How can you encourage IT Managers in large enterprises to learn more about service-oriented architecture (SOA) and to enter an interactive dialogue with IBM?

A fictional IT Manager, Mr. Frank Bremer, becomes the star of our campaign which monitors his path to success across a variety of media. The constantly updated Website www.quovadis-bremer.de is the central hub on which Bremer publishes his Weblog and encourages visitors to take part. To kick off the campaign, a book was sent out in which Bremer “speaks” about previous IT challenges he had to face as the IT Manager of the fictional company “Panta Rhei”. The story suddenly stops and is continued on the Web and via a number of subsequent mailings. Additionally, a large-scale ambient campaign was launched.

The kick-off mailing was sent to 2250 addressees. Random telemarketing (82 contacts) has shown a response rate of 56%, exceeding IBM’s expectations by 30%. 34% of all invitees have visited the Website after receiving the kick-off mailing – a huge success, since figures typically tend to amount to just 2–3 %. Another remarkable fact: after the kick-off, 54 visitors spontaneously left an entry on the Website – without having been asked to do so.