Establishing a Challenger to the Tech Giants
The Brief
Seeking to demonstrate to cloud service providers (CSPs) that there’s an alternative to hyperscaler lock-ins, VMware needed to create a clear and distinct value proposition to show it alone could deliver the agility required to thrive.
The Challenge
VMware’s approach to communications was siloed, and its value proposition was becoming lost in the noise of seemingly disparate products and campaigns—each with its own marketing wrapper and message. Ultimately confused by conflicting offerings, CSPs simply couldn’t see a singular, coherent reason to work with VMware—this needed to change.
The Insight
Speaking to a diverse selection of cloud providers and VMware stakeholders, we concluded that VMware needed to carve out a position of undisputed value in the minds of CSPs.
We knew we could achieve this by positioning the VMware cloud platform as the natural choice for CSPs craving freedom and flexibility for the future. Through this single overarching message, we could unify VMware’s marketing, and provide a focused route to market with a streamlined product proposition.
The Creative
From this insight, our creative—A Natural Partnership—was born. It centered on the notion that VMware is a collaborator, a trusted advisor, and a partner whose technology could help CSPs achieve their business ambitions without the dependency restrictions typically imposed by hyperscalers.
Visually, we brought the campaign to life using symbioses found in the natural world. Representing VMware and its ecosystem of CSPs, each pairing reflected distinct VMware offerings operating in mutually beneficial harmony.
The Execution
By getting smart about segmentation, we helped VMware create a program mechanism that could cope with the overwhelming range of CSP technology choices, varying ‘start states’ with the brand, and differing strategies and focus areas.
To reach VMware’s typically time-poor audience, A Natural Partnership initially used social media channels, especially LinkedIn, for precision and community targeting. Ultimately, the program pushed our audience to informative content, including:
- Live-action videos
- eBooks
- Technology overviews
- Infographics
- Events, such as vmLIVEs
The Results
1,430,950
Unique views
6,000
Total leads
77,000
Initial views
0.80%-1.38%
CTR range
