature. Other content is removed to protect proprietary insights.) Advertising was never going to be enough to change such perceptions, and it was recognized that without an effective Integrated Marketing approach that preached and practised the message simultaneously and consistently across the board, it would be difficult to leverage a significant shift. The strategy that was designed by IBMs UK brand manager at the time, Lorraine Peel, and that is still being applied, is based not only on a customer-centric Media Neutral Planning approach, but also on the Integrated Marketing approach of shifting negative attitudes and reinforcing positive ones across the entire range of customer-brand interactions. For example the campaign strategy involved: 1. Demonstrating presence in the world inhabited by the customer. 2. Executing messages that demonstrated IBM's competence in and commitment to the issues that mattered to COL executives. 3. Investing in resources to provide consultancy, solutions and services that demonstrated the brand living up to its essential core values of insightful, relevant and business transforming competence.

4. Creating relevant service for each customer community

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The City of London is a financial services powerhouse and one of the major centres in the global economy. As has already been indicated, it is also a club, a network with its own language and customs. In addition to housing many financial services companies, the City of London also includes the headquarters of many British firms as well as regional or national headquarters for overseas firms; hence the very powerful impact on opinion of the practices of its financial services companies. Historically, the City of London recruited many of its senior people from British public schools, and today many of the most intelligent and successful university graduates go to work there. The network of interdependent firms through which City workers move and interact, the small geographic area, its historic architecture, practices and customs, its work and play ethic, its traditional clubs and considerable power and influence, all together create a significant micro culture. Inclusion or exclusion from the club can have a significant effect on business success. IBM research showed that as a result of historic decisions IBM was not fully accepted as a member of this club nor, as indicated above, was it seen as having powerfully relevant solutions. Within the larger culture of the City of London community, research further identified a series of micro communities of interest driven by the key business issues that were then affecting different IT managers and board-level leaders. Suppliers that did not talk their language did not get on their agenda. These micro communities were based on either the issues that belonged to the function that the individual played within the decision-making unit or category, or on specific business issues for which they needed solutions, including: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. E-business and internet enablement. Risk Management. Customer Relationship Management. Operational efficiency, e.g. straight-through-processing. New market opportunities, e.g. virtual exchanges, M-commerce.

IBM was well-regarded as a major global player, in other words people understood the universal brand values in principle, but they did not believe that these had been translated into solutions relevant to their needs, other than for marginal and less valuable elements of their purchase mix. This strongly demonstrated the importance in brand management of understanding the way that the universal brand values needed to be articulated according to the different language and drivers of its key communities.

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Figure 6: Types of IBM customer (Reproduced by kind permission of IBM; edited extract from IBM strategic marketing plan.) IBM uses community signatures, or CustomerPrints as their agency partner OgilvyOne calls them, in order to generate more creative insight into its customer communities. Community signatures are based on researching and understanding the core customer communities. These are then transformed into imaginative word portraits of the communities by demonstrating an archetypal customer interacting with the brand. An example excerpt from one of the IBM CustomerPrints is as follows: Excerpt from community signature: Trevor loved the culture of Goldman, the buzz of the dealing floor - if he was honest he loved the elitism of the financial markets. The reliance on technology in his industry made him feel important. In the dealing room, time is money. Every minute that a dealers system is out of action, billions are lost... It was very competitive. The fully automated process that Trevor had been responsible for, with the help of IBM and Reuters, meant that the whole settlements procedure can now continue untouched by human hands and unseen by the human eye. This was an achievement for him and his team. He knew the majority of the business didnt really appreciate or
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understand the benefits - IT is a thankless task. Trevor wasnt phased by this - he wasnt after praise Source: OgilvyOne campaign brief, reproduced by kind permission of IBM.

