A major media event called the IBM Smart Business Series was created. By appealing to their sense of social responsibility (and ego) we engaged some leaders of industry in debate and showed that IBM was committed to leading change. This was how IBM and themes of Smarter Planet came to the table for discussion along with some of Australia’s top business people.Along with Australia’s leading business magazine, The Deal, we invited the top names in business to three events in News Corporation’s Sydney boardroom. An IBM expert sat at every table guiding discussion and offering expertise.The Smart Business Series produced very lively debate, covered in The Deal magazine (6-8 page spread) and through a dedicated website to which others were invited to join the discussion online. TV, newspapers and online were also used.

We created conversations about Smarter Planet themes both at the events, in print and online.Best-in-class engagement on the IBM ASBS website• Average session time: 12 minutes• 2,650,000 impressions served• 2,500 video views•91 White paper downloadsConsideration of using IBM as a business solutions partner in the future increased from 18% to 28% wave on wave.We made the news, several times, demonstrating IBM’s leadership and commitment to the issues to the broader business audience.