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Infor Takes Ad Campaign Global to EMEA, Latin America and Asia

Business Software Provider Uses Illustration, Satire and Wit to Expose Growing Business Software Dissatisfaction

Infor launched its first-ever global advertising campaign with an integrated effort by PJA Advertising + Marketing in late 2009, and last week took the campaign international. The campaign goes head-to-head with some of the world's largest vendors, using satiric illustrations and wit to position Infor as the better choice for business software. Print, out of home, online and social media debuted in November in North America. Infor is the leading provider of business software for mid-market customers.

PJA partnered with Banner Corporation, London, for advertising integration and deployment in EMEA, with ads launching in UK, Germany and France. Chugai, headquartered in Tokyo, will lead AsiaPacific. Brazil is part of Infor's global roll-out, with work debuting in that region as well.

"Customers are deeply frustrated with the cost and complexity of business software," said Robert Humphrey, Infor CMO. "They want software that's simple to buy, easy to deploy and convenient to manage. We worked with PJA to come up with an aggressive and bold campaign that exposes the problems with typical business software companies and positions Infor as the best alternative to the vendors we are satirizing in the campaign."

Infor and PJA Advertising + Marketing, headquartered in Cambridge, MA, began working on the campaign earlier this spring. This is Infor's first global ad campaign since its inception more than seven years ago, and reflects the company's increasing focus on building its brand.

Down With Big ERP

Infor's new campaign centers around the idea that companies that have traditionally offered business software, most notably Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, have taken on a "big business" mentality -- they are bloated, uncaring and slow to respond to customer needs. It also reflects Infor's core belief that mid-market customers are seeking evolutionary, not revolutionary, solutions for their business needs.

The campaign includes print, out of home (OOH), online, and social media efforts featuring illustrations evocative of political satire, spotlighting two "Big ERP" fat cats who are oblivious to what their customers need. The illustrations were created by renowned illustrator Steve Brodner, recognized for his work in media outlets including The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and The New York Times.

"The timing of this campaign couldn't be better," said Mike O'Toole, President and Partner, PJA. "Market insights clearly indicate that Big ERP vendors have been treating customers with a 'take-it-or-leave-it, one size fits all' approach far too long. As soon as we hit upon the idea of these characters, the campaign took on a life of its own. And Infor has challenged us to keep making the work better. It's truly a great collaborative effort."

The Big ERP characters were introduced in major U.S. business publications (one headline reads: How Many Zeros Do You Need In Your Revenue Before Big ERP Stops Treating You Like One?). They come to life in airport spectaculars and online creative executions for Infor.

For the online units, PJA partnered with Spongecell, employing the company's new multiple calls-to-action technology. Spongecell technology allows people who interact with the banners to choose multiple activities, from viewing video case studies, downloading whitepapers, to visiting Infor's social media properties on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. One of the characters has his own Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/Big_ERP.

All campaign assets drive viewers to a microsite dubbed "Down With Big ERP" (www.downwithbigerp.com) where people can access Infor product demos, whitepapers, collateral and webinars. The videos highlight Infor customer success stories and were filmed on location for a documentary look and feel. The microsite also contains animated shorts of the "Big ERP" characters.

Infor Manifesto

At Infor, we work with a core belief. We believe in the customer. We believe that the customer is seeking a better, more collaborative relationship with its business software provider. And a new breed of business software: created for evolution, not revolution. Software that's simple to buy, easy to deploy and convenient to manage. Our 70,000 customers in more than 100 countries and 8,000+ employees stand with us. We look forward to your sharing in the results of our belief. There is a better way.

About PJA Advertising + Marketing

PJA Advertising + Marketing likes to figure out the hard stuff. We serve a global roster of technology and health science clients through full-service offices in Boston and San Francisco. Fully integrated, digital to the core and a social media leader, PJA is a three-time BtoB Agency of the Year winner. We build integrated marketing campaigns that solve business problems for clients like Novell, Trend Micro, GE Healthcare, Yahoo!, Infor, Boston Scientific, TriZetto and Akamai. For more information, visit www.agencypja.com.