Toronto-based Ogilvy & Mather and its direct response division, Ogilvy & Mather Direct, are spearheading the strategic development and creative execution of an integrated global advertising and direct marketing campaign for ibm’s AS400 mid-range server division.

o&m’s Canadian outfit was chosen by Armonk, n.y.-based ibm as the lead agency on the year-long assignment, the billing value of which was not disclosed, on the basis of the quality of work it had done on an earlier campaign that had been divided between a number of o&m’s international offices.

According to Sue Turnbull, ibm’s manager of worldwide advertising and direct response marketing for the AS400 division, o&m Toronto’s work stood out as particularly well-crafted and attuned to the needs of ibm’s target audience.

Of particular note, she says, was a direct mail campaign o&m Toronto created last fall to encourage ibm’s AS400 customer base to consider developing an Internet business strategy. Offering a feasibility study to prospects who were worried about the implications of moving into the world of the Internet, the mailing, with creative consisting entirely of text and no visuals, ‘pulled 10 times the usual response rate,’ Turnbull says.

‘It was very cleverly written, and the offer and strategy were excellent,’ she adds.

A large portion of o&m’s current assignment will consist of a five-part direct mail upgrade campaign targeted to ibm’s base of AS400 users around the world. Print advertising in information technology publications will comprise the bulk of the rest of the campaign.

Explaining the underlying strategy, Turnbull says that while more than 400,000 AS400 units have been installed since the business computing system was introduced in 1988, relatively few users have switched to a new, more powerful generation of AS400 machines, the 64-bit Advanced Series line, introduced in 1994.

The overall goal of the campaign, which is expected to begin this month, is to convince original AS400 users that they should invest in an upgrade if they want to be able to take full advantage of the technological developments proliferating in the business world, including groupware computing, data warehousing and data mining, and secure electronic commerce.

Turnbull says each ‘tactic’ in the five-part campaign will profile a different technological trend occurring in the marketplace and will show how the newer AS400 can be used to take full advantage of the application.

‘We’re challenging o&m to come up with innovative ways to help our install base understand how they can get the most out of their AS400 computer system,’ says Turnbull.

According to Rose Cameron, o&m’s senior account director, the target audience is one that is primarily conservative and risk averse, so the creative execution will emphasize the point that they can modernize their hardware without having to abandon the software systems that they have come to rely upon over the years.

Cameron says the direct mail series will focus on the benefits of network computing, specifically how it can allow businesses to ‘bring people together, get them to work smarter, as well as helping them to get to know their customers better and respond to their demands faster.’

She says the strategy is based on research that was collected from AS400 customers around the world. ‘We try to find the common denominators that compel customers, then we write to those issues.’

Trying to create a winning formula for a campaign that cuts across national and cultural boundaries ‘makes you work a lot smarter,’ Cameron says, ‘because you have to develop the key messages that cut to the chase.

‘In advertising, we often get a little too cute with our messages, when sometimes it’s best just to get straight to the point and have a very clear, single-minded message.’ she says.

Turnbull agrees, admitting that she was not sure in the beginning if an integrated marketing campaign of such magnitude could draw the desired results. She is confident now that it can.

‘When we started last year,’ she explains, ‘we thought we would be faced with major adaptations all over the place. It turned out not to be the case, though. The technology needs of people around the world are remarkably similar, and the way they make decisions are pretty similar, too.’

The campaign is one of several international efforts O&M Direct has worked on in the recent past, including Reader’s Digest global repositioning, the launch of a mixed-media retail campaign in the u.s. for Harlequin Enterprises, and a co-operative effort with O&M Chicago on last year’s debut of AOL Canada.

That trend, according to Brian Fetherstonhaugh, president of the agency’s Canadian office, is indicative of O&M Worldwide’s philosophy that there should be no borders anywhere within the organization.

‘In the past year or so, we’ve become very active in exporting programs and ideas, and sometimes even staff, to the rest of the world,’ says Fetherstonhaugh.