A Customer Connection
Continued
PROFIT: What makes events such as Oracle OpenWorld so unique?
SIM: Oracle OpenWorld is unique because of its scale. We not only host 42,000 people, but we really create an environment where customers and partners in each area—it could be by industry, by product, by line of business—can benefit from the local communities that we create that allow everyone to interact.
This happens over the course of nine days, and it happens alongside opportunities for the larger crowd of attendees to be able to get together for keynotes and the exhibit show floor. Being able to create unique networking environments for your attendees and then allowing them to feel as though they're still part of a broader, bigger Oracle community where you can get the right resources at the right time is what makes Oracle OpenWorld unique.
PROFIT: How did Oracle Red come to be?
SIM: Oracle's brand was not always consistent and identified with the color red. I remember that we even won an award for the worst Web site ever, mostly because the Oracle logo appeared in many different colors. It was in green, it was in blue, it was in red, it was in purple. It was not always in the same Oracle font, and it also appeared with different shapes behind it—triangles, circles, and other things. We got serious about having a consistent brand around the same time that we started to drive a global line of business for marketing. We wanted to standardize on a consistent color, font, and overall branding guidelines. As a result, our brand is one of the strongest because it has been simple and consistent. I think that has been one of the secrets behind the great brand we have.
PROFIT:
What surprises you most about working
at Oracle?
SIM: Oracle has surprised me by how much I have enjoyed working at the company. It is the same today as it was the very first year I started. We have the best and the brightest talents working at Oracle, and this keeps me challenged every day. But mostly, the folks who work here have tremendous passion. It's tangible and incredibly addictive. I love it.
For More Information
Find out more about Oracle's past and its future plans. Read part one of the Oracle 30th anniversary coverage at
oracle.com/profit/mag/profit_may_07.pdf.
Margaret Terry Lindquist is editor in chief of
Profit magazine.
