24 7 / 2009
IBM’s Smarter Planet
IBM’s Smarter Planet campaign is genius for many reasons. Here are three:
1. It demonstrates that IBM is on board with the “doing well by doing good” version of capitalism that has begun to dominate the business landscape. This reassures stakeholders and potential customers that IBM is capable of adapting to a changing environment and is thus, a sustainable investment.
2. Smarter Planet exemplifies how information should be communicated: as simply as possible. The combination of graphics and basic language make the vast amount of information and concepts digestible to most people. When you have a message with legs, you can make a much bigger impact.
3. Instead of harping on highly publicized issues like energy, IBM looks at the wider systems that need adjustment before the industries that serve them can be fixed. For example, before putting vast resources into the development of clean energy technology, we must first ask, why do we need the energy in the first place? The answer is usually an even larger issue. In this case, part of the answer to this question is global supply chains fueled by consumerism.