Two-mode behaviour
A further aspect of the different modes in which customers respond to the IBM brand is that research showed that IT managers switch their modes according to the kind of solutions that they are looking for. This illustrates another important principle of customer management: recognising that the customer can have two or more different ways of relating to a brand depending on time and situation-related psychological drivers. In this case, IT managers switched mode between solution-search and transaction-best-buy modes. For example an IT executive might attend a seminar or presentation as part of researching a solution to a complex business problem. Here the desired mode of interaction is consultancy selling, with an extended decision process and wider decision-making unit. However, during the coffee break, the manager might need to buy some technology such as servers, PCs or printers, and now he or she changes mode into a transactional selling style looking for convenience, availability, value for money, rapid delivery and so on. In this mode what matters is the availability of instant information in a mode that supports transactional decision-making. In both cases the brand can deliver value through tailored service, but the way that that service needs to be tailored is utterly different. In the second case, during the coffee break, the customer is an expert looking for product information and a convenient buying/delivery process. The telephone, a catalogue, a web site might all be instruments that meet his or her needs. During the rest of the day, the customer's expertise lies in other areas, such as developing and judging requirements and knowledge. IBM responded to this by providing alternative modes of access to its services, using a Siebel-powered call centre and its e-business infrastructure to support the transactional selling mode, with the branch office, seminars and other events fronting the consultative mode backed up by knowledgeware on the web.

Employees and partners

Finally it is important to understand that IBM's communities include not only customers but also other major stakeholders including employees and partners. Communications needed to be tailored to meet the interests and needs of these important stakeholder communities. In particular, the ability to offer and deliver value through solutions depended in many cases on partnerships with key suppliers. IBM needed to use its communication and investment programmes on customers to leverage its relationship with these other stakeholders and vice versa. Business partners of stature have a choice of both platforms and partners, and were more likely to commit to more intensive working with IBM if they believed it was committed and relevant in the City, and that their support would in turn increase IBM's ability to achieve this.
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The future
Recognising the customer communities in this way and putting them to the forefront is now adopted as IBMs primary organisation method in EMEA Northern Region. A customer-group based marketing organisation will routinely outperform other structures in a CRM intensive environment.

5. Creating customer value first

IBM's development of a new value proposition was based on the key ingredients outlined above: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Understanding the different customer sets or communities. Understanding the key issues that drive them. Researching, developing and/or renewing solutions. Creating an upgraded and tailored selling and delivering capability. Developing and executing communication platforms and programmes.

Elements of the new value proposition included: 1. Dedicating a City Branch headed up by a manager with 15 years City trading experience, and a team of consultative sales people (account managers) and consulting specialists with relevant background and expertise. This commitment provided the vital element in the premium one-to-one encounter at critical moments of truth, from high-value partnership-based bid proposals to lunching/eventing together. 2. Tiering services into Managed and Development Account teams. In the case of Managed Accounts there was a one-to-one relationship between the account manager and the client organisation, while Development Accounts typically had approximately 15 accounts per account manager, backed up by telemarketing support, with each account manager 'buddied' in the Siebel-based call centre. 3. Researching key issues, and using these to drive the development of marketing, sales, service and solution collateral. For example, IBM reinforced existing business partnerships or developed new ones to ensure that it could offer best in-class solutions. Its journey to market was then taken in conjunction with companies such as Reuters, Temenos, Siebel and Pacemetrics. 4. Specialist training to ensure maximum credibility and added value. 5. Knowledgeware in the form of white papers, presentations, events and seminars to support the consultative selling mode. The Integrated Marketing Communications campaign was both a component of the value proposition and a means of communicating it. For example a dedicated IBM
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web site area was used to communicate commitment and also provide value in the form of Knowledgeware. Committed support from top IBM management helped to demonstrate not only IBM's commitment but also its high-quality thinking and insight. Senior leaders are often the most powerful exemplars of the brand values. Using the Cloverleaf Model, IBM's value proposition (as indicated in the diagram below) was tailored to the brand values and community issues as follows: 1. Knowledge: increased awareness of IBM solutions and capability; integrated marketing communication platforms and programmes; think pieces, presentations and seminars providing solutions and knowledge in the mode required, e.g. the consultative or transactional; ideas, skills and insights through people and tools. 2. Customer process: eased access to IBM business solutions by enhancing visibility, access, consultative sales process and alternative mode contact and communication. 3. Performance and deliverables: developed and renewed solutions with major partners; packaged IBM offerings to meet specific issue-based needs; developed the consultancy base, delivering millions of dollars of additional solutions. 4. Relationship: dedicated branch office to improve one-to-one service, particularly for major managed accounts; IMC demonstrated that IBM was in the City and shared their values and drivers. Overview of value creation:

Figure 7: Cloverleaf Model source: Valuing Your Customers, Jenkinson, 1995.

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6. Managing the relationship at all appropriate touchpoints.

