| Title | THE FANCHISE MODEL |
| Brand | MICROSOFT |
| Product/Service | XBOX DESIGN LAB |
| Category |
C05. Co-Creation & User Generated Content |
|
Entrant
|
McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Idea Creation
|
McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Production
|
MRM//McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Production 2
|
CRAFT WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Additional Company
|
AYZENBERG Seattle, USA
|
Credits
| Laurence Thomson |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Rob Doubal |
McCann London |
Chief Creative Officer |
| Sanjiv Mistry |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jamie Mietz |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jacob Björdal |
McCann London |
Art Director |
| Jim Nilsson |
McCann London |
Copywriter |
| Clare Mann |
McCann London |
Project Director |
| Paul Gillespie |
McCann London |
Senior Project Manager |
| Craig Cameron |
MRM//Meteorite |
Senior Project Manager |
| Mandy Wilson |
McCann London |
Project Director |
| Sergio Lopez |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Head of Integrated Production |
| Doris Tydeman |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Agency Producer |
| Dan Howarth |
McCann London |
Head of Art |
| Gustavo Fernandes |
McCann London |
Designer |
| Dan Miles |
MRM//Meteorite |
Designer |
| Karen Crum |
McCann London |
Head of Strategy |
| Charlotte Walters |
McCann London |
Planner |
| Rob Smith |
McCann London |
Executive Vice President |
| Sailesh Jani |
McCann London |
Regional Business Director |
| Tom Oliver |
McCann London |
Account Director |
| David Smith |
MRM//Meteorite |
Account Lead |
| Lynne Carter |
McCann London |
Senior Account Manager |
| Charlotte la Torre |
McCann London |
Account Manager |
| Sophie Grierson |
McCann London |
Account Executive |
| Alice Parker |
McCann London |
Account Executive |
| Jessica Bayat |
McCann Worldgroup |
Director of Communications, UK & Europe |
| Andrew Tusabe |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
| Francisco Penedo |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Agency Producer |
| Paul Jenkinson |
Craft Worldwide, London |
Editor |
The Campaign
Xbox created The Fanchise Model, a campaign that let users take ownership of their unique controller design, promote it to the world, and earn a part of its profits. The more people bought your design, the more you earned. As a result, consumers became entrepreneurs.
Gamers raced to spot gaps in the market, strategizing about what types of designs would be the most popular. Some claimed designs based on sports teams, movies and current events in the hopes of becoming a top-seller and, consequently, a top-earner. Others used it to raise money for causes such as breast cancer awareness and gender equality.
Users marketed their design through social media, encouraging friends and followers to buy their controller. To help users sell even more, Xbox gave them bespoke marketing campaigns that included press, TV, social, celebrity endorsement and in-store promotion.
By giving away part of the profit, everybody profited.
Creative Execution
The Fanchise Model ran during a five-month period (April – August 2017).
It was promoted through a number of different media, including .com, social, the Xbox dash, press and more, along with support from a number of design influencers.
Xbox also helped market gamers’ own designs, through banners, social media, bespoke videos, press, in-store promotion and more.
Results
- Sales increased by 350%
- 41% of site visitors claimed a design
- Average amount earned was $95.24
- One gamer made $1.131
With a call-to-action to ‘Design. Promote. Earn’, The Fanchise Model completely changed our target audience’s behaviour, turning Xbox Design Lab’s consumers into entrepreneurs. The campaign let users take ownership of their customised design, promote it, and earn a cut of its profits.
This mutually beneficial mechanism resulted in each user becoming a channel for direct marketing, urging friends and followers in social media to buy their controller.
At a time when gamers were concerned about the rising costs of gaming, The Fanchise Model didn’t only attract customers and drive sales – it built a powerful relationship between gamers and Xbox.
At a time when the gaming world was increasingly concerned about the cost of gaming, Xbox understood that the new customisation service Xbox Design Lab would need a breakthrough idea to make gamers buy controllers that were 50% more expensive than normal ones.
The strategy was to tap into the sense of pride that gamers feel when designing their controller. And instead of just asking them to buy a product, Xbox let them claim ownership of their design and earn a cut of its profits.
With a call-to-action to ‘Design. Promote. Earn.’, The Fanchise Model turned Xbox’s fans into active fanchisees.