2011 Winners & Shortlists

The Brief

Small and medium businesses do not pay attention to their I.T. infrastructure. They are comfortable using old software, and don’t feel the need to upgrade. But they don’t realize that an old infrastructure affects their business productivity. Microsoft was introducing an upgrade product package to help improve these old I.T. infrastructures. The strategy was to get business owners to sit up and take notice of the gaps in their current I.T. infrastructure first. The underlying aim was to get responses that would become sales leads.

Creative Execution

Since this upgrade involved huge investment, we did not want to scare them away. So a free check-up helped them take notice of their I.T. infrastructure. Moreover, instead of selling the features of the package, the online I.T. clinic made them take notice of the gaps in their I.T. set-up that could be filled with Microsoft products. This I.T. clinic was very genuine, as it did not sell any products to them. In fact, it made them take stock of their current condition. This helped us gain their trust and interest to register for a free I.T. check-up.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

So we offered them a free I.T. check-up. We created the online I.T. clinic, where they could take stock of the health of their I.T. The website offered a familiar clinic experience. They moved from one floor to the other, to meet the I.T. specialist, who like any doctor, asked questions to gauge the state of their I.T.’s health. They just had to answer these simple questions. Eventually, the Specialist told them what was specifically wrong with their I.T. and recommended a free-check from Microsoft. DM with earphones, resembling a stethoscope, was sent to lead them to the voice-activated website.

Results

Small and medium business owners usually turn a blind eye to I.T.-related ads, which are technical, boring and impersonal. But the online I.T. clinic grabbed their attention and resulted in over 14,000 visits. Out of 1000 DMs and e-mails to Microsoft database, we received 667 registrations – a response of over 37%. Till now, $2.3 million worth of opportunity has been created. This number is rising as the campaign is on going.