Introduction In the Information Technology world, IBM has been considered as a redoubtable giant of other IT Company, because it is not

only its flashy history, but also the way IBM has recovered its business until now. In the period of time 1980s, IBM was at the first place in the top of market for mainframe computers and had a strong growth in revenue and profit. However, in the 1990s, the Blue Chip went down uncontrollably and was out of number 250 in Interbrands annual survey of the most valued brands with a brand value, its stock price was at the lowest within 18 years. The situation was changed when IBM brought Lou Gerstner into Company and he became new CEO who had a mission of turning around IBM. He had studied the IBMs situation at that time and came to the conclusion. Afterwards, that man ran a number of campaigns related to reorganizing company, running advertising such as Subtitles image-oriented advertising campaign with Ogilvy & Mather, E-business campaign launched by the late 90s, the next campaign was ON demand in terms of Business Services market performed by new CEO of IBM- Samuel Pamisano. The Other IBM and Help Desk Campaigns took a look in another side- Business Process Transformation Services market in the 2000s, after IBM was pleased with the results from The Other IBM and Help Desk campaigns, IBM had continued launching Innovation That Matters Campaign concerned as a means to change how to do business when seeking ways to grow in March 2006. From the beginning of launching the first campaign of Lou Gerstner to the Innovation That Matters, IBM created the great comeback stories in the history of corporate America. However, IBM still keeps its image as Big Blue, maintain and develop itself image more than mainframe computers.

Executive Summary The objectives of the paper includes four main parts. First of all, it analyze and explain the role of advertising in the integrated promotional strategy for IBM globally and in Vietnam particularly. This part will explain roles of advertising and how to relate each role with advertising. Besides, it also explain the integrated promotional strategy and tools. Finally, it will be used to analyze by AIDA and DAGMAR model. The second phase explain what the branding is and how it is used to strengthen the position and image of IBM in general and in Vietnam in particular. It also concerns how branding benefits the company and provide the other disadvantages of branding. Other phase aims at making a review the creative aspects of advertising in the given case of IBM. It describes the creative decision making process, message and appeals. And final phase is to examine ways of working with advertising agencies, and the way a small business in Vietnam may make a different decision about advertising agency than that of IBM.

Content I. The role of advertising in the integrated promotional strategy for IBM globally and in Vietnam particularly. Advertising can be defined as any paid form of non-personal promotion transmitted through a mass medium. The sponsor should clear identified and the advertisement may relate to an organization, a product or a service1. It means that advertising is an important promotional tool to help companies to achieve communication objective, marketing objective and business objective. Effective advertising can lead to increased market share and greater profitability. Advertising is a useful tool to reach a large targeted audience and add a value to brand by influencing consumers perception. Besides, in the integrated promotional strategy, it takes advantages of a combination tools and media to deliver an important message. By means of combining significant tools, marketers can ensure that their audience is reached and can leverage the various tools in ways that are most effective. Integrated promotional strategies draw upon the power of traditional advertising and public relation efforts, the use of new, and online communication tools as well that include social media Roles of advertising include five parts which are inform, persuade, remind, add value, and assist other efforts. First of all, inform is responsible for making consumers aware, educating them about the features and benefits, and facilitating the creation of products or services. It also informs them about specific brands. The second phase is persuade customers to try new products, brands and services. It also create demand for entity product category and build secondary demand. Persuading concerns with the stimulating the actual purchase. The third is remind which means that companies must find the way how to keep brand of company fresh in the memory of consumers. It also helps to create the highest awareness of consumers about product and service categories of every company, and this phase is one of the most important part affected consumers purchase decision.

Moreover, from the three main functions above, in order to support for advertising, companies need to add more value to their products and services. This role creates the innovation for the company, they care more about the quality of products and services and find the way to improve them in order to meet the customers needs as well as support well its position in their minds. It does not stop at the point, by adding more value for products and services, companies can drive customers perception to what they have and make customers believe what they do to create the benefits for customers. Advertising also assists other efforts such as delivering sales promotions, assisting sales representatives, pre-selling products and services. Generally, the advertising is mainly used to support sales increases, encourage trials, create and stimulate customers awareness, inform about features and benefits, remind and reassure the existing as well as new products and services, create in mind of customers a brand image, and gain trade and sales staff support. In the case of IBM Company, before Lou Gerstner had become the new CEO of IBM, this Company had to face with a tragedy that IBM had lost a total of $5 billion and its stock price was at an 18-year low. The brand is below number 250 in Interbrands annual survey of the most valued brands with a brand value, estimated at a negative $50 million dollars. In the time period that Lou was CEO of IBM, he approached customers by speaking with customers to understand their needs and how they knew what IBM is about. He launched the new advertising campaign in January 1995 known as Subtitles with the tag line Solution for a Small planet. This campaign was successful in communicating that technology affects people around the world and IBM was recognized as a provider of solution and also drove customers into believing the features and benefits about new technologies, understanding needs and having unique solution to make a difference. In 1997, IBM published a manifesto in two famous and prestigious presses which are The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, using a written in business terms a CEO or CIO would use. This way was working well when bring the brand image went deeply into minds of potential customers that IBM knew their business and could help them solve problems in order to run better.

