Imagine a world with less.
In 1999, i2 Technologies was one of the world's leading providers of supply chain software and solutions, with a stable of blue chip clients like Nike and Home Depot. The company's culture was entirely focused on the bottom line – shorter sales cycles, higher margins, maximized shareholder value. In our first briefing we asked them about their goals, and the VP of Marketing pointed to a poster on the wall with the headline “Achieve Global Domination.” Then she leaned in and said, “Actually, if you really want to know, it's the LEIA Plan – Larry Ellison In Agony.” You could literally smell the hubris.
We asked them what i2 stood for, and were met with blank stares until someone nervously blurted out, "I don't know for sure, but I think it stands for two Indians.” The two Indians he referred two were the founders of the company, Ken Sharma and Sanjiv Sidhu.
So here we are thinking we had a client with no plan, no values, and no soul. And then we met Sanjiv Sidhu. Humble, intelligent, a little shy – the exact opposite of his marketing team. He explained the company's purpose this way. “Our solutions create efficiencies which help our clients realize value which ultimately make the world a better place to live. Essentially, we shut off the sprinklers when it's raining.” Bingo.
These posters and video were created to celebrate the higher purpose – and the real value – of what the i2 did. In effect, our job was to introduce the company to itself.
Agency: Leo Burnett
Creative Director: Mike Coffin
Art Director: Jennifer Taylor
Writer: Wendy Robbins
Imagine a world with less.
Less guesswork. Less schizophrenic product numbering.
Less strategic sourcing without a strategy. Less supplier relationships that don’t relate.
Imagine being able to accomplish all that and still have less.
Less duplicates produced. Less depletion of natural resources.
Less excuses for waste. Less excuses for places to put the waste.
Imagine a world where you need what you take, but only take what you need.
Imagine having the software and solutions to make it a reality.
Imagine a world with less.
Less "what-ifs." Less time in the planning cycle.
Less forecasting errors. Less disorderly order management.
Imagine being able to accomplish all that, and still have less.
Less inventories collecting dust in less warehouses. Less perishables perishing.
Less food feeding landfills instead of hungry people. Less hungry people.
Imagine a world where you need what you take, but only take what you need.
Imagine having the software and solutions to make it a reality.
Imagine a world with less.
Less broken supply chains. Less demand forecasting without forethought.
Less lead time. Less ulcers.
Imagine being able to accomplish all that and still have less.
Imagine being able to accomplish all that and still have less.
Less carriers carrying less-than-load shipments.
Less wasting of fuel, manpower, and truck parts. Less truck parts.
Imagine a world where you need what you take, but only take what you need.
Imagine having the software and solutions to make it a reality.
Less wasting of fuel, manpower, and truck parts. Less truck parts.
Imagine a world where you need what you take, but only take what you need.
Imagine having the software and solutions to make it a reality.
This brand video was shown to the company's 1,200-person sales force at their annual meeting. After the meeting, a sales guy came up to me with tears in his eyes. "Thank you," he said. "Now I can finally tell my mom what I do for a living."
