Working 9-5....at the largest IT company on the planet...

Hi,

I haven't really posted much about my Marketing Placement at IBM since I've started as I have just been getting to grips with my role, understanding IBM's strategies and where my team fits into the overall picture.
I think working with a large organisation is not only a rewarding experience which is full of opportunities, but can also be a hindrance in terms of understanding how such a small part of said organisation can actually make an impact.

I think I have been very lucky in getting the role I have though, as liaising with clients coming from the biggest companies in the UK is a unique experience- one which I may never be able to experience for the rest of my career (fingers crossed I do though!)

Today, all of the new marketing IT's (Industrial Trainees) got to visit one of IBM's locations near Winchester. I have visited a couple of times before for meetings, but I never got the full tour....

Today we got to hear how much IBM as an organisation has changed from the organisation it was 100 years ago to what it has become in the 21st Century today. It was phenomenal to realise how amazing the company I work for is. It has evolved from selling huge pieces of hardware, where computers needed entire buildings just to home them, to the microchip and barcode that we use everyday, and more recently to the unbelievable technology we see used for analytics, vast quantities of data and mobile technology. Who knows where we might be in another 100 years! (Not that any of us will be around to see- sad times)

When I tell them where I work, people always ask me "What do IBM actually do?" "Do they just make computers?" "I had an IBM photocopier back in the day". Well simply, IBM has moved away from these kinds of products years ago- to a far more innovative, smarter way of thinking, and rather than serve users who have simple business needs for IT, which IBM still provide- they now use technology, knowledge and data in order to create a "smarter planet" which is a huge initiative at IBM.

Today, we got to see some of these amazing projects which IBM are involved with. IBM Hursley- the location we visited, has a huge laboratory in which most of the IBM products are developed and  is also home to some UBER geeks who have developed life changing/saving/enhancing technologies!

We got to visit the IBM Hursley Innovation Centre where lots of amazing IBM inventions are showcased! (May be sounding a bit geeky at the moment) We saw a piece of technology which translates sign language from a webcam into text and visa versa, with a robot who is fluent in sign language.

We saw a piece of technology used by the military which tracks snipers and can give an exact location...this kind of technology saves lives!! See why I am proud to work here :-)

We also saw an aeroplane chair that measures your heartrate without the use of straps or wires, which helps airlines help passengers adjust to their new time zone and can help reduce stress levels on board. Then we saw a mind controlled car- something which is being used in video games soon!!

But- the most interesting thing for me personally that I saw in the Innovation centre was something which usually I would say I had absolutely no interest in- Analytics. As part of the Smarter Analytics programme, IBM helped an Italian Council reduce it's social security budget by monitoring elderly CO2, methane, smoke levels etc. with a small sensor in their homes- which meant a computer could be alerted immediately whenever one of these levels were dangerously low or high- and immediately send a warden round, rather than constant checks. This piece of technology has saved hundreds of lives- from fires, gas leaks, trips and falls and O.A.Ps who have fallen unconscious etc.

This is obviously a breakthrough piece of technology which has revolutionised care homes in Italy- but has also helped the council save money and time as less human checks are needed. Now, to me this was very interesting, but the way IBM adapts such technology to meet the needs of other clients is the thing that really draws my attention so such an innovative organisations.

Whilst you can monitor the gas and electricity levels used in peoples homes- something gas companies have been able to do for years- they can tell when consumers perform certain activities, for example; cook, shower, boil the kettle etc. and by analysing such data- IBM have worked out a way of determining exactly which TV shows everyone in the nation is watching according to their energy usage.

May not sound that revolutionary- but this type of data, available in vast quantities, could be worth MILLIONS to advertisers. Once an opportunity like this is spotted- IBM act upon it and that is why I am proud to work for such a forward-thinking organisation!!

Some pics from the innovation centre:

Sam's rear end.....not the best snap!

Trying on the brain controlling device

Vicky and Rachel in the Innovation centre

The sniper launcher in it's initial stages

Brain controlled car in action!

Vintage IBM PC!

Beautiful IBM typewriter I fell in love with! Gorgeous vintage- I want one in my house!

