February 16, 2010
THE POWER OF PEOPLE
THE CHALLENGE: To celebrate Microsoft’s commitment to Canada in a corporate image piece that was simple, sincere, and appropriate for all audiences. The point was to curry favour with the “powers-that-be” in the Canadian government, who tend to view Microsoft in Canada as a U.S. company that has U.S. interest, siphons off our cash and sends it all back to Bill Gates.
THE SITUATION: There’s no shortage of case studies and marketing communication that champions Microsoft Canada’s role in the business and technology environment, but not very much that captures the Canadian ‘spirit’ of the company, and what it contributes to Canadian life.
THE ESSENTIAL TRUTH:
The truth is that iPrimate came up with a cool, little book that’s accessible and inspirational (very un-Microsoft!). The stories in it are people-focused and a little quirky - telling tales about how Microsoft has made a connection in the lives of Canadians from all walks of life. The photography in it (by Paul Perrier) is expressively human.
Here’s the final book as you might see it sitting on your favourite wicker chair!
And here are 10 sample pages of the 41 in the book (actually, there were 82 pages – 41 English, 41 French):