An IMC campaign was first rolled out in the summer and autumn of 2000. Marketing communication then continued through branch office, telemarketing and web site based activities supported by event marketing and some PR, including conferences, (and of course the general IBM brand advertising). The next major phase of COLbased advertising, which would have run in the autumn of 2001, was held back as a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11th 2001, and was eventually launched early in 2002.

Images from the campaign: IBM on the streets, on and in taxis, and on the web Source: IBM/OgilvyOne

The concept behind both campaigns was to have a big creative idea driving all marketing communication, emphasizing the brand promise and ensuring consistency and integration, supported by image properties that could be used across the range of media and disciplines. The wide range of media and disciplines included PR, event management, outdoor and ambient, direct mail, telemarketing, press and new media advertising, interactive (banner and website), and sales disciplines, notable exceptions being TV and radio. The range of communication was based on the customers world, not the media planners.
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This is classic customer-centric communication, for example: in the streets of the City; accessibility when looking for issue-base ideas, e.g. on the web; meeting with and listening to thought leaders, e.g. at conferences, on financial TV, at seminars; in the Press; communications to the desk; and getting proposals on solutions. Consider how a customer executive might have experienced the Integrated Marketing Communications campaign, which was designed to demonstrate IBM as a provider of solutions for the City One day in June 2000, walking out of Liverpool Street Station in the heart of the City of London, a common route to work even for senior people, they might have met an interesting IBM poster such as a Mensa puzzle, then been confronted by people scooting about on the busy streets and roads on the brand new mini scooters that were then just becoming trendy as a quick way to get about, with others wearing curious gear offering orange juice and umbrellas, all tagged with the 2000 strapline, Solutions for the City. If they hailed a taxicab they would have been offered a free journey anywhere in the City of London, compliments of IBM, with the taxi carrying a similar intelligent advertising message. Should they have missed this, they would have been able to read about it as a result of press coverage. Later, reading major media used by City executives, they would have found an ad carrying the same message with a creative treatment, and probably an article, perhaps featuring an interview with an IBMer or a journalists comment. And in the pub at lunch (or more probably in the evening) there would have been beer mats carrying another variation on the theme, offering mental teasers that connected to the City self-image of clever people enjoying themselves in a competitive world. Assuming they belonged to the right segment, they probably received direct mail inviting them to register at a specially designed IBM City of London web site where there were think pieces and other seminar invitations designed to address their specific issues. Email invitations to seminars and events would have followed for those who signed up. In any case, as they surfed the Web or visited key COL websites, they probably noticed some highly creative and City-oriented banners inviting them to the exclusive web site. 11,000 hits to the COL Web site shows that many people visited, but the objective was primarily quality rather than quantity: remember the main focus was on just 480 accounts, the rest was about creating a positive environment. The campaign obtained the activity, interest and names of 456 qualified senior people. An IBM salesperson would have phoned or spoken to these, and depending on the outcome (the same or another person) would then have visited to discuss needs. They might also have attended an IBM breakfast meeting or seminar. If they were a senior person in a major or interested development account, they would have got to know their IBM account manager and his or her resources and solutions rather well, especially if they invited IBM to bid. Later still, they might also have read a promotion for one or more of several dozen different third-party Conferences on the different key issues of the day, and have noticed that an IBMer was giving a keynote speech. Press releases of major wins by IBM in the City of London, including a substantial contract
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awarded by the London Stock Exchange, would have further reinforced the developing awareness of IBM as a major City player.

