A new ad campaign from software company NetSuite focuses on mobile's role in intraoffice communications as part of a push to encourage businesses to invest in cloud-based systems to maximize business models and take advantage of the newest software.

NetSuite, based in San Mateo, CA, is a leading cloud business software suite focusing on business accounting and ecommerce software. The firm has seen an influx of manufacturers, retailers and other businesses adopt its cloud-based model to support fast-growing finances and business operations.

?The campaign is directed at executives who have invested in, or are considering investing in, antiquated ERP software systems like SAP, that were built before the Internet existed,? said Mini Peiris, vice president of global marketing for NetSuite. ?Cloud-based systems like NetSuite that tap into the power of the Internet and are easy-to-implement, scalable and agile are the way forward for modern businesses.?

Targeted ad campaign
NetSuite?s current ad campaign for its cloud-based system aims to nudge CEOS, CFOs and CIOs to reevaluate their business software and ascertain that its features are up-to-date. NetSuite realizes these are career-defining decisions, and hopes to highlight the consequences of such decisions with its ads.

The ad campaign focuses on the context of a text message to convey what NetSuite refers to as the humor and importance of the topic.

NetSuite?s ad campaign is currently running in the Wall Street Journal for a three-week period. The ad features a conversation taking place on a mobile device.

One individual begins the conversation by asking why it is taking so long to get the company?s ERP functioning, to which the second individual responds saying ?It?s SAP. What can I do??

The first individual then tells the other he or she is tired, before blaming autocorrect and clarifying he or she meant ?fired.?

?Companies today are dealing with so much internal and external change that they need software that can quickly adapt to their business needs, rather than stand in the way of flexibility,? said Ms. Peiris.

The ad is mobile-optimized, and will be accompanied by other content such as white papers and customer success stories. The campaign will also be supported through NetSuite?s social channels, with an emphasis on Twitter.

Streamlining business operations
NetSuite?s push for businesses to invest in cloud-based systems stems from its distrust in SAP software and desire to provide executives with more reliable management systems.

?While SAP has a long history in enterprise applications, that history dates back to the client-server era,? said Ms. Peiris. ?Unfortunately for SAP (and many other on-premise software vendors), that history also includes a laundry list of failed implementations, cost overruns, and maintenance nightmares that have cost more than one executive their job.?

NetSuite claims that the global adoption of cloud-based software is accelerating. It finds that cloud suites help increase productivity and also lower IT costs significantly.

?With more than 20,000 organizations running NetSuite, we?re the clear alternative to on-premise systems like SAP,? said Ms. Peiris.

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York