One year into the I’m Initiative, we launched a campaign combining the strength our users’ passion, and the power of their social networks: the i’m Talkathon.
The Talkathon riffed on the promise that every time you sent an IM, Microsoft had to give money to your favorite cause. We wondered, what if a person turned that into a crusade, doing nothing for 30 days but send instant messages?
More than 650 pieces of original work were produced for the effort, from banners to blog entries to social streams.
Characters and story arc. To sustain a 30-day story, we needed deep, detailed biographies for all our characters. Parker’s was extensive, covering former jobs, old girlfriends, childhood dreams and existential struggles.
Talkathon Blog. www.imtalkathon.com was the campaign’s main destination, where Parker blogged about his experience. We’d add two to three new posts a day. It’s also where visitors found everything they needed to download Live Messenger and sign up.
Talkathon Video Blog. A 15-episode sitcom telling Parker’s story, served up as a video blog. New episodes were posted every other day.
IM Bot. When you create an online character IM-ing 24/7, that dude needs to actually be online. We built a bot to respond to messages to Parker’s Live Messenger account.
Parker’s online life. To give Parker depth and dimension, we created a full online presence: Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, Flickr and Twitter streams.
Advertising. Banners and page takeovers channeled people to the actual Talkathon site.
Agency: McCannSF
ECD: Rob Bagot
CD/CW: Carl Loeb
CD/AD: Gerald Lewis
CD/Digital: Alastair Green
CW: Jeff Gunther
CW: Greg Mills
AD: Mark Lawson
QB: Devin Holmes
One year into the I’m Initiative, we launched a campaign combining the strength our users’ passion, and the power of their social networks: the i’m Talkathon.
The Talkathon riffed on the promise that every time you sent an IM, Microsoft had to give money to your favorite cause. We wondered, what if a person turned that into a crusade, doing nothing for 30 days but send instant messages?
More than 650 pieces of original work were produced for the effort, from banners to blog entries to social streams.
Characters and story arc. To sustain a 30-day story, we needed deep, detailed biographies for all our characters. Parker’s was extensive, covering former jobs, old girlfriends, childhood dreams and existential struggles.
Talkathon Blog. www.imtalkathon.com was the campaign’s main destination, where Parker blogged about his experience. We’d add two to three new posts a day. It’s also where visitors found everything they needed to download Live Messenger and sign up.
Talkathon Video Blog. A 15-episode sitcom telling Parker’s story, served up as a video blog. New episodes were posted every other day.
IM Bot. When you create an online character IM-ing 24/7, that dude needs to actually be online. We built a bot to respond to messages to Parker’s Live Messenger account.
Parker’s online life. To give Parker depth and dimension, we created a full online presence: Facebook page, LinkedIn profile, Flickr and Twitter streams.
Advertising. Banners and page takeovers channeled people to the actual Talkathon site.
Agency: McCannSF
ECD: Rob Bagot
CD/CW: Carl Loeb
CD/AD: Gerald Lewis
CD/Digital: Alastair Green
CW: Jeff Gunther
CW: Greg Mills
AD: Mark Lawson
QB: Devin Holmes