Moreover, IBM purchased the consulting firm Price Waterhouse Coopers in 2002 in the ON Demand campaign under the dynasty of Samuel Palmisano- new CEO of IBM. This action was to innovate IBM business from software, hardware to secondary demand- services at the toplevel decision makers with new features in technologies and bring benefits in solutions for all size businesses, it also emphasizes again the brand image IBM in the awareness of all types of customers. Afterwards, in the advertising, the red ON button combined with the words DEMAND BUSINESS ( as the image above) was the brand signature in all marketing materials, and once ON DEMAND BUSINESS is rehearsed, people recalls IBM with all about the technology and movements in solutions of business services. All types of advertising such as manifesto in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, television campaign, billboards was used in IBMs advertising campaigns globally. But particularly in Vietnam, it seems that those types of advertising were not working well. From 1993 to 1996, IBM researched Vietnam market, then decided to authorize representatives and established first companies in Vietnam in terms of fresh technology, cloud computing, fresh center database and electronic medicine. IBM has been facing with many difficulties when penetrating in Vietnam and wanting to advertising about IBM. In Vietnam, IBM cannot use all types of advertising promotional tools because, first of all, it relates to budget when Vietnam

cannot afford to purchase a full package as the way Ogilvy and Mather did globally. The second one is that if IBM runs the television commercials in Vietnam, Vietnamese customers cannot understand what IBM wants to communicate because of the difference between two cultures and unequal information technology level. Beside, in 2000s, almost people watched to TV more than used Internet, so advertising based on Internet was not popular and ineffective. Suppose IBM brings King Arthur scene on television commercials, whether customers can realize the message IBM wants to deliver to or not and Vietnamese people just knows IBM as a computer brand. The way IBM cooperates with Vietnam Companies and advertises is through contract with companies to open Global Deliver Center (GDC) to provide services such as e-commercials, e-distribution and controlling. Besides, IBM also is main sponsor for Kid Smart Kindergarten. II. Branding and how to use it to strengthen the position and image of IBM globally and in Vietnam Branding is the process by which companies distinguish their offerings from the competition. By developing a distinctive name, packaging and design, a brand is created2. In other words, branding is a name, a sign, symbol or design, intended to identify the products, services of a company and to differentiate it from the competitors. Brand is a precious intangible asset of a company which creates the identity of company in the market. First of all, it should be made clearly some terms and definitions. Brand identity is a combination many factors, including name, logo, symbols, design, packaging, and performance of a product or service as well as the image or types of associations that comes to mind when consumers think about a brand. It encompasses the entire spectrum of consumers awareness, knowledge, and image of the brand as well as the company behind it. Branding identity is a means of identifying and distinguishing a company from another. If a company having an attractive and unique brand identity have improved brand awareness, motivated team of employees who is proud of working in a well branded organization, active buyers, and corporate culture. It also leads to brand loyalty, high credibility, good prices and good financial returns. Moreover, it ensures that company and consumers are connected immediately. Therefore, brand identity should be sustainable. It is crucial so that the consumers instantly correlate with companys products or/and services. In the case of IBM, through a period of time, brand identity has been clearer and clearer until now, and stimulated awareness in consumers mind. Take a look the history logo of IBM as given below.

