The campaign "We build breakthroughs, together." by SAP presents a brand proposition centered on collaboration and innovation, emphasizing the exciting and dynamic nature of a career within the company. By framing the work experience at SAP as a series of engaging stories—illustrated through a narrative, humorous bedtime story format—the campaign aims to humanize the technology giant and make its professional environment feel relatable and stimulating. This positioning suggests that SAP values creativity, teamwork, and personal growth, promising potential employees a workplace filled with meaningful challenges and opportunities to contribute to groundbreaking solutions.
From a market strategy perspective, the campaign leverages a creative angle that blends humor with storytelling, a method designed to capture the attention of digitally savvy audiences who respond well to authentic, narrative-driven content. Targeting prospective job seekers within the competitive technology sector, SAP uses this self-promotional film to differentiate itself by portraying work life as both enjoyable and impactful. The use of multiple social media links and hashtags indicates an integrated digital approach intended to engage viewers across platforms, expanding reach and encouraging interaction. This approach not only reinforces SAP’s employer brand but also taps into the growing demand for workplaces that balance innovation with a personable culture, thereby aligning recruitment messaging with broader labor market trends.
FORMAT#12 PARODY OR BORROWED FORMAT — Uses or parodies pop culture formats like films, shows, or genres.
This SAP campaign, “What do you do at work? (A Funny Bedtime Story From SAP),” unmistakably borrows the bedtime story format—a classic, universally recognized narrative device—and applies it humorously to explain the workplace experience at SAP. The title and meta description highlight the “funny bedtime story” framing, cueing a parody or narrative mimicry rather than a traditional testimonial, demonstration, or problem-solution approach. By presenting SAP’s employee experience through the lens of a familiar genre (the bedtime story), the campaign leverages this borrowed format for relatability and entertainment, making FORMAT#12 the best fit.
ADVERTISING FORMATS EXPLAINED: https://www.clapboard.com/blog/branding-and-advertising/brand-strategy/12-advertising-creative-formats
1. Oracle – Market Positioning
Oracle positions itself as a comprehensive enterprise cloud and software solutions provider, emphasizing integrated applications, database management, and cloud infrastructure. It differentiates through robust data security, scalable cloud services, and AI-driven automation tailored for large enterprises seeking digital transformation and streamlined operations.
2. Microsoft – Market Positioning
Microsoft leverages its extensive ecosystem by offering cloud computing (Azure), productivity software (Office 365), and enterprise solutions. It focuses on seamless integration, hybrid cloud flexibility, and AI-powered tools to empower organizations in digital innovation, collaboration, and infrastructure modernization across industries.
3. Salesforce – Market Positioning
Salesforce is a leader in customer relationship management (CRM) with a cloud-native platform that emphasizes customer-centric business growth. Its strategic angle centers on AI-driven insights, customizable solutions, and a robust partner ecosystem to enable businesses to enhance sales, marketing, and service processes.
4. IBM – Market Positioning
IBM differentiates itself through hybrid cloud solutions, AI capabilities (Watson), and consulting services focused on enterprise modernization. It targets large organizations seeking to leverage AI, data analytics, and secure cloud infrastructure to accelerate digital transformation, cognitive business applications, and innovation.
5. Adobe – Market Positioning
Adobe focuses on digital experience management with creative and marketing cloud solutions designed to empower brands in content creation, customer engagement, and personalized marketing. Its market position highlights innovation in AI-powered design, data-driven marketing automation, and seamless cross-channel experience delivery.
Q: What is We build breakthroughs, together. about?
A: We build breakthroughs, together. is a professional campaign created internally by SAP and launched in the United States in April 2022. The campaign uses a film medium to present a humorous and engaging perspective on working at SAP, framed as a funny bedtime story that highlights the exciting and dynamic nature of a career at the technology company. It aims to humanize SAP’s workplace culture by sharing relatable stories that emphasize collaboration, innovation, and personal growth within the electronics and technology industries.
Q: What creative device does We build breakthroughs, together. use?
A: We build breakthroughs, together. employs FORMAT#12 PARODY OR BORROWED FORMAT from Clapboard’s 12-format taxonomy, which involves using or parodying familiar pop culture formats. Specifically, this campaign borrows the classic bedtime story narrative device and applies it humorously to depict the workplace experience at SAP. This creative technique leverages a universally recognized storytelling format to make the brand’s message more relatable and entertaining, distinguishing it from traditional testimonial or problem-solution advertising approaches.
Q: What is the campaign proposition for We build breakthroughs, together.?
A: The campaign proposition for We build breakthroughs, together. centers on positioning SAP as a collaborative and innovative employer where employees experience meaningful challenges and contribute to groundbreaking solutions. It targets prospective job seekers in the competitive technology sector by portraying work life as both enjoyable and impactful through engaging storytelling. This approach emphasizes creativity, teamwork, and personal growth, aligning SAP’s recruitment messaging with broader labor market trends that value a balance of innovation and a personable workplace culture.
Q: How does We build breakthroughs, together. rank in Clapboard's archive?
A: We build breakthroughs, together. holds a Clapboard Campaign Score of 64/100. This score reflects the campaign’s creative ambition, execution quality, and cultural relevance as assessed by Clapboard’s global ad archive. The rating indicates the campaign’s effectiveness in delivering a distinctive and engaging narrative that resonates with its target audience while maintaining professional standards in the technology advertising space.
Q: Who are the competitors in SAP's category?
A: SAP competes with several major technology brands in the enterprise software and cloud solutions market. Oracle positions itself as a comprehensive provider of integrated applications, database management, and scalable cloud infrastructure with a focus on data security and automation. Microsoft leverages its extensive ecosystem through cloud computing, productivity software, and AI-powered tools to support digital innovation and infrastructure modernization. Salesforce leads in customer relationship management with AI-driven insights and a customizable cloud platform aimed at business growth. IBM differentiates with hybrid cloud solutions, AI capabilities, and consulting services targeting enterprise modernization. Adobe focuses on digital experience management, empowering brands with creative and marketing cloud solutions that emphasize AI-powered design and personalized marketing.
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