Malaysian Media Awards Winners Showcase





2012 | |

Fiction Collides With Reality In Microsoft’s Branded Drama Series

Advertiser: Microsoft (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
Brand: Microsoft
Creative Agency: -
Credits: -

<iframe width=”853″ height=”480″ src=”//www.youtube.com/embed/TkeaVP57fBk” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Challenge
Microsoft traditionally focused on B2B marketing but 2011 saw a shift – the brand decided to speak to consumers directly and launched a global campaign “Microsoft brings families together”. We needed a powerful localized idea to bring the brand to a level where consumers can engage and be affiliated with.

Solution
In Malaysia, we found that professional success is very important but in attempts to gain professional success, consumers often lose out on valuable family time. Celebrities are some of the busiest people and they struggle with balancing the demands of their career and family. Marrying our insights, we produced a unique drama series where celebrities played themselves. It was the perfect context to show how Microsoft products transformed their lives subsequently reliving happiness.

Execution
Over 8 TV-episodes, best friend and radio DJ Ben introduces Microsoft’s products to TV host Naz. Each episode showcased Naz’s transformation and journey towards a happy family and professional life through Microsoft’s products. The content had multimedia extensions – where Naz shares his experience on Ben’s weekly radio-show, interactive digital videos allowed viewers to select alternate endings to episodes and allowing consumers to become advocates via Connect-O-Meter app on Microsoft’s Facebook platform which became viral!

Results
Program reached 3.7 million viewers! Local campaign site traffic increased nine folds. Windows Facebook page saw 188% increase in fanbase. “Connect-O-Meter” Facebook app generated 217 million impressions and was viralled out to more than 2.8 million Malaysians! Social media buzz count increased 13 times.