What does big data have to do with a kitsch European songfest?

Big data - the storage and machine-based analysis of large, complex sets of data - is one of the four megatrends transforming our world. But engaging Business Decision Makers (BDMs) in the applications and implications of big data is tough: they know they need to invest in it, but it’s difficult to explain in an interesting way.

Our researcher David Rothschild had used big data to accurately predict the outcome of the US elections and the Oscars, and wanted to test his model on the Eurovision Song Contest. To breathe new life into the big data conversation our PR team decided to leverage this work. David predicted that Denmark was most likely to win, with a 41% chance.

The idea was to write a blog post for David to be posted on the Microsoft EU site. It cleverly pulled off the trick of going into just enough detail, but not so much that it would put a non-technical reader off. The post was pitched across Western Europe, with David offered for interview, plus social media amplification.

David predicted correctly: Denmark won (although we had a statement in our back pocket, just-in-case…), and the blog was read more than 2,500 times – fantastic penetration for such a niche target audience.

The story engaged c-suite and technology media across Western Europe, generating on-message coverage that reinvigorated a dry topic and effectively positioned the techies at Microsoft Research in a surprising, fun way.

The blog post needed to be credible, underpinned with intellectual rigour and a real grasp of the complex concepts involved. We crunched huge amounts of information about big data, and produced a cleverly-written, lively, non-technical blog post for the Microsoft EU website, authored by David: http://www.microsoft.com/eu/whats-next/article/from-the-us-elections-to-eurovision-2013-how-big-data-is-helping-make-.aspx

The blog went live on the Monday before the Eurovision final on Saturday 18 May. After TechWeekEurope took up the offer of an interview with David and ran the first piece of coverage, the story was picked up widely over the course of the week. We provided our local markets across Western Europe with sample pitches for target media, background information and guidance, and social amplification suggestions, and tweeted from @MicrosoftEMEA and @MicrosoftEU.

Before the event, we prepared a statement just in case David’s predictions turned out not to be correct. Luckily, he was right, and Denmark triumphed, yielding further media interest post-Eurovision.

The campaign was simple but effective. The unlikely pairing of a technology giant and a well-known entertainment event generated lively media and social media interest. The blog post and toolkit were highly cost-effective ways of telling the story, and successfully positioned Microsoft as a leader in the world of big data and an innovative company with a sense of fun.

Output:

30+ pieces of positive European/international coverage in target outlets including Bloomberg, read by 9.1% of Western European BDMs, and WSJE, read by 4.7% of the target audience, plus top-tier tech publications ZD Net, TechWeekEurope and Gizmodo.

Consideration:

90% of coverage communicated the key messages. A number of leading technology journalists tweeted about the research.

Action:

The blog received 2,133 visits from 2,027 unique visitors, with a total of 2,358 page views - a considerable figure when considering the limited size of the target audience of Western European high-level BDMs.