THE BRIEF
Following a rebrand, Brightly Software, now Siemens Asset Management Software, wanted to enhance recognition and visibility of its new corporate brand and its Confirm software product in the UK market. The primary target audience for Confirm is local authorities. However, Siemens recognised after an assessment, that most prospects were not up-to-speed with the Confirm product and its full capabilities for smart asset management. In addition, against a backdrop of local council budget constraints, Siemens needed to give council decision-makers strong justification for software investment.
Siemens briefed AD Communications to help demonstrate measurable customer value and position the company as a trusted partner, showcasing how Confirm could help councils achieve cost savings, operational efficiencies and more efficient asset management overall.
Our goals were to boost market awareness, enhance trust between Siemens and its local authority customers – as well between councils and their communities – and drive lead generation through a targeted, multi-channel marketing campaign.
THE STRATEGY
Siemens knew that AD Communications was well-placed to deliver, due to our experience of crafting campaigns that resonate with senior business stakeholders facing budgetary pressures and operational challenges.
Our response was to build an integrated communications campaign focused on educating local authorities on the breadth of Confirm’s capabilities, to manage a wide range of public assets – including roads, utilities, and green spaces – clearly communicating the operational and financial benefits.
We developed a unifying theme for the campaign under the banner ‘Assets. United.’, emphasising Confirm’s ability to ‘unite’, streamline and enhance asset management with a single system.
Working with customer insights into councils’ real-world challenges, such as ageing infrastructure, net zero targets, shrinking budgets and maintenance backlogs, our approach centred around thought leadership activity to communicate Siemens’ domain expertise and to leverage the full breadth of available channels to communicate the campaign messages.
Ultimately, the Assets. United. campaign set out to position Siemens as a trusted, forward-thinking digital partner that can revolutionise how local councils manage their asset data.
We designed the campaign with measurable outcomes in mind, including qualified leads and Siemens/Confirm brand recognition.
THE TACTICS
Tactical elements within the Assets. United. campaign included: an overarching campaign video; targeted digital and print adverts; social media posts; and a content-rich landing page.
In addition, a 12-page multimedia guide with links to further articles, informative videos and customer testimonials served as both the narrative and strategic centrepiece of the campaign. It brought together practical use cases, strategic commentary from Siemens experts and customers, and illustrated how councils were using Confirm to drive operational efficiency, reduce risks and strengthen trust between themselves and their communities.
The guide was also used as a sales enablement tool by the Siemens Asset Management Software team at events, client meetings and through email outreach, helping the sales team to communicate the Confirm proposition clearly and with impact.
We also worked with our design partners to build immersive, photorealistic environments that reflected the subject areas of the campaign.
These environments were blended with on-camera interview footage of Siemens experts to deliver high-impact, visually engaging video content that elevated the campaign’s production values and reinforced Siemens’ digital credentials.
We activated the full spectrum of Assets. United. campaign content through multiple channels, including: PR, organic and paid social media, and paid online and print advertising with media partners that target local authority decision-makers.
THE OUTCOMES
- Third-party endorsement through various customer testimonials.
- 113 leads equating to a cost per-lead of £385.
- The campaign delivered around £1.5m in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to date.
