We had to make Microsoft Cortana relevant to each individual’s life. This meant not only showcasing Cortana’s versatility but also giving life to the benefits of using the product – personalisation of service.

The most effective way to communicate the intelligence and helpfulness of Cortana was through a smart-scheduling campaign that appeared to read your mind, location and situation.

Marketplace competition was intense, but with communications seemingly generic, a personalised approach tailored to consumers’ lives was the optimum solution. What better way to show the personalised service Cortana offers than by showcasing the largest personalisation at scale media campaign to date?

The creative idea was to serve these Out-of-Home personalised messages in real-time (pulling from numerous data sets – such as weather, travel, location and events) enabling us to tap into consumer moments and deliver relevance (messaging, touchpoints and time), creating synergy between the message, the medium, the environment and the product.

To deliver localisation and personalisation at such scale (875 digital sites across the UK) we created the most sophisticated CMS. Allowing us to serve completely bespoke, algorithm-generated copy in real-time, to specific locations and consumer touchpoints across the day. Including roadside, rail, the London Underground and in bars. Multiple datasets (e.g. weather, public transport updates, business insights and local events) were incorporated to act as triggers to deliver relevant creative communications. For example, a digital screen on a London bus shelter read ‘The number 7 bus is 3 minutes away; Cortana can give you updates on the latest news headlines while you wait.’ Another would remind you to pick up a present for Father’s Day.

Over 10,000 specific copy variations were displayed on screens each day reminding consumers of the effectiveness of Cortana, with communications that were of most benefit to them in any location at any given time.

This campaign, which pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in the OOH space, was highly successful. It was flexible, it was personal, and it delivered the key KPIs.

Results – Brand metrics

Microsoft/Nokia Lumia

Spontaneous Ad Recall +138%

Average Brand Equity Score +9%

Purchase consideration +48%

Cortana

Spontaneous Awareness ‘Cortana’ brand name +18%

Average Likelihood to use Cortana feature +29%

Willingness to pay a premium for Cortana feature +17%

Cortana preference (for voice controlled personal assistant) +18%

Likelihood to switch (to Nokia Lumia to get Cortana) +78%

Results – Ad Awareness

OOH Ad awareness 61%

Microsoft UK CMO Paul Davies said: "Just like Cortana, this campaign is personal, flexible, and hyper-relevant to the context against which the ads are served, using location, date and time data. We have used digital technology as a creative canvas to showcase how Cortana helps people manage everyday life seamlessly and in a powerful way.”