Flextronics is a $26B company that makes smart, connected devices that most of us use every day. To unveil what they call the Intelligence of Things, we needed to find a new voice for this previously silent brand.

This challenge required a new way of thinking. Through a process we call Collaborative Journalism, our team of hybrid journalists was granted access into previously unseen corners of the company. We covered the brand as a beat, and with a focus on collaborative content on a foundation of data and analytics, a series of stories came to life that spoke to the core of Flextronics.

Enter INTELLIGENCE – an editorial platform focused on the global evolution of technology and the innovations within Flextronics. We created a quarterly print and online magazine that formed the foundation of an exploration of Flextronics’ role as the world’s leading provider of technologies that are inseparable from human interactions.

Starting with distribution at the World Economic Forum in Davos, we captivated industry leaders. We helped transform Flextronics’ corporate reputation strategy, drove media attention and positioned company visionaries as thought leaders on a global stage. INTELLIGENCE continues to resonate with the public as well as forward-thinking business leaders on a website where visitors can find creative, social extensions of stories.

Collaborative Journalism provided Flextronics with a storytelling network that’s every bit as intelligent as the things they design, giving them for the first time an active voice in the future of technology.

Week 1: Agree on insight, strategy, messaging. Launch research (Berland).

Week 2: Reporters, video, photo teams embed at Flextronics’ innovation labs.

Week 3: Editorial team incorporates research results and editorial assets into a lineup, sharing with communications teams and client to align on key messages and strategy.

Weeks 4-5: Editorial team goes into full production – writing, editing, designing, printing, developing print and digital content. Simultaneously, media teams begin pitching and sharing key messages at events.

Week 6: Editorial hubs are published. Launch social and paid strategies to promote content hubs, continue to draw from content well for earned media opportunities.

Weeks 6+: Editorial and communications teams continue to measure, optimize and refresh content.

INTELLIGENCE introduced the world to Flextronics’ revolutionary role in the Internet of Things. We established them for the first time as a transparent, articulate player on the world stage, redefined their brand voice and gave them an iconic visual identity that was the perfect match for their bold ideas and is now their symbol for defining the Intelligence of Things.

Our unique stories drove PR and media while our social campaign encouraged conversations. Appearances included an on-air interview with CEO Mike McNamara on Jim Kramer’s “Mad Money” as well as placements in CNET, Financial Times, The Economist, Fox Business, Huffington Post and more. These successes reinforced our belief that Collaborative Journalism drives earned media in a way not possible through traditional advertising.

Highlights included:

- 5,000 print run magazine

- 2,000 copies distributed to every hotel and central meeting place at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

- Keynote speech at DLD in ?Munich, Germany

- Highly visible presence in media around CES, DLD, Davos and more