The Campaign

IBM’s range of System x servers punch above their weight in terms of power and performance. But a dry and overly technical product website was a real turn-off for customers. What’s more, with over 20 different types of System x server and thousands of different configurations, choosing the right system was a real headache. Our challenge was to attract new customers and make it simple for them to find the right System x server for their business.

Success of the Campaign

In the first month after launch more than 5,315 potential customers visited the eCatalog. 78% of these went on to create their own System x Sidekick and then browsed the detailed specs of the recommended products. This was a marked improvement on past results for the same category. Not only was the System x Sidekick popular with customers – the client liked the character so much it has been adopted as the face of the System x brand for future campaigns.

Describe how the campaign/entry was launched and executed across each channel in the order of implementation.

Our big idea was a colourful little 8-bit character – the System x Sidekick – the perfect ally to help customers fight their IT battles. He came to life as part of a fully integrated campaign, which included banners on targeted websites, tailored eDMs to different customer segments and a DM containing a papercraft model of the System x Sidekick. All of these channels drove potential customers to an eBrochure where they could learn more and then to an eCatalog where they could map their business needs to specific System x solutions by creating their own System x Sidekick.