CHALLENGE

Windows Server 2008's R2 release appeals to a very specific niche of tech professionals, and to reach it, Microsoft consulted with us on creating something a bit out of the ordinary for the demographic. The result is one of Microsoft's first Twitter contests.

STRATEGY

Microsoft is deeply immersed in the IT community online, and it knows that IT professionals can be a very tightly knit crowd, often making decisions based on word-of-mouth. With Twitter's capabilities for WOM spread, we proposed a contest specific to IT professionals, where the community would be free to speak for itself.

CREATIVE AND EXECUTION

To add a twist to the campaign, we build the core elements of the contest around an area of knowledge that is typically not associated with servers--Zen. Users are invited to stretch their creative minds to compose haikus extolling the virtues of Windows Server 2008 R2. Part of Microsoft's goal was to create a user-generated campaign that even the typically time-strapped server guru could participate in with bite-sized poems.

The microsite is integrated with Twitter, so that every submission is Tweeted to each poet's followers, multiplying the number of eyes interacting with the campaign. Both followers and other composers can vote on their favorite haikus, and the ultimate winner receives a home theater system including an XBOX 360 Elite.

PERFORMANCE

The campaign turned heads in both the IT and marketing community, being featured on such sites as AdWeek, ArsTechnica and DMNews. Thousands of haikus were submitted within the first week alone, proving that the realm of server technology and humorous user-generated content could live harmoniously.