Microsoft Windows: YOUR WORLD THROUGH WINDOWS 8

Credits & Description:

Advertiser: MICROSOFT CORPORATION
Agency: STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP
Category: Other Consumer Products (including Durable Goods)
Advertising campaign: YOUR WORLD THROUGH WINDOWS 8
President: Brent Poer (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Senior Vice president Director: Sasha Wolfe (Starcom MediaVest Group)
Senior Vice President Group Director: Dan Arzweski (Starcom MediaVest Group)

Execution
A WHOLE NEW START SCREENOn launch night, we interweaved the OS across every primetime TV network and program, completely reimagining favorite shows and characters through Windows 8. The largest experiential event in history at New York’s "Tiles Square" (Times Square) let people interact with new Windows 8 devices and share to 39 big screens above. In print, 13 of Conde Nast’s editors revealed their lives in a Windows 8 world by putting their very own start screens on their magazine covers - a global first. Digital and social media expanded the Windows 8 world across the web, including a Facebook app that mined users’ interests to create a custom cover photo replicating the Start Screen as if hand crafted by you. Nearly 280 pieces of customized creative and copy and one hour of video showed how Windows 8 reimagines 53 media brands’ content through native apps.

Strategy
Every day, millions of people use Windows across the world. They know it. They love it. Windows 8 would change their experience both technically and personally. It’s touch first, fueled by apps, running on next generation hardware. For Microsoft, this provided a real opportunity to reinvent itself and reclaim its reputation as a leader of innovation in the tablet, touch screen era.Our strategy was twofold:SEEING IS BELIEVING:The OS can transform things people know so well into something so different. We wanted to immerse them into a Windows 8 world so they could see all its possibilities. A WORLD OF APPS: People had to know their favorite apps and content were available on Windows 8 right out of the box. We needed to consult with top media partners across TV, print and digital to show how their content was truly a better experience through Windows 8.

Effectiveness
The launch was, and still is, ubiquitous. By late November, 40 Million Windows 8 licenses sold. That’s 10 Million more than Windows 7 in its first two months of launch. By early January, that number climbed to 60 Million. Plus, total app download count in the Windows Store is now over 100 Million. We delivered more than 3 Billion impressions in the US alone and assisted 53 media brands in telling their Windows 8 app stories. Microsoft has successfully reinvented itself in the tablet, touch screen era.