What should stay consistent in a long-running campaign?

The central business story, brand role and strategic purpose should stay consistent in a long-running campaign. IBM's Wimbledon work continued to communicate IBM's role in the tournament while changing the proof, format and audience experience from year to year. Consistency gives audiences something to recognise; new expression gives them a reason to engage again.

How can an annual campaign avoid repeating the same creative idea?

An annual campaign can avoid repetition by using each year's live opportunity to find a different angle on the same platform. Wimbledon activity moved from integrated technology and short-form video, to AI and social listening, to a milestone-led VIP experience. The campaign purpose remained stable, while the creative mechanism changed.

Should a long-running campaign extend into sales and internal communications?

Long-running campaigns should include sales and internal communications when employees and sellers need to explain or activate the campaign story. Supporting Wimbledon content included seller cheat sheets, an internal animation and an employee game. These materials extended the campaign beyond public-facing creative work.

How do we manage a fast-moving campaign activation?

Fast-moving campaign activation needs clear planning, frequent team communication and responsive collaboration across stakeholders. Daily whole-team status updates helped keep the 2020 Wimbledon work on track while video content and supporting materials were being produced. Coordination helps teams adapt without losing the campaign's central story.

How do we keep a long-running campaign fresh?

Prevent a durable story from becoming stale with changing proof points

A long-running campaign sustains freshness throughout its run when the core partnership or proposition stays recognisable while each activation reveals a different reason it matters. IBM's Wimbledon partnership has run for three decades, creating an enduring business story around technology, data and the fan experience. The campaign work did not require a new strategic purpose every year. Instead, different moments created different proof points: an integrated-solutions story in 2013, an AI-led debate in 2017 and a 30th-anniversary visitor experience in 2019. This approach protects brand consistency while preventing repeated communications from becoming formulaic. The stable element is the brand's role in the partnership; the changing element is the most relevant story, experience or evidence available at that moment.

Sources: IBM: Ongoing campaign involvement

Renew the expression, not the campaign's purpose

Campaign renewal works best when a familiar proposition is expressed through a new creative device, channel or audience need. IBM's 2013 Wimbledon activity used a short-form video to show how cloud, analytics, mobile and social technologies captured and communicated match detail. In 2017, the campaign shifted to an AI-led question about greatness, using tournament data and live social listening to create an active public debate. In 2019, the focus moved to a premium VIP invitation and welcome experience that combined tournament traditions with the history of the partnership. The underlying story remained IBM's contribution to Wimbledon, but the format, audience experience and evidence changed. A fresh campaign therefore needs a repeatable platform with enough range to support different stories over time.

Sources: IBM: Ongoing campaign involvement

Support content keeps a new campaign idea useful across the business

A new campaign expression needs supporting content and coordinated delivery if it is to stay relevant beyond its headline creative. In the 2020 Wimbledon campaign, supporting work included seller cheat sheets to help start client conversations, alongside an internal campaign with animation and a game designed to build enthusiasm among employees. This gave the campaign a role in sales enablement and internal engagement as well as external communications. Long-running campaigns also benefit from clear planning and fast collaboration when opportunities are time-sensitive. Daily whole-team status updates and responsive client and partner teams helped the work progress efficiently. Freshness is not only a creative challenge: it depends on making each new campaign chapter practical for the people who need to communicate, activate and deliver it.

Sources: Match point: how The Frameworks created an integrated Wimbledon and IBM campaign in two weeks

A lasting platform should create room for the next meaningful story

We believe a long-running campaign should be built around an enduring role in customers' lives, not a creative execution that must be replaced every year. The strongest platforms preserve a clear central idea while making room for changing cultural moments, new technology, live data and different audience experiences. Our work for IBM at Wimbledon has applied that principle across several years: a video explaining integrated technology in 2013, an AI and social-listening campaign in 2017, and a 30th-anniversary VIP experience in 2019. We have also developed supporting seller and internal content so campaign ideas can be used beyond external activation. That combination helps a familiar story continue to earn attention.

Sources: IBM: Ongoing campaign involvement, Match point: how The Frameworks created an integrated Wimbledon and IBM campaign in two weeks