A simple engaging promotion in partnership with John Lewis to increase Microsoft's share of the UK's search market.
Searching is the second most popular activity performed using the internet (the first being email). Currently Microsoft's main competitor Google holds the monopoly in the UK and global search engine market. In order for Microsoft to increase their market share, SMP created the highly successful search promotion Big Snap in Spring 2008. Building on this success Microsoft subsequently launched Big Snap 2 which went live in October 2008.
Create an easy access promotion offering high value for all consumers and deliver a proposition that would increase the number of consumers using Live Search.
Incentivise consumers to perform day-to-day searched using Microsoft Live Search. Identify and recruit an appropriate 'clicks and mortar' retail brand as a strategic partner whose brand appeal would attract a wide audience; particularly during the Christmas period and the prevailing economic downturn. Measure campaign effectiveness using separate marketing entry point URL.
Big Snap 2 went live in partnership with John Lewis. Each time consumers used live search two animated JLP branded playing cards appeared on the banner and flipped to reveal a value of £25 to £1000. If the two cards matched then the consumer INSTANTLY won the amount in JLP vouchers. There was a prize every hour 24/7 for 8 weeks.
The campaign included money can't buy media across Microsoft's network, ads in every UK Hotmail, content on Absolute Radio & emails, sent out to JLP's 1.6m database
Big Snap 2 achieved outstanding results and exceeded all expectations. It also enabled Microsoft's hit rate to peak at over 1 million searches in one day through a single marketing entry point, the highest ever achieved.
Overall, £183K worth of John Lewis vouchers were issued over an 11 week period.
At it's peak in November 2008, Big Snap 2 recorded figures that were 921% higher than figures recorded in September 2008 via a marketing entry point.