In a world that is moving at the speed of AI, Microsoft Bing needed to be at the forefront of the cultural zeitgeist and relevant conversations. Microsoft wanted to provoke curiosity around the magic of prompts to capture imaginations about all one can do with Bing. We wanted to create talk value, a flywheel for buzz about Bing and the instant gratification it provides, simultaneously turning any existing fear around use of generative AI into FOMO.
With goals to raise awareness, familiarity, and usage intent of Bing AI-powered search, inserting Bing into a cultural tentpole event was critical. The Bing target audience, Culture Tastemakers, are young, diverse, and urban. They are open to new things in tech and beyond, and are looked at as creative and influential people, which translates to them being able to come up with interesting things to do with Bing and bringing others along. They also have a passion for Sports, notably NBA, so aligning with top tier NBA talent was also important so the brand could connect with the audience where they already are and further deepen the connection between Bing and Sports.
Partnering with WBD and tapping into their many umbrellas aligning with Sports (TNT, Bleacher Report (B/R), House of Highlights HoH)) allowed Microsoft to not only reach their target audience and connect to their passions, but also the capability to have mass awareness across multiple platforms, exposing the audience to the differentiating features of Bing and priming them to want to learn more.
Microsoft Bing was inserted into the cultural conversation with some of the biggest stars in sports through an official partnership with The Match. Through this partnership, Microsoft and B/R created branded content featuring Charles Barkley and Bing, showing all Bing AI-powered search can do.
The branded content was distributed across WBD platforms, inclusive of linear, streaming, social, and digital. Linear and streaming creative was instrumental in driving awareness and high visibility. B/R and contextually relevant media assets generated brand consideration, while social media ignited conversations through engagement and interactions.
For social, content was released within a week of the event, with only a seven-day flight. The campaign seized the excitement of this tentpole moment, while driving mass awareness of Bing AI-powered search. As part of the social plan, scripted and unscripted branded content with Charles Barkley and Bing were created. The content tapped into B/R and HoH’s humorous tone while also showing audiences the unique features of Bing AI-powered search. The content posted on B/R channels leaned into golf, playing off Charles Barkley’s well-known lack of golf skills. Key Bing features included were creating custom images using AI, finding information through summarized responses, and continuing previous searches and conversations. The content showed the relationship between Barkley and Bing, highlighting the product through UI and graphics. Social content was also created for House of Highlights, which took a different approach. The HoH content was unscripted and allowed the audience to get to know Charles Barkley more, through the lens of Bing.
1x B/R Longform Piece (FB, YT)
1x B/R Shortform Piece (T, TT, IG Reel, YT Short, IG Story)
2x HoH Unscripted Social Videos (IG Reels, TT, YT Shorts, IG Stories)
On linear and streaming, Bing signage was spread throughout the entire course. Bing also sponsored the Bing Closest to the Hole Challenge, where if a hole in one is made on the twelfth hole, $5 million is donated on that team’s behalf. Fans, both in attendance and viewing on television or streaming, were presented with Bing imagery from start to finish.
1x custom :30 and 1x :15 spot
2x pre-show linear spots, 6x linear in event spots
1x live toss to :15 custom with QR code driving to content on B/R social
1x commercial 1box with lower third featuring :30 custom
2x custom course card linear enhancements, featuring Bing AI-powered search question and answers
1x Bing sponsored challenge hole
2x Branded Billboards
Broadcast visible on-site signage
On digital, contextually relevant Bing and B/R co-branded assets were created, also utilizing a hero image of Charles Barkley. Six co-branded takeovers ran on key dates before and after The Match. Bing’s branded assets ran alongside the custom content, giving the brand an “always on” presence across the B/R ecosystems throughout the week leading up to The Match. Specifically, digital was targeted against NBA content, capitalizing on important events on the NBA calendar such as Finals, Draft, and Free Agency.
Bing capitalized on The Match by working with B/R to develop custom content that ran across social, digital, and linear, creating an all-encompassing campaign that raised awareness for Bing’s newest AI features. Whether fans tuned in live on TNT or looked up coverage on B/R and House of Highlights they witnessed The Match announcer, Charles Barkley, enlisting Bing to help him with his golf swing in creative and unique ways, showing off the power of Bing AI-powered search.
Overall, the partnership led to significant boosts in aided brand and ad awareness metrics, as well as directional lifts in product familiarity and usage intention, and the impression that Microsoft Bing inspires to achieve more. Linear content delivered the strongest lifts in aided ad awareness and aided The Match association vs. control, followed by B/R digital and B/R social. The HoH content delivered the highest lift in aided awareness of Microsoft Bing. B/R content in the digital environment also contributed to directional lift in product awareness.
The wide variety of ways in which Bing was showcased during The Match drove significant lift in familiarity and directional lift in usage intent for Microsoft Bing. Exposure to linear content also led viewers to agree that the brand “empowers me to achieve more” and “inspires me to have new ideas.”
Every 7 out of 10 exposed were more likely to consider Microsoft Bing due to Charles Barkley’s involvement. He was familiar to the audience, likeable, and thought of as a good fit for the campaign.