After visiting the innovation centre, we had a history lesson on IBM Hursley- a huge Edwardian mansion- and the only property that IBM owns in the UK. The place was stunning and I wish I could work here everyday!!!

The Winter Gardens

Gorgeous features

Client meeting room (who wouldn't buy from us with that view!! Better than staring out over grey concrete buildings in London I reckon)

one of the many beautiful fireplaces

Mine and Rachel's attempted selfie!

Managed one haha

See the servants bells on the walls!

SO stunning- stairs in main hall

another selfie (how sad I am)

The exterior- end to a great day!!

What a lush location and a great day overall!

Going to try and write a bit more about IBM and the stuff I'm getting up to there!

Steph

Sponsored Tweets and ANOTHER bad example of PR

Saw a very interesting article on the Daily Mail website today which you can read here...
The article tells of an angry British Airways customer who has paid for a sponsored tweet in order to express his frustration of losing a bag on the airline:

The tweet below followed which details the impressions and coverage the original sponsored tweet received:

Final Stats pic.twitter.com/adNW4JMTAL
—  (@HVSVN) September 3, 2013

 Clearly his anger at the airline and his desire to gain some notice, sympathy and for the airline to resolve the issue must have been strong for him to pay $1000 for a sponsored tweet, yet the press coverage and extending twitter discussions lead to more than notice from BA.

As a big virgin fan which you may have noticed from previous posts- this thrills me as British Airways dirty tactics have been evident in the past. But reiterating what I have said a million times bad PR can be avoided with the RIGHT RESPONSE to customer complaints (evident in the bodyform blog post).

British Airways took 24 hours to reply to the tweet- and told @HVSVN to contact them through private messaging. Have they not learnt from Tesco's mistake? Instant responses can avert disaster! Clearly the situation did get out of hand and has erupted to world wide media....

With simple planning in place alongside a dedicated customer service social media team who operate constantly- this could have been avoided. Clearly- with the negative publicity of an organisation, the competition steps in, see this tweet from the CMO of Marketing at JetBlue:

Interesting; a disgruntled customer is buying a promoted tweet slamming a brand where they had a bad experience. That's a new trend itself!
— Marty St. George (@martysg) September 3, 2013

 @HVSVN has clearly caused a world of marketing and social media experts to question their own PR strategy and rethink the use of sponsored tweets!

On the other hand-  a fantastic use of PR from my old favourite Virgin Atlantic- when a similar complaint from an airline customer arised in the form of a letter complaining about the food on board which you can read here, Richard Branson the CEO of Virgin actually rang the customer and offered for the customer to come and help design the new menu onboard!

Take note British Airways!!

Clearly the press/customers are going to make a comparison and in the tough world it is as much about how you deal with the aftermath of bad customer service as much as delivering good customer service in the first place.

Steph

Miley's negative publicity

Andrew Loog Oldham said, "there is no such thing as bad publicity" when he was manager of the Rolling Stones in the 60's. He positioned and promoted a "bad boy" image for The Rolling Stones which opposed the clean cut band from Liverpool; The Beatles. His positioning and brand image generated world wide printed headlines such as, "Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone?" The brand has clearly stood the test of time- which poses the question, is bad publicity one of the most clever tactics a marketer can use?

If you haven't seen/heard/received some form of buzz around Miley Cyrus' antics this week- then where have you been? Literally EVERYONE has been talking about her music video/VMA performance. If not then you can read all the drama HERE....

Jonah Berger posted a very interesting Linkedin post on why this may be Miley Cyrus' best career move yet and I totally agree. You may or may not have read my post on Sankeys Manchester and their rejection of Justin Bieber which lead to an uproar in the press....(if not go ahead and read ;-)) well this carries the same theory.

If Miley had just relaunched herself as an 'adult star' with the same attitudes and personality she carried in her Hannah Montana days- then I guarantee there wouldn't be the hype that there is regarding her music, the video wouldn't have had over 175 million views and I wouldn't be writing this blog post!

What I'm getting at- is that whilst people may be saying she's gone mad or she's ruined her career, the fact is- the vast majority of them will watch her music videos, download her tracks and watch her TV appearances.

 “There is only one thing in life that is worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”

Oscar Wilde