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IBM Marketing

To create innovative technology solutions that transform businesses and society by leading the global technology revolution through AI-powered hybrid cloud solutions.

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To create innovative technology solutions that transform businesses and society by leading the global technology revolution through AI-powered hybrid cloud solutions.

Strengths

  • EXPERTISE: Industry-leading AI and hybrid cloud technology portfolio
  • BRAND: 112-year legacy with 97% recognition among Fortune 1000
  • WATSONX: Differentiated enterprise AI platform with 35% adoption
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Strategic alliances with 80+ global technology leaders
  • TALENT: 260,000+ skilled professionals across 175 countries

Weaknesses

  • COMPLEXITY: Messaging fragmentation across product portfolio
  • AGILITY: Slow market response compared to cloud-native competitors
  • PERCEPTION: Legacy brand image despite significant transformation
  • INTEGRATION: Inconsistent customer experience across touchpoints
  • METRICS: Insufficient marketing attribution and ROI measurement

Opportunities

  • AI DEMAND: Projected $1T enterprise AI market by 2026
  • VERTICALS: Deeper penetration in healthcare, finance, government
  • SUSTAINABILITY: Growing demand for green tech with measurable ROI
  • SECURITY: Rising cybersecurity concerns driving enterprise spending
  • EXPERTISE: Skills gap creating demand for consultative partnerships

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Aggressive moves from AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud
  • TALENT: Tech talent war with 27% higher compensation at competitors
  • ECONOMY: Potential budget constraints amid economic uncertainty
  • REGULATION: Evolving AI governance and compliance requirements
  • PERCEPTION: Being viewed as legacy vs. innovative market leader

Key Priorities

  • POSITIONING: Sharpen AI-first narrative with clear market differentiation
  • EXPERIENCE: Unify customer journey across all touchpoints and channels
  • MEASUREMENT: Implement advanced attribution for marketing ROI clarity
  • TALENT: Attract top marketing talent with specialized AI expertise

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To create innovative technology solutions that transform businesses and society by leading the global technology revolution through AI-powered hybrid cloud solutions.

OWN THE AI NARRATIVE

Establish IBM as the definitive enterprise AI leader

  • MESSAGING: Launch unified AI value proposition across all channels with 85% message consistency score
  • CONTENT: Develop 15 high-impact AI thought leadership assets generating 25K+ enterprise engagements
  • AWARENESS: Increase AI conversation share of voice from 17% to 25% across key industry verticals
  • PERCEPTION: Improve AI innovation brand attribute score from 72 to 85 in market research surveys
UNIFY EXPERIENCE

Deliver seamless customer journeys across all touchpoints

  • PLATFORM: Implement integrated marketing technology stack with 95% data connectivity across systems
  • JOURNEY: Optimize top 5 customer journeys increasing conversion rates by 35% and reducing friction by 40%
  • PERSONALIZATION: Deploy AI-powered personalization engine across digital properties for 25% engagement lift
  • SATISFACTION: Increase marketing touchpoint satisfaction scores from 73 to 88 across all channels
MEASURE IMPACT

Implement advanced attribution for marketing ROI clarity

  • ANALYTICS: Deploy multi-touch attribution model that tracks 90% of marketing touchpoints to revenue
  • DASHBOARDS: Create executive marketing impact dashboard with real-time visibility for all stakeholders
  • EFFICIENCY: Reduce CAC by 18% through data-driven optimization of campaign and channel performance
  • FORECASTING: Implement predictive pipeline models with 90%+ accuracy for 6-month revenue forecasting
BUILD TALENT

