The business decision-makers who sign off I.T. purchases don’t trust I.T. providers. They believe that companies like Dell care more about selling than understanding the real needs of their customers.

Our challenge was to frame the business case for Dell’s products in a way that would be compelling for I.T. business decision-makers and demonstrate that Dell was truly focused on their needs.

The campaign was designed to connect with this 'hard to reach' business audience.

Dell Technologies provides some of the most advanced I.T. products for businesses, but business decision-makers don’t trust I.T. providers—believing they care more about selling than understanding their I.T. needs.

There is an inherent disconnect in perceived trust across business decision-makers and enterprises like Dell (49% do not trust enterprises and think enterprises are not trying to understand their challenges).

Closing these gaps is essential in restoring the fundamental partnership, and I.T. services stand the most to gain in building trust (15% spend more on I.T. services when businesses trust enterprises they work with).

Traditional advertising was not reaching our audience with the intended effect of earning their trust. We needed to better understand where this they live, who were their trusted I.T. sources, what motivated them and what were their most pressing I.T. issues.

The young business decision-making audience outrank other audiences in community forum engagement (especially on Reddit). These forums rank top of mind through most of the B2B buying journey.

To earn the trust of business decision-makers Dell joined their conversation on Reddit with a comedy series based on real I.T. community insights taken from actual peer-to-peer discussions on the platform.

For the first time, the Reddit avatars were brought to life and starred in an animated series, the I.T. Squad, featuring Ryan and Bryan, I.T. nerds on a mission to solve the most pressing I.T. problems.

Each episode was framed around the hottest trending topics on the platform—with the I.T. Squad always saving the day with the best Dell solution.

The I.T. Squad permeated the whole Reddit platform, through social listening, the avatars, a live talk show, and AMA (Ask Me Anything) series—becoming the go-to resource for I.T. business decision-makers.

There is an inherent disconnect in perceived trust across business decision-makers and enterprise providers like Dell (49% do not trust enterprises and think they are not trying to understand their challenges).

Enterprises like Dell stand the most to gain in building trust (Business decision-makers spend 15% more on I.T. services when they trust the enterprises they work with).

Traditional brand advertising was not working.

This young decision-making audience outrank other audiences in community forum engagement (especially on Reddit and Quora). These forums rank top of mind through most of the B2B buying journey.

Dell Technologies saw an opportunity to connect with this 'hard-to-reach' business decision-maker in a more organic way by joining the conversation on Reddit (72% of users trust brand recommendations on Reddit) where they could better understand and respond to their needs.

The I.T. Squad first joined the conversation in the form of an animated series, where episodes were based on actual Reddit threads.

Each episode covered a different I.T. topic trending on the platform—with the I.T. Squad always saving the day with the best Dell solutions.

We launched with Episode #1 "Work From Home," where the sales department faces a major problem with virtual customer meetings.

In Episode #2 "Privacy," Bryan & Ryan have to convince the marketing department how important it is to invest in privacy & security.

In Episode #3 "Innovation," Bryan and Ryan’s rockstar I.T. knowledge supercharges the HR brainstorming session.

Fans could upvote, reward, comment and discuss each episode.

Then the Dell I.T. Squad led the conversation by hosting Reddit Talks and AMA Sessions with influencers expert on I.T. topics trending on the platform—allowing the I.T. Squad to further engage the audience in real-time.

The show was released exclusively on Reddit, where it quickly gathered millions of fans and helped turn the Dell I.T. Squad into a hit series.

The campaign received 72 million impressions, +1000% increase in followers and 200x increase in brand credibility.

All three of the IT Squad episodes exceeded Reddit benchmarks for “Upvotes” by 48% or more. Quantitative evidence of the trust Dell developed with this audience.

Substantial increase in VTRs, +35%, over typical social media campaigns, demonstrated the affinity ITDMs had for the IT Squad.

The brand in now in talks for a second season due to audience demand.

Instead of pushing out a brand message on how great Dell products are, Dell joined the conversation in a peer-to-peer forum where honest discussions revealed what the most pressing I.T. issues were. Data revealed that Reddit was the go-to platform for I.T. business decision-makers.

A boring subject was made entertaining through a comedy series based on I.T. community insights—helping to make the I.T. Squad series engaging in an authentic way.

The series narrative allowed for a more seamless and relatable way to promote Dell's I.T. products and their benefits.

The I.T. Squad led the I.T. conversion by hosting tech influencers on Reddit Talks and Ask Me Anything sessions, with thought leadership.