Deirdre Bigley

VP Global Advertising — Brand & Product Groups, IBM, Armonk, New York

Deirdre Bigley has changed the way we now think of advertising, and the way we now think about IBM. She clearly understood that as a multinational advertiser, IBM must wrestle with how to break through in a world of media fragmentation. And as a leading technology company, she also knew that IBM had to embrace many of the new media options.

Bigley explains, “We stepped back from the media frenzy and the zeal over generating a proper ROI in an effort to get to the core of communicating our best brand attributes. In the process, we realized that as a marketer, we’d forgotten how to tell a good story — the kind of story that is compelling enough to engage any one of us for a few minutes in the midst of our busy lives. Of course, the IBM value proposition and a message about why people should care about the company are embedded in the story.”

So how did this change the evolution of our business? “Marketers now must produce interesting, compelling content,” says Bigley. “And content is no longer the exclusive domain of the media owners. A marketer has to create this content, not just once, but on a regular cadence. We must become content builders. This means dramatically changing the way any marketer produces creative. In the past, an advertiser created a TV spot or a banner ad; the type of medium determined the creative execution. Content simply comes first now.”

For Deidre Bigley, a marketing director now needs to become a “brand journalist” who determines which are the good stories to tell. Then, the possibilities for how to use these stories are endless. She believes that one is able to overcome much of the debate about media fragmentation by simply editing one’s brand content for the web, for the latest mobile device, for presentation at an event, or for television. It also causes the brand to look for partnerships with the media.

“A great story is something that will catch an individual’s attention while cruising the channels or turning pages. For IBM, it is often a mini documentary. And it is compelling enough to make you pause to listen and learn something interesting. What is most radical for marketers is that THE BRAND IS NOT SHOWN in these vignettes. However, the IBM ethos is woven throughout as part of the solutions presented.”

According to Bigley, “The values of a good story come first and are paramount to the success of this of brand content.” And Deirdre Bigley should know; she perfected this new means of marketing. Contact: dbigley@us.ibm.com

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