And this is the newest logo of IBM designed in 2011:

Consumers are easy to realize IBM brand identity, and in the year of 2011, brand logo of IBM is a combination between the symbols, sign with new tagline Intelligence Redefined. With the help of agency, Forty has helped IBM to rethink their brand identity. It emphasizes the youthful, energetic, hip, accessible, forward-thinking, and transparent. The message that IBM wants to deliver with this logo is making people smarter. The new design also is attractive with the current trend of using lower case letters and the combination colors made the circle with cut b letter that seems to be one eye. Brand equity is the value and strength of the brand that decides its worth. In the market place, brand equity is considered as a function of consumer choice, which appears when consumers is

familiar with the brand and holds some favorable positive strong and distinctive brand association in mind. In order to build a brand equity well, a company must contribute brand awareness, brand association, brand loyalty. As shown above, IBM differentiates itself from other computing companies by providing services and technology products to businesses. All over the world, IBM has anchored itself as innovator and worlds technology firm, and IBM also remained consistent to its original identity. When people, companies think of business computing and solution services, IBM appears immediately, therefore, this awareness is one of an important factor of differentiation that sets IBM apart from other competitions. Another reason why IBM always keeps their brand equity well is company delivers their brand ideas closely and continue checking and assessing if their brand equity accumulated in a right way to ensure the consistent. As mentioned above, brand awareness factor supports well for brand equity, and IBM was realizing that point, Mike Moran Distinguished Engineer3 of IBM knew that keyword searchers choose are indicative of their level of brand awareness. Therefore, he created brand awareness with search, and used this for the ON Demand Campaign. At the beginning of campaign, no searchers look for the term, therefore, IBM started to advertise using tradition means to embed the name ON Demand in searchers minds. ON Demand also is a message that can be applied to many parts of IBMs portfolio, so it was a good choice for increasing brand awareness. Branding also brings a significant of benefits for company. First and foremost, any companies, organizations always sees customers as a King, therefore, company needs to build brand well in order to keep the loyalty of customers. When customers have a positive experiences with a memorable brand, they are easier to make decision to purchase products or services than competing brands. When customers have a good experience with the brand, they are not only repurchasing products and/or services but also buying related items, services of the same brand. Moreover, they also recommend the brand to others and to resist the lure of a competitors price cut. Here, the brand equity anchor loyalty of customers. Besides, investors have considered as financial source of company in a number of business activities, therefore, the way company build its brand also is one of factors for investors whether to invest more or less. Investors are interested in long-term growth and realize that strong brand will stimulate and support well for every coin they spend, a great brand can take investors straight to the top and satisfy them. This is an interactive relationship, when they realize brand equity is good enough and brand is valuable, both of two parties are having advantages. Another phase is that branding can affect

company cultures. The brand of company creates a reason for motivating staff, the loyalty of staff to company. In fact, employees that share the values of company have a meaningful connection with the direction of management will stay longer and move less. Besides, new recruits are often interested in working for well-known brands consistent with their own values and image of themselves. Furthermore, staff who understand clearly the expected behaviors and norms work together effectively to achieve the desired work environment, and when they are working with customers, the cultures will become their momentum to display the beautiful reaction and make attraction to customers. Start with the Solution for a Small Planet, the advertising commercials used the same imagery but were varied for each country by the use of subtitles in the local language. The customers also had knew IBM as a provider of software and hardware, but IBM also was successful in portraying itself as a provider in a new field solving business problem. The Subtitles campaign was successful in orienting IBM image and making people know it in a new position. The brand IBM continued positioning itself in term of technology and provider solutions for business problems with the ON Demand campaign. This campaign focused on shifting from PCs and machines to business value with end -to-end integrated solution. And people knew about it when IBM created customer testimonials to make them believe that ON Demand was real and different. This action made people have attraction again about IBM, and afterwards, the red ON button combined with the words DEMAN BUSINESS became the brand signature globally. In particular, when IBM penetrated Vietnam, branding always was priority, the company used its own brand for signature in order to help Vietnamese customers remember easily, but as a coin has two sides, so does IBM in Vietnam, because afterwards, it is hard to re-position and expand brand in Vietnam market. Although those campaigns carried out globally to build IBM brand in some parts, it gains low results when Vietnam customers just knew IBM as a provider of technology software and hardware. In order to use IBM brand to strengthen the position and image in Vietnam, IBM Company must set up advertising campaigns related to this brand that are suitable with customers needs. Not only in technology part but also in providing solution services. IBM can cooperate with information technology in term of providing controlling computing systems for industrial companies for examples. Moreover, IBM also carries out television commercials with content that is suitable with Vietnamese cultures.

III.