Images from the campaign Source: IBM/OgilvyOne

7. Designing customer experience with imagination

The IBM agency, OgilvyOne, saw the imaginative challenge as weaving together the Citys most relevant human and IT issues within a creative concept. In 2000, the creative idea was based on the very simple but directly-to-the-point message, Solutions for the City, providing both a verbally and conceptually integrating theme. The aim was to generate an IBM and City of London wake-up call, demonstrating that IBM was a serious player in the City and that their e-business solutions could solve the Citys everyday business and technology problems. By establishing empathy with the City's problems, they aimed to reposition IBM in the City from a relatively poorly-known supplier of IT with little relevance, other than in low margin back-office opportunities, to a well-known supplier of solutions that address the needs of COL institutions. A practical measure of success was for IBM to be more often considered for high margin opportunities in the middle- and frontoffice, and ultimately for IBM to be on the short-list of IT players in the City of London indeed for IBM to be seen to be entering the City club. The first campaign was broader and more general, aiming to create a buzz and awareness of IBM as relevant and committed to the City. Intellectual puzzles and solutions carried the message that IBM had sharp solutions to City issues, from traffic to clever games to e-business. A specially designed image property interwove IBM
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blue, the City, and the idea of cutting through the mess together, and it was used across direct mail, web sites and other media. Instead of simply talking about technology, the stance in 2000 was to position IBM as a City player and club member. The aim was to use a media neutral approach to planning, using each medium and discipline on its own merits as a brand-building plus action-stimulating tool, for example: employing ambient and outdoor media to provoke interest; press ads to communicate core campaign propositions; PR to demonstrate IBM as a participant and major player in key City issues; conferences and seminars (IBM and third-party) to communicate high profile, leading edge thinking and performance on these issues; the web site as an exclusive source of high-value knowledge; direct mail as a brand communicator and action generator; the telephone as a relationship initiator and maintenance resource; and the account manager and consulting team as power-performers and lead brand exemplars. The later campaign, in 2002, was based on the key COL proposition: IBM, together with its partners, delivers custom made e-business solutions for the City. This message was tailored for different customer segments or groups and exploits the name generation, increased image and success achieved in the first campaign, and maintained thereafter by the City branch office. This represented a more targeted and focused message, building on the earlier platforms of awareness, data and success. Execution was also more closely tied in to general IBM advertising, to benefit from the wider communication weight, to improve overall integration, to help to leverage reaction to the dual-mode response of IT executives, and to consolidate IBM, with its partners, as a multi-talented solution-oriented player also committed to City issues. Slightly fewer media were involved. However, it is noteworthy how in the age of new media, database-driven personalized direct mail still has a powerful contribution to make. Its tangibility, presence, interactivity, one-to-one creative potential and record as the low-cost medium of choice when communicating complex argument made it an important part of the mix in this campaign.

8. Learning
A strategic framework should never just emphasize measurement - measurement without learning is pointless. This principle shows up powerfully in the IBM approach. However, its worth noting how successful the IBM COL campaign was. Results included: 1. Immediate boost in awareness. 2. Attributable new business of 70x investment (7000% ROI) in the first year alone, growing at approximately 10 times the rate of the market. 3. By way of example, a major new relationship and revenue stream from the London Stock Exchange. 4. Improved relationships with existing customers e.g. by inviting them to participate in events, increased and broader business, etc. 5. Enhanced association with professional associations: recognised as a player, IBM invited to participate in events etc.

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6. Enhanced relationship with financial market analysts/journalists/conference organizers, gaining substantial press and conference coverage. 7. Over 40 journalist interviews. 8. Approximately 10 conference organisers in each of Q1/Q2 approached IBM for further participation, some for months ahead. 9. Increased profile of IBM Head of Finance. 10. Interviews broadcast on CNBC, Sky Digital TV, BBC Radio 4. 11. Interviews with nationals, published in the Financial Times, Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Business, Independent, Independent on Sunday, Financial Mail on Sunday, Guardian, Evening Standard. 12. Participation in major Roundtables. 13. Internal benefits include enthusiastic acceptance/welcoming of marketing efforts by the sales team and product-line management, and enhanced awareness of the City of London among senior IBM managers. 14. Partnership benefits include more on-the-ground bidding and joint marketing/selling collaboration, and even greater acceptance as a serious City player by key applications partners (Reuters, Temenos, Siebel, Pacemetrics etc). 15. 546 new active contacts, with City-relevant database of over 8,000 contacts. 16. Over 11,000 hits to www.ibm.com/cityoflondon/uk during measurement phase of COL1. In addition to the measurement of success, there is also the best practice objective of learning. Good work is always based on good research, and however good the work there is always new learning, whether it is good ideas to repeat or things to do better. Learning also needs to cover organisational and system issues as well as communication planning. Having the opportunity to put into practice a complete campaign provided valuable learning opportunities. Key learning in this case included: This case-study in itself is based on a fundamental internal desk research analysis initiated by Lorraine Peel that identified the core issue of nderperformance. Quick, low budget research by a specialist agency confirmed some of the general issues. One of the realizations, however, was that while this latter research was effective in highlighting the issues, it did not identify a significantly effective benchmark for ongoing improvement measurement. This was later rectified. The strategic use of the general advertising budget for more targeted and resultintensive opportunities was proven, and has been accepted as a new practice (as demonstrated by IBMs continued commitment to this). Research by OgilvyOne was undertaken to understand the core drivers of the City and to determine the community types (leading to their CustomerPrints). As a result of its proven success, the importance of doing this on an even more systematic basis is now recognised. Indeed, this thinking and practice has powered a reorganisation. IBM COL contributed to a major rethink of how to organise the IMC group at IBM Northern Region EMEA by the Regional Marketing Director at the time, Kevin Bishop. This was rolled out early 2002 and is now operational as a new role model structure that the Corporation s investigating. This structure belongs to another case-study, but basically ensures that the brand is organised along customer-centric rather than discipline or line-of-business factors. As a result, IBM UK (and other Northern Region
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countries) moved from line-of-business management of communication to integrated community-of-interest management. The second campaign was considerably more targeted and also succeeded in communicating a special message to the City of London communities while integrating more dynamically with other IBM advertising. IBM UK has put in place new processes and commitment for communicating results to the direct agencies it works with. Historically IBM, like many other brands, has been cautious about releasing sensitive data to outside parties, which can lead to the understandable but weak practice of having agency partners operating in ignorance. As a result of the new organisation, agencies now work more closely together, and the IBM direct-marketing discipline leader, Sue Takhar, has instituted full and open disclosure of results, with immediate benefits in morale and thinking. As part of this, and in association with new technology plans, IBM is investing even more thinking and energy into lead-tracking and results evaluation. Finally, notice the value that IBM places on each qualified customer name, a core principle of both CRM and Integrated Marketing.

