We’d brought IBM’s Tumblr into the world in 2012 to engage a younger, hipper audience by focusing on IBM’s exciting culture of innovation. Not long after, we learned something that made our jaws drop.

Benoit Mandelbrot discovered fractals while at IBM and changed the world. Errol Morris, working on our behalf, had captured Mandelbrot’s very last interview before his passing in 2010. We wanted to honor one of IBM’s true scientific revolutionaries on his birthday, while creating a personal connection between IBM and a new generation of nascent innovators.

The essence of IBM is elegant design via math, technology and science. Fractals are the epitome of mathematically-generated design. Our animations re-invigorated the wonder of revolutionary scientific idea – visualized in a fun, unpretentious way. More importantly, they re-invigorated the historical truth that ‘exciting discoveries are made with IBM.’

Fractals are often seen as either ‘out there’ (clouds, galaxies) or ‘deep inside’ (arteries, capillaries). Our Fractalizer introduced personalized interactivity to the experience. In this way, participants could play with the idea of manipulating mathematics – and make a fundamental connection between the ‘out there,’ the ‘deep inside,’ themselves, and the IBM brand.

Our objectives were to increase followers and drive engagement with content on IBMblr; drive shares of the IBMblr URL across non-Tumblr platforms to engage more non-Tumblr users; and increase followers on IBM Twitter channels and Facebook pages.

We created a month-long Fractal Fest on IBMblr surrounding Mandelbrot’s birthday, with his final interview as the centerpiece. We coded dozens of animated fractals designed as dazzling eye-candy, backed with quotes that illuminated the science and math behind the images; plus Q&As with IBM mathematicians; a fractal birthday cake; and our own proprietary Fractalizer, which fractalizes any Tumblr for your pleasure.

Sponsorships on Forbes, Ars Technica and Slate websites garnered 8% above the average performance of sponsored content. We generated 2.6MM impressions featured on Tumblr Radar; as Tumblr founder David Karp told us, “This is freakin’ cool!” We attracted 1,100 new followers to IBMblr, with 177,000 visits to the site across the campaign, and the execution contributed to the blog’s nomination for the Webbys “People’s Choice – Business Blog” award. Our Fractals Reddit AMA trended to 3rd place on Reddit’s homepage. Earned features on Gizmodo and The Verge (+2000K visits), plus The Atlantic, The, io9, Laughing Squid, Fast Company’s Co.Create and Yale.