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0

of target companies reached

0

improvement in download conversion rate

0

increase in highly engaged contacts

Challenge

Despite Microsoft's global reputation and its trusted role in facilitating digital transformation for businesses, the rapid pace of technological advancements in the past two years has created an overwhelming and often confusing reality for many. We’ve witnessed how digital & data advancements can be a powerful catalyst for driving business change, however the abundance of information in the public sphere often makes it challenging for businesses to navigate through the noise and determine the best course of action, hindering them from progressing.

In a pioneering effort to make its solutions more relevant to real businesses, Microsoft customized its cloud solutions across various industries to deliver a suite of solutions tailored for financial services, retail, government, and healthcare.

With the product tailored, we needed a campaign that would successfully drive the relevance with the intended audience. In a previous effort, the narrative was too focused on the solution without addressing the needs of the customer. This time, we knew there was more value in demonstrating how Microsoft truly understood their complex challenges.

Solution

In the Middle East way of doing business, peer referrals and word of mouth play a vital role in influencing business decision-makers. Recognizing the significance of peer-to-peer authenticity, we felt it valuable to bring Microsoft’s customers to the forefront of the campaign; here reputable companies and their decision-makers willingly lent their credibility, which helped to reinforce Microsoft's relevance in the market while being locally meaningful.  

By using the voice of its customers, Microsoft swiftly gained trust in its ability to comprehend and solve the rapidly evolving needs and common challenges faced by industries in the region.

The campaign leveraged simple yet relevant video storytelling to home in on industry-specific challenges encountered by each customer, addressing their business need primarily, with a final emphasis on the business impact.

A highly targeted media approach was implemented, ensuring that every dollar spent was on reaching a specific quota of companies. An Account-Based Marketing (ABM) list was leveraged, prioritizing Microsoft’s high-value customer accounts, before applying industry filters and persona criteria to create a richly qualified audience.

Engaged audiences were remarketed with sequential content that fueled their appetite to learn more and drive them closer to a conversion point.

The strategy supported the audience throughout their research journey, bridging the gap between their needs and the solutions, and provided a coherent and tailored end-to-end journey that delivered tangible value to the audience and drove real business impact.

Result

  • 83% of target companies reached
  • 68% of target companies engaged
  • 300% improvement in download conversion rate (vs. prior quarter which didn’t lead with the customer)
  • 30% increase in highly engaged contacts

Carat

Carat is the world’s first media agency and privileged to work with some of the most storied and innovative brands in the world. Most recently named a leader amongst global media agencies by Forrester, Carat is consistently ranked the #1 media agency in the world. With over 12,000 experts in over 100 countries. Carat is a dentsu company and delivers an unparalleled capability to unlock real human understanding and connect people and brands through powerful and engaging media experiences.

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