9. Creative use of technology

Although this case-study focuses on CRM as a key aspect of Integrated Marketing, it is not primarily about technology. CRM should never primarily be about technology; if it is then the technology will get between the brand and the people. The more effective technology is, the more it disappears into the background. This case-study is also about IMC (as a core aspect of Integrated Marketing), but it is not primarily about media, because IMC is primarily a tool that refracts the brand according to the individual customer attitude and touchpoint.

Figure 10: IBM systems architecture However, good technology was central to success in IBM COL. Key technology elements in this included:

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A community-specific web area and landing page, plus banners and personalized emails. Telemarketing systems used to support primary interaction, and contact management software and data to manage ongoing relationships. Investment in the customer marketing database and direct mail campaign production. A scoring algorithm for lead management. Technology to track interactions, whether through cookies at the web site, telemarketing response codes, or scanners to record attendance at an IBM event.

10. Making it good for everyone

Researching the case-study, it is noticeable that there have been positive outcomes all round, what we call 3D-worth (good for the customer, company and employees): Customers have had the option to buy what they consider to be a superior solution, and have done so. They have also gained from IBMs consultancy and knowledge, and perhaps even had a free taxi ride, enjoyed a puzzle, or avoided getting wet. IBM has increased financial equity, knowledge equity and brand equity. This has practical outcomes in terms of new organisation, practices and systems, a potential new role model, new customers with their future revenue streams, and new relationship equity with important opinion leaders. Employees of IBM who were involved in the marketing are enthusiastic about the work and clearly enjoyed doing it, despite the additional work it involved. They have learned and developed from the projects, and gained internal recognition. Sales and consulting employees have also endorsed the marketing efforts and enjoyed the fruits of sales success, important new customers and better data. Business partners have gained from the opportunity to work in the City with the worlds fourth most powerful brand. Agency partners now have a more effective way of working with IBM, which they have all privately endorsed enthusiastically. They have enjoyed success and IBM commitment. Their initiative, for example in the research, and their creativity are valued by IBMers. Our observation of good marketing over many years confirms that such a win-win-win outcome needs to be endorsed as an objective on each and every occasion.

Conclusion
This case-study of CRM as a key aspect of Integrated Marketing offers an excellent example of integrated thinking, from strategy to practice and back again, most particularly noting how good strategy shows up throughout all of the details that build brand and customer equity. It also demonstrates:

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1. How to read the thinking of companies, rather as consumers do unconsciously, to critique their performance. 2. How to systematically develop business value through integrating sales, service and communication for customers more effectively. 3. How technology needs to act as a means of delivering CRM thinking CRM thinking is never there to deliver technology!

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