The Campaign

Our campaign goal for the pre-launch teaser campaign was to create a buzz among the PC-literate younger generation. We announced a fake new product, Onion Note, which would move you to tears because of how smooth the writing experience would be. By promoting this unique product online using social media, and substituting Onion Note with Surface at the last minute, we managed to create a lot of social media exposure. As a result, we reached our pre-sale target of selling 20,000 units ahead of product launch.

The Brief

The goal of the campaign was to convert the younger generation, who are frequent users of PCs, to Surface fans. The performance measurement for this campaign was the reaction of PC users who watched the campaign footage.

Results

Sales: Pre-sold out our target of 20,000 units before the launch. We managed to increase sales to130% of the previous year. Our reach: Over 600,000 online replays during a 1-month period.

Execution

Roughly one month ahead of sales launch, Surface Pro 3 was announced online under a unique product name Onion Note. Roughly ten days into the announcement, the product page was updated, and a commercial advertisement released. This strategy created a buzz online. The day before sales commencement when the buzz had climaxed, we substituted Onion Note with Surface Pro 3.

The Situation

This was a campaign for Microsoft Japan's Surface Pro 3 pre-launch promotion. Aging Surface users had become a concern for the company.

The Strategy

Younger frequent PC users have a tendency to search for newsworthy topics to share on social media. By presenting Surface as a different unique product, we aimed at creating a buzz among the younger generation.