The third saw SAP revamp the company’s positioning and messaging, including a new tagline.
“We also wanted to make sure that we had more of a ‘one SAP’ story and that it was all coming from the same company again … it never really had that cohesiveness,” said White, adding that she aimed to humanize the brand constantly on a global scale.
This is a change in direction that Craig Duxbury, global president of B2B creative agency Stein IAS, recommended when asked about his external views on SAP’s marketing.
“SAP has bigger ambitions than simply following what is already around. [Others] have permission to, again, set their narrative,” he said. “There is both expectation and a huge amount of uncertainty from all levels of the business world and society. Just the type of environment for bold, assertive, confident advertising. Possibly more humanized than past SAP work. But this is quite a big ambition.”
Bring out your best
“We make it really hard to know what we do: Let’s make it easier,” was White’s core ambition in bringing new life across the company’s brand architecture.
Having begun the reframing of the company from its very origins and why SAP was initially created, internal research used to inform the new direction involved speaking to almost 5,000 stakeholders across eight markets and six languages.
White compares the aim to drive better consistency on a global scale to that of Elton John and his evolving look and style while remaining recognizably him.
“At the end of the day, it’s, ‘We’re selling technology to humans.’ And we wanted to make sure that we’re emotionally appealing to them, not just in a data-driven way.”
The decision was made that the SAP purpose would not be altered—it remains, “to help the world run better and improve people’s lives with sustainability at the core.” However, the corporate vision has evolved and been simplified to become, “We bring out the best in every business.”
