IBM to focus on ‘smarter planet’ green initiatives

IBM is revising its global marketing strategy to focus on its new “smarter planet” initiative, which aims to show businesses and consumers how to help reduce the effects of global warming through IT equipment.

The computing giant is shifting a “substantial amount” of its $500m (£320m) advertising budget into launching a campaign that promotes ways to reduce carbon emissions from computers. The campaign, which will be created by Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, will run across online and print.

Caroline Taylor, vice-president of marketing at IBM General Business, North-east Europe Region, says: “IBM is putting substantially more money into marketing green initiatives both this year and next. We view it as essential that, across the world, consumers sit up and pay attention to these important issues, both in their business and personal lives.”

The decision to launch the “smarter planet” initiative follows a successful promotional campaign in June, which was timed to coincide with the UN environment day. The first campaign will be a series of short films, which will run online.

The ads use a “clean” graffiti theme, where a mural artist creates artful mess-ages that illustrate the value of reducing carbon and going green by removing the grime in a variety of locations, using water on dirty buildings.

Taylor says: “The shorts have a strongly urban look and feel to them, and are intended to demonstrate the damage that greenhouse gases can do to the environment, as well as ways in which they can be resolved. The print campaigns will use equally compelling stills, which convey the message to the viewer.”