IBM: SMARTER CITIES ART GALLERY

Credits & Description:

Category: Business Products & Services

Advertiser: IBM

Product/Service: IBM

Agency: OGILVY FRANCE

Date of First Appearance: Oct 12 2010

Entrant Company: OGILVY FRANCE, Paris, FRANCE

Entry URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0N_3QdnHJ0

Executive Creative Director: Chris Garbutt (Ogilvy)

Creative Director: Susan Westre (Ogilvy)

Copywriter: Fergus O'Hare (Ogilvy)

Art Director: Ginevra Capece (Ogilvy)

Art Director: Bruno Jesus (Ogilvy)

Designer: Sid Tomkins (Ogilvy)

Designer: Tanya Holbrook (Ogilvy)

Flash Designer: Frederic Granon (Ogilvy)

Account Manager: Ben Messiaen (Ogilvy)

Account Manager: Eléonore Di Perno (Ogilvy)

Global Brand Enhancement Program Lead: Suzanne Assaf (IBM)

Media placement: Outdoor (real exhibit) - Software Day Event In Denmark - October 12th, 2010

Media placement: Digital - Internet website - January 24th, 2011

Media placement: Facebook Application - Facebook - April 15th, 2011

Media placement: Viral Video - Vimeo - April 15th, 2011



Insights, Strategy & the Idea

IBM wants to educate the public and its leaders about urban systems that can be made smarter. And demonstrate that smarter infrastructures create cities with fewer problems and better lives for those who live and work in them. We want to communicate on how IBM is already applying intelligence to old city infrastructures around the world and makes them more efficient to all of us. Since this global campaign would be running in markets with smaller budgets, there was a need for a broad branding effort without the use of paid-media advertising. The idea of an art gallery that shows real examples, was the perfect entry point to engage in an immersive way with business leaders and create an emotional bond with the IBM brand.



Creative Execution

We have created an actual art exhibition called “Before Cities Got Smart”, in which today’s city problems are portrayed as artefacts of a past age. Real artwork becomes an educational tool, highlighting the problem, and leading to descriptions of real IBM solutions that are implemented in cities around the world. The art exhibit is travelling around the world, and an online gallery was created for those unable to attend the real one. On Facebook, people can engage with IBM by uploading their own urban hates, turning them into art, and placing them into the Facebook gallery.



Results and Effectiveness

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the initial gallery showings by both IBM and the public, we had the artists duplicate their original art pieces to go from one to three travelling exhibits. This awareness campaign, which started as a single exhibit, is now travelling the world. It has already shown in 5 countries (Denmark, Germany, USA, Netherlands and Switzerland), and in 2011 is travelling to Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Czech Republic, Korea, Spain, France and Peru. The online gallery was created for those unable to attend the real one, and has already been implemented in 17 countries.