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around the idea of the Internet as the future of technology. The internal campaign changed the way
employees thought about everything they did, from how they named products to how they organised staff to
how they approached selling. The campaign was successful largely because it gave employees a sense of
direction and purpose, which in turn restored their confidence in IBM's ability to predict the future and lead
the technology industry. Today, research shows that people are four times more likely to associate the term
"e-business" with IBM than with its nearest competitor.
Perhaps even more important, by taking employees into account, a company can avoid creating a
message that doesn't resonate with staff or, worse, one that builds resentment. In 1996, United Airlines
shelved its "Come Fly the Friendly Skies" slogan when presented with a survey that revealed the depth of
customer resentment toward the airline industry. In an effort to own up to the industry's shortcomings,
United launched a new campaign, "Rising," in which it sought to differentiate itself by acknowledging poor
service and promising incremental improvements such as better meals. While this was a logical premise for
the campaign given the tenor of the times, a campaign focusing on customers' distaste for flying was deeply
discouraging to the staff. Employee resentment, ultimately made it impos-sible for United to deliver the
improvements it was promising, which in turn undermined the "Rising" pledge.
Three years later, United decided employee opposition was under-mining its success and pulled the
campaign. It has since moved to a more inclusive brand message with the line "United," which both
audiences can embrace. Here, a fundamental principle of advertising—find and address a customer concern
failed United because it did not consider the internal market.
When it comes to execution, the most common and effective way to link internal and external
marketing campaigns is to create external advertising that targets both audiences. IBM used this tactic very
effectively when it launched its e-business campaign, It took out an eight-page ad in the Wall Street Journal
declaring its new vision, a message directed at both customers and internal stakeholders. This is an
expensive way to capture attention, but if used sparingly, it is the most powerful form of communication; in
fact, you need do it only once for everyone in the company to read it. There's a symbolic advantage as well.
Such a tactic signals that the company is taking its pledge very seriously; it also signals transparency—the
same message going out to both audiences.
Advertising isn’t the only way to link internal and external marketing. At Nike, a number of senior
executives now hold the additional title of "Corporate Storyteller." They deliberately avoid stories of
financial successes and concentrate on parables of "just doing it," reflecting and reinforcing the company's
ad campaigns. One tale, for example, recalls how legendary coach and Nike cofounder Bill Bowerman, in an
effort to build a better shoe for his team, poured rubber into the family waffle iron, giving birth to the
prototype of Nike's famous Waffle Sole. By talking about such inventive moves, the company hopes to keep
the spirit of innovation that characterises its ad campaigns alive and well within the company. But while
their messages must be aligned, companies must also keep external promises a little ahead of internal
realities. Such promises provide incentives for employees and give them something to live up to. In the
1980s, Ford turned "Quality Is Job 1" from an internal rallying cry into a consumer slogan in response to the
threat from cheaper, more reliable Japanese cars. It did so before the claim was fully justified, but by placing
it in the public arena, it gave employees an incentive to match the Japanese. If the promise is pushed too far
ahead, however, it loses credibility. When a beleaguered British Rail launched a campaign announcing
service improvements under the banner "We're Getting There," it did so prematurely. By drawing attention
to the gap between the promise and the reality, it prompted destructive press coverage. This, in turn,
demoralised staff, who had been legitimately proud of the service advances they had made.