Holiday Photos on the Fly
Best Sampling Program or Trial Recruitment
Best Campaign That Uses a Holiday Theme in its Promotion
Agency: 206 inc
Campaign: Holiday Photos on the Fly
Client: Microsoft Windows
Microsoft felt that the best way to get cynical consumers to embrace the new Windows 7 operating system was to let them ‘see it to believe it’. In particular, Microsoft wanted people to sample the PhotoFuse, Photo Mail and SkyDrive capabilities because they help people edit and share photos.
They came up with Holiday Photos on the Fly, through which passers by could have their holiday photos taken with Santa or against a festive background, edited and shared for free as they experienced the benefits of Windows 7.
They partnered with Southwest Airlines. Over the course of three weekends in December, pop-up holiday photo stations were installed at Southwest gates at 26 airports and at the Southwest Porch at Bryant Park in New York City, and at Southwest Porch at Skyline Park in Denver.
After a photo was taken, each participant was invited by a Windows Holiday Elf to demo new Windows photo features in a five- to seven-minute trial experience. The elves walked families through various features of the new Windows. They used Photo Fuse to edit their pictures by merging all three shots to create one perfect picture. Using Photo Mail, they could email the picture to family and friends. Everyone received a free print of their photo along with a Holiday Guide with offers including $20 off their next Southwest flight and a folder to protect their printed photo.
Later, families could download their photo at www.freeholidayphotos.com, play games, create their own holiday e-cards and enter a sweepstakes to win $500 in holiday cash, Windows 7 Software or Southwest Airlines tickets every day leading up to Christmas.
The program kicked off with a one-day event at Bryant Park in New York, where press and consumers could witness skating Santas, be the first to have their picture taken and experience other Microsoft consumer products, including Xbox Kinect, Windows Phone 7 and Windows PCs. Attendees were treated to free hot chocolate and ice skating performances throughout the day.
The event took place simultaneously in 31 different locations over 31 days. Hundreds of thousands of Santa photos were taken and a similar number of individuals participated in the Windows 7 trial experience. A post-event survey revealed a significant preference shift toward Windows PC from Mac, along with a majority of consumers planning to recommend Windows 7 to friends or family.
