• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, April 27, 2020

Dell Technologies introduced a marketing approach on Monday that focuses on content and a TED-like format as more people work from home. The idea is to help businesses adapt to a new reality.

The series, Tech Talks, uses video and represents an evolution in Dell’s marketing program, offering what the company calls an “unbiased” discussion on big tech issues solved through Dell products and services.

Sylvia Seybel, VP of commercial client marketing at Dell, led the team to develop the strategy. “It’s about connecting with our customers on a different level,” she said. “Customers get normal marketing material, but with our solution in the Unified Workspace, people often need to learn a little more.”

The Unified Workspace is Dell’s solution to manage devices from the cloud.

It’s not an off-the-shelf platform and requires some consulting to get it up and running in minutes. The goal of the series is to educate and connect with customers, which are sometimes included in the series talking about personal experiences. It features how people work at home today and how businesses need to adjust.

Dell filmed the first season during the end of 2019 in front of a staged, live audience to give the feeling of community, but the content couldn’t be more relevant, Seybel said.

At the end of each episode, Seybel would like customers to understand how the workforce continues to evolve and become more remote. At Dell, about 60% have embraced flexible work styles and believe the rest of the world will take a similar approach.

Dell manufacturers in 25 locations with 50 distribution and configuration centers. It has a combined sales force of 40,000; more than 35,000 full-time services and support employees; and 173 million in assets supported. There are more than 2,200 service centers supported by more than 25 repair facilities globally.

The company produced seven episodes. The topics cover workforce modernization with episodes on IT challenges, security, and artificial intelligence, among other topics. CIOs, analysts and senior Dell executives lead the discussions.

In one episode the discussion revolves around the key things that IT leaders need to consider when modernizing their workforce, where they should start, and the key factors they need to consider for measuring success. This discussion focuses on a topical challenge.

“We’re testing our way into this model,” she said. “We would love to do it with a live audience with more customers.”