
On The Map
Microsoft UK
Issue 2 | July 2008
Agency
MRM Worldwide
Creative Team
Graham Jenks - Art Director ;Damien Parsonage - Creative Director ;David Russell - Creative Director ;
Production Team
Lawrence Horwill - Designer; Frazer Hobbs - Interaction Designer; Chris Dann - Clientside Developer; Graham Warren - Creative Services Manager; Hannah Gates - Production Assistant
Other Credits
Thorsten Borqvist - Account Director ;Dina Zaitman - Senior Account Manager ;Viral Patel - Project Manager
Date
October - November 2006
Background
The Small Business Specialist Community is Microsoft’s tailor-made Partner Programme for companies selling into small businesses. Members must take a certification to prove their skills and in return get accreditation as a Microsoft Small Business Specialist – and the chance to pick up hot new business leads. However, many Partners weren’t aware of the strong reasons to join and therefore were not reaping the benefits that the Small Business Specialist Community offers them. MRM Worldwide’s challenge was to raise awareness and convince these reluctant Partners to join by demonstrating the core benefit of the Small Business Specialist Community in an impactful, intriguing and persuasive way.
Idea
The Microsoft Small Business Specialist Community genuinely offers Partners the chance to pick up new business, as Microsoft-recommended specialists. In order to bring that thought to life, MRM Worldwide decided to link the recruitment drive to a £600,000 customer-facing campaign aimed at generating leads for Partners in the Small Business Specialist Community. They created an integrated campaign around the simple but effective idea of ‘putting your business on the map’. Everyone loves to see their house or their office from an aerial shot - getting their bearings, identifying the roads and the landmarks and then finally recognising the picture and their premises. Using aerial mapping and postcode data, each target business was linked to an aerial photograph of their premises. An arrow with their name and address pointed at their building with the message ‘Microsoft want to recommend [business name]’.
Such a vivid demonstration of the core benefit of the Community provided an impactful way to motivate previously disinclined Partners to join. The campaign kicked off with a mail piece and was followed up two weeks later by an email. A final reminder email was sent two weeks after that to ensure maximum response. Each recipient was sent to their very own microsite with a personalised address and a moving aerial photograph.
Results
The campaign generated 58% response overall, with 53% responding to the hard copy mailer, 45% to the email and 17.5% to the follow up email. 10% of visitors clicked on the ‘Join Now’ button on the microsite and sign up to the Small Business Specialist Community is already 33% over target for the whole of 2007, with further activity still to come.
Target Audience
Microsoft Partners with small business expertise who were selling to the small business market in some capacity.
Size
3000.0
Our Thoughts
It is fascinating, isn’t it, seeing where you live (or work) from the air? Microsoft have done a Google Earth and in showing every recipient his or her premises from above, have made the mailer infinitely more personal than lasering ever can. Our only feeling was that the aerial photographs could be wider. We want to see more than our roof, we want to see something of the geography around us.