IBM and the power of an organising platform

9th November 2011, by Simon Cox

On Tuesday, you may have seen Havas Media's 'Meaningful Brands' study. There’s a lovely infographic summarising it here. 

Havas carried out a piece of research across 14 countries, 300 brands and 50,000 people, and the headline results are either alarming or reassuring, depending on which side of the brand fence you sit on. 

The vast majority of people surveyed said they didn't care if “70% of brands disappeared”, whilst believing that only “20% of global brands noticeably improve people’s quality of life”. 

We all know the transformational power of advertising – who was it that said "stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time"? But in the changing media landscape, the Havas study reinforces a pretty obvious point: advertising alone will not create the emotional resonance consumers are looking for in late 2011. Indeed, advertising alone won't make your brand meaningful. 

Which brings me on to IBM and 'Smarter Planet'...

You may have come across Smarter Planet as part of IBM's sponsorship of ITV's coverage of the Rugby World Cup, or come into contact with it since its launch in 2008. At its core, it brings together global examples of how smarter systems can solve the world’s most pressing problems: economic growth, sustainable development, water management, traffic congestion, etc. 

If you were only to see the advertising, you may be forgiven for seeing an okay creative attempt to humanise corporate technology. Look further, however, and you begin to see Smarter Planet acting as an organising platform for IBM, which is aligning the entire business. And, going back to the Havas study, what a clever idea it is. 

By forging the smartness of a technically evolved and relevant company, with the practical impact that its products can have on both the planet and its people, IBM has created something with depth and substance. Its success is not in its message, but in its ability to act as an organising platform for its products, people, opinions, voice, content, view and relevance, and – in the process – making IBM meaningful. 

In many respects, it's no surprise that a company that has embraced radical openness and is at the forefront of what they call H2H ('Human 2 Human') transaction should embrace such a platform. Being a largely B2B brand, they haven't made the Havas top 20. They would, however, get my vote, and other brands may benefit from thinking more about an organising platform – before they think about advertising.