Concept Summary

Increase brand relevancy for IBM’s B2B core audience, re-introduce the IBM brand to the public and shape a fresh, contemporary image that represents key values of the brand: Innovation, agility and continuous transformation. To achieve those objectives, George P. Johnson were asked to develop a first-of-its-kind pop-up experience in Berlin - the innovation capital of Germany. Over 6 weeks in the summer of 2019, IBM invited its clients, partners and the public to the Bikini mall in Berlin. On 1,700 sqm, with the mall operating as usual, several spaces spread out across the venue were built-out to be the Think at IBM experience backbone: a main store for larger and smaller sessions incl. exhibition area & design thinking garage, a rooftop terrace incl. an IBM Live Studio, a pop-up box in the ground floor and additional smaller session spaces. On top of this, more than 80 dedicated events were hosted in the spaces. Event formats ranged from a cooperative session with Berlin schools building dust sensors to a weekend-long developer hackathon and business presentations to networking receptions; from large group lectures to small group workshops with one to few breakouts. Noteably, the spaces were not limited to a certain event type but were constantly re-purposed according to the needs of each individual event. Overall, the applied design language and the improvised character of a pop-up formed a casual atmosphere, creating the image of a new and fresh IBM. With planning time of less than 5 months, the GPJ IBM Think team pioneered & successfully delivered a trailblazing event experience in the B2B domain to overwhelmingly positive attendee feedback.