In 2017, Insider Studios entered a partnership with Dell Technologies to spotlight technology that is transforming how business today gets done. In 2019, the program expanded beyond companies to look at how modern cities are deploying leading-edge technologies to become more effective and efficient.
“Cities Connected” had three primary goals: to help position Dell Technologies as a key player driving digital transformation to improve how we live and work globally; to help build brand awareness for the company, especially among business decision makers; and to develop impactful content with a trusted publisher partner to build enterprise credibility as a thought leader.
Insider Studios developed a five-part video series, “Cities Connected,” spotlighting how emerging technologies such as AI and IoT are helping cities around the world solve a wide variety of complex problems — from poultry production in the Midwest to shipping logistics in one of Europe’s largest ports.
Insider Studios cast a wide net in its rigorous search for compelling stories, which resulted in a series featuring a broad range of case studies. We ultimately focused on Red Wing, Minnesota; Boston, Massachusetts; Miami, Florida; Antwerp, Belgium; and Singapore.
Insider Studios’ selection included a mix of new technologies such as robotics, autonomous driving, augmented-reality and geographic information systems; Internet of Things (IoT); artificial intelligence (AI); and image recognition. For example, we featured a turkey farm in Minnesota relying on robots in response to a worker shortage; self-driving cars in Boston used to reduce traffic and emissions; and an Antwerp port using sensors, machine vision, and AI to streamline supply chains. The result for Dell Technologies was being associated with broad-appeal storytelling that celebrated not just technology but also the human ingenuity behind it.
It was imperative for the program to engage audiences with compelling, real-world examples of technological transformation while ensuring that the Dell Technologies brand wasn’t lost in the mix since it wasn’t the focal point of the videos. Insider Studios accomplished this by designing a branded title card that appeared at the :30 mark, and by adding a persistent Dell Technologies logo in the upper right-hand corner of the frame. Each video was about five minutes long.
To ensure maximum visibility for the program, Insider distributed the videos across its powerful network of channels, including Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. The program was also promoted by custom-designed, high-impact ad units.
The campaign started October 2019 and ran through January 2020.
We reached a large business audience across platforms. The video series garnered a total of 3 million views, 1.2 million minutes watched, and 30,000 social engagements. The average engagement rate for the videos on YouTube performed exceptionally well – it was 65% higher than BI benchmarks for custom B2B videos.
Rachael Henke, Global Brand Marketing Director for Dell Technologies, says, “We turned to Business Insider to bring our Digital Transformation thought leadership to life through a video-led, engaging program that showcased how businesses and cities are preparing for the digital future today. Their proven expertise in building engaging videos combined with their business audience made for an extremely successful campaign — the results speak for themselves.”
