IBM Canada's conversation starter

Nothing motivates Canadians more than hearing that they're failing at something. In 2012, Canada was ranked 13th, with a "D" rating in innovation, out of 16 major economies by the Conference Board of Canada. So IBM and Ogilvy/OgilvyOne set out to provoke Canada's national insecurities and motivate a conversation that could lead to a reversal of fortunes.

The agency created the first-ever company-branded LinkedIn page, called "Conversations for Change" and used it as an objective forum, enabling big thinkers to share their views on innovation and productivity.

In addition, IBM worked with major media outlets to create objective editorial content on their online and offline platforms and placed ads for IBM alongside the articles. The brand also had the media hold live chats on the LinkedIn page and interact with the community of forward-thinkers.

The LinkedIn page attracted more than 19,000 followers and the campaign garnered more than 2.1 million page views, 62,000 social media interactions and nearly $1 million in earned media. By the end of the campaign, Canadian domestic expenditure on research and development increased by $93 million.