Performance vs. KPIs
Introduction
Ours is a shared belief in the power of creativity to effect real and positive change in the world.
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The value of a D&AD Award lies in stimulation, not congratulation. What Microsoft calls empowerment. So at D&AD Festival 2018 we joined forces to surface new talent and give the creative community access to a world class education, with world class technology to match.
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Partnership Deliverables
In a public display of your support for the D&AD Foundation, Microsoft shared headline status of D&AD Festival with Adobe
Out of Home
106 individual sites over 5x weeks in Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester and London -- 46 sites in London alone -- at street-level on major arterial routes. Visible to hundreds of thousand vehicles and pedestrians everyday.
The Microsoft Stage
The Old Truman Brewery provided a unique industrial space, with bench seating and co-branded light boxes book-ending the stage.
Programming
Industry leaders and cultural influencers took to the Microsoft Stage. They included Caroline Pay (Head of Creative at Gray and one of the comparatively few senior women in advertising), Adam Smith (feature film and music video director for the Chemical Brothers) in conversation with Creative Review's Eliza Williams and Thomas Kolster (Mr Goodvertising).
1stAveMachine, MassiveMusic and Cut+Run also collaborated with to make a live music video and track with the audience in one hour.
Whilst Microsoft's Steven Woodgate joined a panel of experts to debate 'The Pitfalls and Opportunities of AI'.
2,943 check ins
- 12 of the 20 talks hit capacity
- 6 of the 20 talks exceeded capacity by 50
The Microsoft Surface Experience
Part digital installation, part product demo, the Surface Experiance encouraged creatives to contribute to the Festival identity with works created on Surface.
Last year's 'Pencil Shaving Awards' taught us that creatives spend too long responding to a formal brief. Excellent for our dwell time, less so for our reach metrics. This year, with deeper engagements being enjoyed downstairs in the Make It Space, The Surface Experiance was conceived to reward creativity at speed.
Working with design agency Hato, D&AD built a 3D animated digital drawing tool. Quick draw creative contributions were sought from our community using the Surface Pen and Studios. Their digital doodles, scribbles, sketches, illustrations and type were then exhibited on Surface Books affixed to industrial pillars, becoming part of a growing visual spectacle and the Festival's collaborative visual identity.
9,790 Check Ins
Strategically placed at the exit to the largest stage, the Surface Experience made a repeat impression on everyone who visited the Festival.
The Adobe Make It Space with Microsoft Surface
The Make It Space
A series of 21 creative workshops, each programmed by D&AD and taught by Pencil-winning leaders of industry. Festival-goers were invited to get hands on with Surface devices, whilst learning about the latest innovations from Adobe's Creative Cloud.
Workshops
191 participants engaged with Surface devices in a series of 40min sessions. They were taught animation with Picturesmith, Fashion Photography and visual storytelling with Perou, Gif-design with Shotopop and Art Direction by (former Buffy the Vampire Slayer celebrity and Instagram sensation) Tom Lenk. Adobe's evangelists also lead sessions on UX and digital design.
Survey Results
106 responses were collected as part of a pre and post workshop survey.
71% of participants said they were not familiar with the Surface family of devices at the start of the workshop.
58.5% said they are more likely to consider a Surface device as a result of the workshop.
D&AD Awards Ceremony
Senior Microsoft staff joined leaders of the global creative economy at the 56th annual D&AD Awards. Here Microsoft became the first corporate sponsor of our highest accolade, the Black Pencil.
Reserved for ground-breaking work in its field, just a small handful are awarded each year. This year there were three.
Fearless Girl took home a Black Pencil for outdoor advertising with its bronze statue of a defiant young girl facing the Charging Bull on New York’s Wall Street. It was created by McCann New York for State Street Global Advisors to highlight gender diversity.
Another Black Pencil went to "It’s a Tide ad" in film advertising, Tide’s spot by Saatchi & Saatchi New York that scored a touchdown during Super Bowl LII.
Australia secured the third and final black Pencil for branding, with "Palau Pledge" by Host/Havas for the Palau Legacy Project. The campaign required visitors to Palau to sign a passport pledge to act in an ecologically responsible way on the island.
D&AD will deliver a co-branded documentary film on your Black Pencil winners later in June, for distribution across Microsoft and D&AD channels.
Festival-goers Data
Primary Job Roles
- 36% Design
- 29% Creative
- 12% Student
- 6% Marketing
- 2% PR/Communications
- 2% Account Management
- 2% Strategy/Planning
- 2% Production
- 8% Other
Breakdown of Creative Job Titles
- 19% Creative Director
- 13% Graphic Designer
- 8% Copywriter/Content
- 8% CEO/Founder/MD
- 5% Film and Video Production
- Other: Illustrator, Animator, Photographer, Digital Designer, Typographer, Sound Designer
We surveyed 333 members of our audience about their experience of D&AD Festival 2018.
Here's what they had to say....
"Would you recommend D&AD Festival to a friend or colleague?"
Yes: 90%
"Who was the Headline Partner of D&AD Festival 2018?"
94% of respondents successfully recalled Microsoft as Headline Partner. 99% recalled Adobe.
"Did your experience of the Festival make you feel more positive towards Microsoft Surface?"
Yes: 58%
"Would you be more or less likely to recommend Microsoft Surface devices to a colleague?"
More Likely: 52%
"What brand experience at the Festival did you best connect with?"
- 43% The Microsoft Surface Experience
- 37% The Adobe Make It Space with Microsoft Surface
- 35% Intsagram Stories School
- 31% Pop up Typography Lab
- 30% The Material Shop
- 20% ME & EU Exhibition
- 19% MagCulture Exhibition
- 18% Changing Perspectives with Sightsavers
- 15% VR Slide by Happy Finish
- 13% LABS Co-working Lounge
- 12% Pixels of Fury by Shutterstock
- 8% Portfolio Surgeries with Wix.com
Some final words from our Festival-goers about Surface
I was deeply impressed by Surface Studio and I’m not an easy person to please on drawing tools! I have bought and used many different digital tools to emulate a pencil . . . from pen tablets, to Wacom’s Cintiq and Apple’s iPad Pro/Pencil combination. Surface Studio is comparable to Cintiq I used but is more elegant and less clunky. At the Festival, I was able to immediately start working in Photoshop without any difficulty. As a product designer myself, I also really appreciated the clean minimal design, considered detailing and ease of use.
– Dick Powell, D&AD Chairman and co-founder and director of global design and innovation company Seymourpowell
"I was actually talking to the team about the Surface Studios yesterday and how good they looked. I would absolutely love to have a trail."
Jamie Brunskill, Director of Nike's Creative Studio (D&AD has connected Surface sales for follow up)
I work in the design industry now for almost twenty years and I strongly believe in sketching as a way of thinking. MS Surface Studio is a cool thing that aids the process - I love sketching on screen - and doing that in a "true desktop" Adobe Suite environment is killer. You simply can't do all on tablets. I am happy somebody is still innovating in the desktop space.
- Paolo Insinga, Creative Director, Interbrand Italia