Creative aspects of advertising in the case of IBM

Creative decision making process has 4 main parts as follow:

1. Determine the advertising objectives In this case, DAGMAR model is used to analyze on order to find the way to improve advertising campaign. DAGMAR model is broken into 3 parts: define advertising goals; comprises five stages ( Unawareness, Awareness, Comprehension, Conviction and Action) which customers pass through before making decision to purchase product or/ and service; and the final part is to measure advertising results. 1.1.Defining Advertising Goals

The company must research and analyze the target audience in order to measure current situation related to awareness, comprehension and conviction. From this action, company finds the realistic goals for the advertising campaign. Prior to carrying out advertising campaigns when cooperating with Oglivy & Mather, IBM was under the worst situation have ever had before, and reached its nadir, but afterwards, when Lou worked with O&M agencies in order to operate a significant advertising campaigns such as Solution for a Small Planet, ON Demand, etc. the customers awareness was raising. Therefore, Company set up a higher goals and on the way to turn back in the Dinosaur position. 1.2.Improving Unawareness Awareness Comprehension Conviction and Action This phase is to explain the process that customers go through before they purchase products or/and services. The process is as follows: First of all, obviously, company cannot cover all the people and hope them to be customers, so IBM must identify who the target audience of Company is, because, in fact, not everyone are interested in its products or services. Let take The Other IBM and Help Desk as the examples, IBM set up target audience which is not only related to PCs and machines, but also is processes and enterprise optimization as well, because IBM was facing with the $1.2 trillion Business Process Transformation Services market, and a lot of people just know IBM as technology consulting. Next is comprehension that IBM want customers perceive what products, services benefit them? Advertising brings a clear picture about benefits and features of products and services. It will stimulate customers awareness, and then IBM build conviction and a positive attitude to the product/ service. In some parts, the advertising campaign persuade customers to have a good review about product. Finally, the action is performed, The Other IBM campaign is to become more profitable, efficient, and competitive, in other words, this campaign wants to drive customers considering IBM not only technology consulting but also business optimization one. 1.3.Measure Advertising Effectiveness Follow the chosen advertising model, IBM implements the measurement the result and effectiveness of campaign by evaluating whether the goals are achieved 2. Make creative decision

2.1.Identify the product benefit Company must make a list about benefits without exception in order to identify what benefits technology and enterprise optimization consulting bring. Based on the feedbacks or recommendation of customers, Company knows what the points are the benefits and features customers can get when purchasing products, services. Besides, IBM research products of competitors before manufacturing a new product or providing a new services. 2.2.Develop and evaluate advertisement appeals There are many determinants that IBM can base on to decide the appeal of an advertising such as profit appeal, fear appeal, admiration appeal, etc. in the Help Desk campaign, witty and strange appeal is used to catch the curiousity and stimulate awareness of customers, this scene tried to promote The Other IBM. Target customers of these campaign are not only individual in technology consulting, but also are business consulting services. 2.3.Execute the message In The Other IBM, advertising was television commercials which used imagery that alternated between scenes of King Arthur, and it means how IBM Business Consulting could help businesses solve problem in specific areas. Moreover, IBM also established a manifesto in The Wall Street, this manifesto was used to make customers focus on specific areas in the BPTS such as HR, finance and accounting, supply chain and procurement, etc. 3. Make media decision As given above, IBM decided to choose television commercials and manifesto in a famous press which are suitable for their advertising and approach customers as fast as possible. Besides, IBM Company co-operated O&M agency had made an important decision which was focused on Internet Marketing. Many online tools are used such as webcasts, podcasts, virtual meetings, sending customized emails, e catalogs, e newsletters in order to speed up stimulating customer awareness. 4. Evaluate the campaign Finally, IBM Company needs to assess and measure the results gained throughout the advertising campaign. In fact, the effectiveness of the campaign is measured based on the changing of the

sale volume and summary the results whether or not marketers achieve set goals in the campaign. In The Other IBM and Help Desk campaign, the effectiveness is measured by the proportion of customers about products and services of IBM and sales volume at the period of time that campaign was implemented. IV. The ways of working with advertising agency for small business

1. Advertising agencies In Vietnam, an advertising agency has been considers as a smart choice for small businesses, which not afford to hire a famous advertising agencies with a full package, to spend budget effectively, efficiently and efficacy. There are many benefits advertising agencies give companies: design advertising, research and develop, plan advertising campaign, choose suitable media tools, save cost and time, etc. small businesses should hire them to implement the whole advertising campaign. On the other hand, small-sized firms also consider how to work with an advertising agency. Firstly, company has to set an advertising budget approximately, but this action also depends on what types of business company belongs to, the objectives of advertising, how it looks. The company should negotiate the cost structures of advertising agency. All the materials taken part in designing advertising programs, including hiring third party, the placement for advertisement, television commercials fee, etc. therefore, a draft, a document is prepared in details that would be better for small companies. The second phase is to understand what advantages advertising agency can give a small company. Particularly, there are still existing a number of companies that do not have their own marketing department clearly, or some of them are new entrant so the marketing activities are at the low level. Therefore, the suggestions from advertising agency are good at the way how to organize a marketing department with staff allocation as well as the requirements for those working positions. Besides, advertising agency will also have an access to researchers, media buyers, artists, film producers and third party, which is the task that company cannot perform easily. Thirdly, hiring advertising agency can save cost and time. With the detail documents of number of staff and working position for each person, advertising agency can allocate the human

