We were excited to share the truth: Microsoft Education pushes the boundaries of our standard education system. How can we prove to teachers that in an ever-expanding landscape of Ed-Tech options, Microsoft is the strongest choice—the most useful, robust and expert, without requiring a lot of time or resources to adopt and rely on every day? How do we show a vision of the future that will inspire our viewers about Microsoft's innovation in the education world?
Teachers are strapped for time and particularly adverse to advertising. It was essential that we connect with them directly and authentically–finding where they are and presenting real value. Not just marketing. Branded content that entertains, empowers and improves their day.
Today, technological literacy is as essential as reading, writing and arithmetic. But, for teachers, navigating tech options is cumbersome and time-consuming–distracting from the core job of teaching. Microsoft cuts through with top of the line compliance and capability, in a system that is familiar and ubiquitous. We needed to tell this story, but in an emotional way.
For Microsoft Education to become the go to Ed-Tech toolset, we needed to show teachers we get them. And we needed to learn their perspective first-hand. We conducted an extensive series of one-on-one interviews to truly unpack how teachers feel about technology and to discover how they use it in the classroom. These interviews informed our strategic approach and creative ideation.
Microsoft's focus on modern, digital transformative tools is changing the classroom, so our script tells the stories of students, teachers, parents, and friends all on this educational journey together. What if students didn't have to miss an experience because they have to stay home sick? How do new accessibility tools help dyslexic students read and keep up with the class? How does technology fuel collaboration? What if every student had simple, intuitive, modern tools?
Surface laptops, tablets, and even the Microsoft HoloLens were shown in conjunction with one another, displaying the ease with which students can learn in the way they learn best, on the very tools they will use in the future. Our central message: Microsoft is empowering the students of today to create the world of tomorrow.
High-level:
The results were impressive. The anthem video achieved the highest view count and longest view time for any education video Microsoft has ever made. Microsoft was also able to use the thoughtfully targeted :15 second vignettes in organic social media posts and a highly effective paid media campaign. These shorter videos allowed us to pull smaller narratives from the hero video, speaking to specific audiences such as parents or educational administrators.
