Though still a fairly unregulated marketing category in the US, branded content marketers face tremendous obstacles to getting their content seen, shared, and experienced by consumers. Publishers, social media platforms, and audiences are all incredibly adept at identifying marketing masquerading as editorial or entertainment content.

In those instances, publishers often charge hefty media fees in exchange for help with distribution, Facebook's EdgeRank will bury branded content in user's feeds, and audiences can always simply choose to engage with more relevant content elsewhere. To break through, marketers need to invest in quality, original content that is both additive to existing consumer conversations or behaviors, and truly engaging unto itself.

Add to these challenges the fact that Microsoft was trying to talk to a new audience of NY cultural influencers, not the sort of people who would show up to what was essentially a pop-up product demonstration. We knew that if we were going to get them to come it had to feel like more of an art opening than a tech show.

Audiences were drawn to Microtropolis in three ways: first, through direct invitation from cultural institutions with whom we’d partnered to curate specific events - Lincoln Center, Filter Magazine, local hotels and restaurants. Second, social chatter and advocacy from our hand picked neighborhood-specific tastemakers (chefs, artists, writers, hotels) got people excited and gave the event a sense of credibility and social currency. Within the event itself there were specific moments designed to motivate sharing through Twitter and Instagram. Finally, traditional awareness advertising was run in local media (OOH, print, web) promoting Microtropolis.

In just three days, the launch got people who were over 33% more influential than average to generate over 20M twitter impressions. People who hadn’t touched a PC in years were developing a more emotional connection with the Microsoft brand while taking pictures of Microsoft software with their iPhones. Sentiment across social networks was 98% favorable and sales of devices beat expectations by 100%.