With increasingly busy lives comes an increasing need for Mobile Professionals to relax by escaping into premium video content. However, they view the inevitable commercial airtime that surrounds premium content as an unwanted distraction, an impediment to the experience, and will skip or block ads whenever possible.

(21% ads skipped in US, Source: Nielsen and Lake5 commercial ratings)

Microsoft teamed up with FOX and the “Lethal Weapon” TV show to execute a fresh approach to TV partnerships. Given the consumer insight, we needed to blur the lines between programming and commercial time to make the Microsoft message virtually unskippable. The Surface Pro 4 was authentically woven into the fabric of the Lethal Weapon narrative through placements and integrations building up a story over time. So the message became an inherent part of the entertainment, rather than an ignorable advertising message.

We deployed a first-to-market activation, developing four complementary stories that stretched the narrative from the show into commercial airtime, giving fans more of the content they craved. To ensure authenticity, the story stretches were written by show writers, shot on the Lethal Weapon set and engrained in each episodes’ storyline. The story stretches were fronted by the show’s pathologist Scorsese (himself a Mobile Professional) to highlight Mobile Professionals work in a variety of industries not the typical sales type. This ensured seamless integration for fans who could further immerse themselves into the crime under investigation.

Fans were also treated to a sub-plot of the blossoming relationship between Scorsese and Detective Sonya Bailey – courtesy of the Surface Pro 4. To extend the reach and opportunity to engage beyond TV, the story stretches were also custom built for video on demand, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The story stretches and the fast-paced nature of Lethal Weapon’s storylines gave us a broad range of exposure for Microsoft Surface Pro 4, with fresh and creative ways to demonstrate that Surface Pro 4 does more:

Campaign generated 30MM broadcast impressions/12MM online impressions

Helping to drive a +23% purchase intent lift (for Surface family)

91% of viewers watched the story stretch through (Nielsen Live +7, Lethal Weapon)

Brand preference increased by +33% (category norm 10%)

Brand consideration increased by +21% (category norm 10%)

89% of recognizers said Surface is for people like me (+27)

91% said Surface is cool (+27)

90% said Microsoft innovates in ways that matter to me (+30)

84% said Microsoft is a brand I love (+34)

Sources: Microsoft ICE, Fox Equation Study

Microsoft and Fox came together to turn content into culture and create an idea that was truly unskippable while driving business success.