Develop world-class AI-powered marketing capabilities

  • SKILLS: Train 100% of marketing team on AI foundations with 85% achieving advanced certification
  • SPECIALISTS: Recruit 12 AI marketing specialists in key roles with 90%+ retention after 12 months
  • TOOLS: Equip 85% of marketing team with AI productivity tools showing 30%+ efficiency improvement
  • INNOVATION: Launch 3 industry-first AI marketing innovations showcasing IBM's technology leadership
METRICS
  • Hybrid cloud and AI revenue growth: 18% YoY for 2025, 22% YoY for 2026
  • Marketing-influenced pipeline: $12.8B in Q2 with 28% conversion rate
  • AI solution net promoter score (NPS): 65 (up from 57 in previous quarter)
VALUES
  • Dedication to every client's success
  • Innovation that matters—for our company and the world
  • Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion for all IBMers

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Align the learnings

IBM Marketing Retrospective

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To create innovative technology solutions that transform businesses and society by leading the global technology revolution through AI-powered hybrid cloud solutions.

What Went Well

  • REVENUE: Hybrid cloud revenue increased 17% YoY, exceeding forecast by 3%
  • CONSULTING: IBM Consulting grew 9% with AI-related engagements up 22%
  • WATSONX: Enterprise AI platform adoption exceeded targets by 15% QoQ
  • PARTNERSHIPS: Strategic alliance revenue contribution up 28% from Q1

Not So Well

  • PIPELINE: Marketing qualified leads decreased 8% in mid-market segment
  • EFFICIENCY: CAC increased 12% due to fragmented campaign strategies
  • AWARENESS: Share of voice in AI conversation trails top 3 competitors
  • CONVERSION: Digital experience conversion rates declined 6% YoY

Learnings

  • INTEGRATION: Cross-functional collaboration drives better campaign ROI
  • CLARITY: Simplified messaging substantially improves conversion rates
  • TARGETING: Account-based marketing outperforms broad-based campaigns
  • ATTRIBUTION: Advanced analytics reveal true performance drivers

Action Items

  • PLATFORM: Implement unified marketing tech stack with AI capabilities
  • CONTENT: Develop industry-specific AI thought leadership program
  • METRICS: Deploy advanced attribution model across all channels
  • EXPERIENCE: Optimize digital customer journey with AI personalization

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To create innovative technology solutions that transform businesses and society by leading the global technology revolution through AI-powered hybrid cloud solutions.

Strengths

  • WATSONX: Enterprise-grade, trustworthy AI platform with guardrails
  • DATA: Massive proprietary client datasets across industries
  • RESEARCH: World-class AI research labs with 85+ active patents
  • TRUST: Strong reputation for responsible, ethical AI development
  • INTEGRATION: AI embedded across entire enterprise product suite

Weaknesses

  • COMPLEXITY: AI positioning complexity vs. simplified competitor messaging
  • ADOPTION: Slower AI tool integration within marketing workflows
  • TALENT: Limited AI-specialized marketing professionals on team
  • MEASUREMENT: Underdeveloped AI-powered marketing analytics
  • SPEED: Lengthy content approval processes limiting AI agility

Opportunities

  • PERSONALIZATION: AI-driven hyper-personalization at enterprise scale
  • AUTOMATION: Content and campaign optimization through AI
  • INTELLIGENCE: Predictive analytics for improved lead scoring
  • EFFICIENCY: AI-powered marketing process optimization
  • INNOVATION: First-mover advantage in emerging AI marketing trends

Threats

  • COMPETITION: Competitors leveraging AI for rapid marketing innovation
  • PERCEPTION: Market confusion around IBM's AI marketing capabilities
  • REGULATION: Evolving AI privacy and ethical marketing guidelines
  • QUALITY: Potential brand damage from improper AI implementation
  • DEPENDENCE: Over-reliance on AI without human strategic oversight

Key Priorities

  • PLATFORM: Develop AI-powered marketing technology stack
  • UPSKILLING: Build comprehensive AI marketing capability program
  • SHOWCASE: Demonstrate IBM's AI through own marketing practices
  • GOVERNANCE: Establish responsible AI marketing framework

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AI Disclosure

This report was created using the Alignment Method—our proprietary process for guiding AI to reveal how it interprets your business and industry. These insights are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.

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