Business software provider Infor is determined to give industry leaders, SAP and Oracle, some competition by launching its first global campaign since its inception seven years ago. At the heart of the seven-month campaign are a pair of satirical characters designed to represent the ‘uncaring, bloated and big-business mentality’ of its competitors.
The campaign is designed to raise brand awareness and is targeted at senior decision makers in IT companies and businesses with 500 plus staff members. It will encompass print, out-of-home (OOH), online and social media marketing.
Developed by American agency, PJA Advertising and Marketing, it first took shape last year and dropped in the US on November 2. PJA approached Banner to be its European partner and the agency led the roll out across the UK, France and Germany where it ran from February. It will run from May across Asia-Pacific.
Creating the characters
The characters were drawn by illustrator Steve Brodner who is recognised for his work in publications including The Washington Post and The New York Times. They were designed to symbolise companies which offer enterprise resource planning (ERP) software – namely Infor’s two biggest competitors.
Infor conducted customer research which, “revealed dissatisfaction with business software vendors – especially among mid-size companies,” says Mike O’Toole, president of PJA. Its representations of these companies were named ‘Big ERP’ in an effort to link them with connotations of the bloated monopolies and fat tycoon characters of 1990s political cartoons.
Opting to launch a global advertising campaign with a budget that “is not insubstantial” – according to Rupert Denny, media client services director at Banner – as the world is creeping out of a recession would strike fear into a less daring marketer’s heart. However according to Emma Rainey, Infor’s UKIMEA marketing director, “People are feeling optimistic.”
The marketing mix
Ads ran in The Telegraph and the FT – in print and online – as these publications were deemed to appeal to Infor’s target audience. They also appeared in trade press, airports and train stations. All elements drove people to the microsite (www.downwithbigERP.com).
Some advertising went live at London Heathrow in February. More will follow in major UK train stations in March. When asked about the staggered effect, Denny explains, “The airports feature digital adverts which are easier to prepare. It proved too hard to get all the paper ads printed and up at the same time.”
Infor encompassed social media by giving one of the big ERP characters a Twitter feed. This has almost 500 followers and the character has been interviewed by CIO.com. Infor is also active on Facebook and LinkedIn. O’Toole says, “Eighty per cent of decision makers in the software adoption process use information from social media channels to help guide their purchasing decisions.”
For a global campaign to be a success it must be localised. O’Toole adds, “We have been conducting research to test the creative and messaging so it grabs people’s attention and resonates in every country.”
Preliminary results
Results from America suggest the campaign will do well. Rainey claims that Infor has seen a five per cent click through on its advertising banners where it would normally be one or two per cent. There have been over 80,000 unique visitors to the microsite and people are staying for up to two minutes, clicking through to the corporate site and downloading whitepapers.
Rainey describes how previous campaigns focused heavily on DM. She says web marketing has proven more cost effective. However she adds, “I don’t believe in ever ditching a marketing technique, it just becomes part of the mix.”
