On May 6th IBM Commerce and Facebook announced a partnership for tailored marketing messages. This announcement will allow IBM cloud marketing clients to use the Journey Designer and Journey Analytics with Facebook capabilities such as Custom Audiences. The goal is to deliver more useful and personalized experience, which is a benefit to companies and their customers.
When I first read this announcement IBM Facebook marketing alliance I focused on how this would allow companies to better understand and better serve the customer. Companies are being asked to quantify how Facebook advertising is driving top line revenue and this announcement is an important step.
Re-reading the announcement, I realize there was something that might be of equal value, the THINKLab partnership. The idea of IBM, customers and Facebook working together in a space designed for collaboration, is very powerful. Something I think we spend so much time working with people who are remote, whether it is in another building, city or country, that we underestimate the value of shoulder time, i.e. working side by side.
THINKLab reminded me that the Bluemix team, one of IBM’s cloud development platforms, is doing something similar. Their collaborative space is the Bluemix Garage. You can learn more about it here IBM Bluemix Garage.
Whether you are a developer or marketer, what do you think about spaces such as Bluemix Garage or THINKLabs? Are they an evolution in how to nurture an ecosystem? Have you seen this model work before? If yes (or no), what made it successful?
