What helps us build account champions for a new service?

Give potential champions a clear case for the service by explaining the business change it can enable. IBM Garage brought IBM experts and client leaders together to use modern design techniques and IBM technology to solve specific business challenges. The new co-creation consultancy model needed champions inside a handful of selected accounts, rather than a broad audience. The Frameworks developed the value proposition and the campaign concept, "Where it happens", around the space and the transformational change possible within it. The practical lesson is to give stakeholders a proposition they can use to explain the service's value internally, not simply a description of how it operates. Gartner's 2026 guidance says B2B buyers turn especially to sales representatives when identifying a preferred supplier, securing internal support and finalising a purchase.

Make an unfamiliar service tangible by giving prospective clients an experience of what the service involves. For IBM Garage, The Frameworks built an integrated account-based marketing campaign around a premium interactive physical book and an immersive 360 video experience available in the browser. The creative work brought prospective clients into the IBM Garage environment, combining print design with virtual reality rather than relying on a verbal description of the consultancy model. The approach gave a new service substance while keeping the experience connected to its central proposition. The campaign helped generate $62 million in lead progression in five months, with page engagement running at twice the average across IBM's site. For teams seeking account champions, the practical lesson is to make the service's environment and potential value concrete enough for prospective clients to explore.