Reader Feedback on IBM's System i Advertising Campaign

Published: October 30, 2006

Dan:

I am sure that you are aware that this campaign too little, too late. IBM is placing cute ads in trade journals and they will not win over any client/server technical people.

Intel, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell advertise on TV during the Super Bowl, etc. Executives and management, which do not know anything about IT, see these ads and think: "That must be the IT approach for my company." Or they think: "I am going to make sure our IT staff is using Intel or Microsoft," etc.

Until IBM wins back company management support, i5 sales will continue to decline. IBM needs to quit preaching to the choir--no one but iSeries techies will be reading these ads--and start preaching to the masses.

I have worked on this platform for almost 20 years (including the System/34, System/36, and System/38) and the IBM marketing has been a disappointment from day one. At first, these machines could not compete with the mainframe; they had to work their ads as a fill-in for non-mainframe business. Following this, there was a period of comprehensive advertising for the iSeries, but it only lasted briefly. Since then, it is almost impossible to find i5 ads anywhere but in i5 journals.

I feel that IBM's focus should be on front-ending the i5 with client/server and Web-enabling tools. (I know that there has been some push in Web enabling.) IBM needs some well defined approaches and an extensive marketing and communications plan. It is time to give away some software and services to "hook" management and IT on the i5.

We could not get our management to budget $325,000 for a new i5; but, as soon as top management learned the company could save $60,000, they ponied up for a $400,000 i5. Go figure.

I just hope that the platform can hang on for another ten years until I retire.

I know this rambles somewhat, but each time I see an article like this, I want to scream--again and again and again. . . . Thanks for the opportunity to sound off.

--Chuck

Chuck:

Thanks for your e-mail. We definitely appreciate hearing from readers.

Your view that this campaign is too little, too late is a popular one among the users. I've heard it many times, which only means that it is, and has been, a sore point among those who strongly believe IBM has screwed up its chances to get the word out about this platform. I agree with you and all the others who are incredulous about IBM's ineptitude in this regard.

I am also with you about the need for the System i division to win back the support of IBM corporate management. I think this division has been jerked around and stepped on by other, more powerful, divisions within the corporation. Corporate politics have been known to ruin products in favor of advancing careers.

If I were in charge (oh, boy, would that be fun), I wouldn't, however, quit preaching to the choir. I would just not make that my focus. Maybe preaching isn't the right word for it. Supporting the choir would be a better fit. But, regardless of how you want to say it, the choir is extremely important. I'm sure you understand that. The choir does need to sing the praises of the box to their management and understand there are more things it can bring to the table than it is being used for in many cases at many companies.

And as far as TV advertising goes, I wouldn't waste the System i advertising and marketing budget there, even if it was large enough to support that type of advertising. That's too broad of an audience in my opinion. It's expensive and a lot of it goes to waste reaching people who will never be customers. I favor a more targeted approach that reaches decision makers. And I don't believe that all decisions get made by C-level executives in a vacuum. Big decisions are influenced greatly by information that comes up through the ranks. I would target marketing at C-level management, but not forget about raising the awareness of IT staff at every level. When upper management gets feedback from its IT department about the System i, they should be aware of what it is and what it can do.

I think this print ad campaign that the System i marketing group is doing is a good strategy, but I think it is weak in terms of the money invested. That goes back to your point about winning the support of IBM corporate management. That support is needed if the marketing budget is to be expanded so that awareness can be raised significantly. As it is, I think your comment about too little, too late is sad but true.

I hear what you are saying and I am glad you are speaking out about it.

--Dan