B2B Opps: IBM launches new campaign, increases digital spend

Sales Lead: IBM recently bolstered its "Let's Create" brand platform with a new campaign, "What If?"

• Made by creative AOR Ogilvy, the campaign consists of four spots.
• The campaign works with influencer partners such as pro golfer Kurt Kitayama and a voice-over by sports commentator Jim Nantz.
• The company will likely:
  • Pursue similar influencer partnerships
  • Keep rolling out new work
  • Continue increasing digital spend
• Target demographic: 
  • Business DMs

Additional spending insights:

• Broadcast insights (TV ad creative spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: So far this year, IBM has spent approximately $34.5m on national TV commercials, only about half of the approximately $60m spent within the same 2022 timeframe.
  • Last year: In 2022, the company ended up spending around $114.4m on this channel, more than double when it spent around $55.1m in 2021.
  • 2023 ad programming: IBM's 2023 commercials have targeted male sports enthusiasts watching shows such as NFL Football, the 2023 Masters Tournament, NBA Basketball, ABC World News Tonight With David Muir, and Good Morning America.
• Digital and social insights (digital ad spend, effectiveness, impressions, and performance)
  • YTD spend: The company has allocated roughly $10.8m toward digital ads YTD, 77% more than the roughly $6.1m allocated by this point last year.
  • YTD data: Since the beginning of 2023, IBM has earned ~1.7b digital impressions via Twitter (58%), desktop display (26%), YouTube (9%), and mobile display (7%) ads.
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The company has placed most (99%) of this year's desktop display ads site direct onto weather.com.
  • Last year: IBM's estimated full-year 2022 spend decreased by 4% to $39.1m from that of $40.8m in 2021.
• Additional channel insights  
  • The company utilizes digital, local broadcast, print, OOH, Google Ads, Twitter, and online video (primarily via Youtube.com) ads.
  • IBM sponsors podcasts such as The Daily, Stuff You Should Know, Planet Money, The Charlie Kirk Show, and the Mark Levin Podcast.
  • The company also invests in short-form DRTV.
    • ​​​​​​​It has very highly concentrated network TV coverage and will not likely launch a campaign soon.

Additional agency insights:

• Opportunity: IBM doesn't seem to currently outsource multicultural, influencer, digital analytics, or social media management, so reach out soon to see if that might change.
• Current agency roster:
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Ogilvy: Creative AOR
  • In-House: Creative
  • GroupM: Media and programmatic AOR
  • MediaMonks: Experiential agency partner
  • The George P. Johnson Company: Experiential agency partner
  • VSA Partners: Creative agency partner
  • Weber Shandwick: PR agency partner

Insight Sources: Broadcast insights estimated by iSpot; digital spend insights estimated by Pathmatics; additional channel insights estimated by Vivvix; podcast insights by Podchaser; DRTV insights by Media Analytics.