resources with suitable position, which creates favorable conditions for other staff to spend their time in performing other tasks. Besides, the hiring fee for training marketing skills also reduce amount when advertising agency is responsible for doing that task, and save expense for hiring an expert to train staff. Furthermore, advertising agency also has a good relationship with the third parties such as publishers, radio channels, and television station, therefore, advertising agency is considered as an intermediary and cut cost. And agency knows how to save the material during designing process and saving money for firm. Moreover, because the characteristics of business nowadays are more and more complex, so many advertising agencies arise with an uncontrollable quality of work. As a consequence, finding a suitable advertising agency should be paid more attention and what criteria that small business has to understand to choose best. Company should make a list of working requirements, ask for trade association, business contacts. For each advertising campaign, the period of work normally is quarterly, haft of year, or 1 year, even is longer. The recommendations from trade association ensure a certain knowledge and can give company an overview about the business. Consequently, trade association can produce company a list of advertising agencies which have experiences in those fields. Another sources that company can find an advertising agency is business directories which has a function to allocate local advertising agencies or copywriters. Internet sources is also a good way to find more further information related to advertising agencies on a number of websites. The fifth phase is to understand the types of advertising agencies. Before working with one advertising agency, company must fulfil advertising objectives, and advertising agency is responsible for complete well all required objectives to stimulate awareness of stakeholders. Obviously, an advertising agency should have experiences in business fields, can overcome a typical issues such as budgets, research for new customer segmentation, and analyze customer loyalty. One of determinant in the decision to choose advertising agency is its size. The size of agency reflects the effectiveness of work in some parts which does not mean that the greater advertising company, the better service. Before choosing an advertising agency, business should give information in some ways to gather such advertising agencies in round 1, at the round 2, candidates have to take part in the interview to assess the ability of agencies, and then the determination belong to companies which want to hire advertising agencies. With the

characteristics of being a small company which had a limited budget for advertising activities, both two parties need to understand clearly the requirements and the needs together. The documents include advertising objectives, overview information, target audience that company want to drive to should be attached and advertising agency has responsibility to know and understand well because the information in more detail will create an easier working environment for agency and the succeeds will be at a higher level. In other side, agency has to prepare a detail proposal including businesss requirements, specific plan, time scale and the cost in detail and total for each categories based on the ordering of advertising agency. 2. Different decision about advertising agency between Vietnam small business and IBM 2.1.Income The unequal income objectives are a great difference between two types of business, and the decision making about advertising agency are also differentiated. While almost Vietnam small businesses are looking for maintaining the cash flow in order to pay them regular income, shareholders of small companies, IBM has purpose at achieving substantial wealth. 2.2.Operating Almost small business mainly want to have cash to run business activities in short period of time in order to revolve the income, so the contract between small businesses and advertising agencies are made in short term. On the other hand, a great group has a complex organizational structure and a huge organizational cultures like IBM barely want to change their partnership, because once changing advertising agencies, it will take time for agencies to analyze and understand clearly the IBM as the whole. Moreover, that changing also affects IBM because the way to work of two advertising agencies can be different. However, IBM can hire more advertising agencies based on its needs. 2.3.Workforce allocation For Vietnam small firms, each staff can be assigned different types of work in order to reduce the cost for recruitment and training as well. For instance, if a small company do not have a marketing and sales department, other staff that are not good at marketing will have to play that role. Once hiring advertising agencies, there is a distance between 2 parties in terms of knowledge and is hard to work together, and waste time for training, but in the case, the co-

operation between IBM and advertising agency will enough workforce in the right working positions- IBM marketing department and agency. Conclusion The paper brings out IBM circumstance from the tragedy to a fantastic turning back as Big Blue. It also explains a number of roles of advertising in the integrated promotional strategy for IBM globally and particularly in Vietnam. Moreover, it depicts the definition and significant functions of branding, how it important in building a brand for IBM succeeds, and how it is used to strengthen the position and image of IBM in international and in Vietnam. The report presents the creative aspects of advertising in the case of IBM and examine some ways of working with advertising agencies and the different between making decision about advertising agency when comparing a small business in Vietnam and IBM.

Reference

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