Bringing AI to life through real world applications

The challenge

Microsoft is a trusted brand known for its cloud services, business applications, gaming and devices. The company aspires to extend its leadership position into the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Media coverage of AI has tended to have a negative slant, with a focus on the potential for automation to lead to job losses and negative outcomes due to bias. We needed  to showcase Microsoft’s capability in this field, highlighting the positive societal impacts enabled by AI, and illustrate the company’s commitment to innovation that empowers people and organisations to achieve more.

The insight

Traditional customer storytelling in the IT industry focuses on CIOs and IT managers who talk about functionality and technical attributes. We saw an opportunity to take a more human approach by telling an impactful story of how Microsoft AI is used by CSIRO and Kakadu National Park rangers to solve complex environmental management problems, caring for animal species and their natural habitats.

The strategy

Capture the real story where it matters the most – in Kakadu – and share it far and wide. We brought together all partners in the heart of Kakadu to capture how technology is making a difference to Indigenous Australians. This hero asset brought the story to life through a people-first narrative. This was accompanied by an in-depth feature story, press release, images, and bespoke video assets for LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. Before launching the video, a series of under embargo pre-briefings with key technology, business and environment media were facilitated – including an intimate media event with key partners from CSIRO and Northern Australia NESP.

The impact

Launching the morning of Innovate 2019, Microsoft  CEO Satya Nadella played the video on stage following his keynote. 17 pieces of unique media coverage landed with standout pieces in The Canberra Times, NT News and Business Insider Australia. To date, the campaign has reached a total of more than 41 million, with 88K views of the video assets.