Ericsson Ads Break From Past With Maersk Line Wireless Projects

By Kristen Schweizer

Ericsson AB (ERICB) is looking to break from its mobile-networking past with a series of ads that showcase projects such as remote tracking for a Maersk Line shipping vessel and video conferencing at schools in Bhutan.
As part of its marketing campaign dubbed “Capturing the Networked Society,” the 138-year-old Swedish company has released 61 mini films on its website and a branded YouTube channel. The shorts were produced in 25 countries this summer with the help of advertising agency House of Radon.
The efforts mark a shift for Ericsson as it expands beyond networks and into new businesses such as cloud computing and targets partnerships with automotive, utilities and public safety industries. The ads, portraying stories about innovations such as diapers that
monitor a baby’s output and connected trash cans that show when they need to be emptied, seek to remind viewers that Stockholm-based Ericsson isn’t just a maker of antennas and base stations that consumers rarely see.
“We aren’t going to become a consumer company again, but through these films we want to engage more with consumers so they can understand where technology is going,” said Helena Norrman, a member of the executive board at the Stockholm-based company and a senior vice president.

Source: Ericsson via Bloomberg

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Polar Bears

The shorts also profile house-letting service Airbnb Inc., music-streaming service Spotify Ltd., Norwegian polar bears wearing temperature-tracking collars and E.ON SE smart meters that measure energy consumption. Some of the films highlight Ericsson’s technology, such as the Bhutan and Maersk projects and another to connect Nepalese villages to wireless Internet, though most don’t mention the company.
The idea behind filming longer-form content that looks more like a movie than 30-second ad break is playing an increasingly important role in capturing some of the projected $544 billion in annual ad spending, prompting agencies to hire producers, directors and writers.
Ericsson, the biggest maker of mobile-phone networks, is pushing into new businesses as carriers spend less on their infrastructure. The company last week bought a majority stake in San Francisco-based software startup Apcera, which will let Ericsson add policy governance to its cloud offerings.
Cisco Systems Inc. yesterday announced partnerships with 20 companies including BT Group Plc and Deutsche Telekom AG for its Intercloud project.
“Previously we provided network operators with mobile infrastructure and related services and you didn’t need a lot of branding,” Norrman said, declining to disclose the budget for the campaign. “Our role as a company is changing.”

Source: Ericsson via Bloomberg

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To contact the reporter on this story: Kristen Schweizer in London at kschweizer1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kenneth Wong at kwong11@bloomberg.net Amy Thomson