When Adobe replaced their popular creative software with subscription-based Creative Cloud, many users were not happy. We had to win them back and show them that the new way of working actually allowed them access to more tools so they could be more creative.

INSIGHT: Today’s creatives aren’t just one thing; they are multidisciplinary artists. They need all the latest tools, and access to additional tools can transform their ability to create.

STRATEGY: Instead of launching the new service, we decided to launch an entirely new type of customer.

IDEA: This isn’t about software; it’s about creativity. There is a new breed of artist that doesn’t just work in one medium but uses a wide range of tools to create a new mash-up of art and technology, where design meets UX, where photography meets coding and where illustration meets architecture. They are the new creatives.

To win them over, we put our customers at the center of an integrated campaign by projecting their crowdsourced self-portraits onto their faces.

Here’s what we did:

* An online spot declared, “I Am the New Creative,” and contained embedded links that connected directly to the featured artist’s portfolio.

* Posters were distributed to featured artists.

* The website iamthenewcreative.com encouraged artists to submit portraits and become part of the campaign.

* Adobe donated its global social media network to showcase the New Creatives’ work to more than 16 million potential viewers online.

By putting creatives at the center, we dramatically increased visits to artists’ portfolios. Positive sentiment toward Adobe Creative Cloud increased on social media. And the creatives themselves became our best and most effective ambassadors of a new way of working.

Adobe embraced the campaign and appreciated how effective it was at changing what had the potential to be a very negative experience (i.e., the shift from purchase to subscription) into a positive one, allowing customers to more clearly understand the benefits. Adobe even integrated it into the start-up screens on the product itself.