7 Second Movies

Background

Many 17 to 29 year-olds believed that Windows products were good for work, not play. They had used the Windows operating system for years on their home PCs and associated it with school work. As a brand it was far removed from the cool, cult products like iPads they all aspired to own.

The task, then, was to show how easy it can be to bring projects to life with Windows 7 and demonstrate the creative fun that can be had.

Idea

To begin, Windows 7 became a main sponsor of the British Film Institute London Film Festival 2010, one of the UK’s great celebrations of creativity.

To make the most of this association, the agency wanted to capitalise on the target audience’s passion for film by inviting them to use Windows 7 to remake their favourite movie moments in just seven seconds.

Winners of the ‘7 Second Movies’ competition would be screened at a prestigious London Film Festival premiere.

The campaign kicked off with several seven second re-creations of classic movies, which ran in standard and rich online media as well as on the campaign hub.

Here there was further inspiration on how anyone could create their own movie using everyday items and a dash of imagination.

Partnership with Vimeo helped engage the most creative amongst the target audience and hosting the competition on Facebook ensured it was accessible and relevant. Users could share their movies easily, helping the campaign go viral.

Results

Thanks to the seamless integration of all the campaign elements, both brand awareness and brand preference scores increased disproportionately to the relatively meager €79,000 budget.

• 1,085 videos were submitted – against a target of 600.
• The videos were viewed 156,372 times in social media, 156% of the 100,000 target.
• An above-average click-through rate of 2.12% for Vimeo rich media.
• 87,430 people actively trialled the producted on the tour.
• 225% increase in active monthly users of Windows 7 student Facebook page.
• An aggregated social media reach of 1.2 million people.

2 million video views in total and a reach of 13 million.

Our Thoughts

While not a new strategy, I know what it’s like to safely navigate an idea through this client so I must give credit to my London colleagues. This product is always looking for ways to be fresher and funner (yes, it’s a word) to engage consumers. Here, the team found a way that’s relevant and achieved some staggering results – all proof that sometimes a client just needs to chillax and have some fun.