Title	BEYOND GENERATIONS
Brand	MICROSOFT/XBOX
Product/Service	XBOX
Category	A04. Media / Entertainment
Entrant	McCANN London, UNITED KINGDOM
Idea Creation	McCANN London, UNITED KINGDOM
Media Placement	McCANN London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	CRAFT London, UNITED KINGDOM
Additional Company	MICROSOFT XBOX Reading, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
Rob Doubal	McCann London	Chief Creative Officer
Laurence Thomson	McCann London	Chief Creative Officer
Jamie Mietz	McCann London	Executive Creative Director
Sanjiv Mistry	McCann London	Executive Creative Director
James Crosby	McCann London	Senior Creative
William Cottam	McCann London	Senior Creative
Lisa Carrana	McCann London	Head of Design
David Coates	McCann London	Designer
Jonathan Bender	McCann London	Senior Planner
Mike Phillips	McCann London	Senior Planner
Jessica Tamsedge	McCann London	Managing Director
Sailesh Jani	McCann London	Managing Partner
Oscar Flintoft	McCann London	Business Director
Melanie Vickers	McCann London	Account Director
May Sinlapa	McCann London	Senior Account Manager
Eloise Thompson	McCann London	Account Associate
Clare Prager	McCann London	Project Director
Georgia Wettenhall	McCann London	Senior Project Manager
Sergio Lopez	Craft	Chief Production Officer
Alec Christie	Craft	Executive Producer
Alexia Merrington	Craft	Executive Producer
Zara Balfour	Craft	Senior Producer
Pedro Pinto	Craft	Head of Post Production
Jamie Cooper	Craft	Post Producer
Sarah Hall	Craft	Producer
Liam White	Craft	Senior Print Producer
Chris Fowles	Craft	Director
Michael Flatt	Xbox	Global Integrated Marketing Director
Jack White	Xbox	Global Integrated Marketing Lead
Taylor Smith	Xbox	General Manager, Xbox Brand Marketing

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Loneliness within the elderly has become a serious issue; but Xbox knows that gaming has the power to connect. This is the story of how Xbox opened up the world gaming to a whole generation of people (the elderly) and made them realise the positive impacts that it could have on their lives. We redefined the experience and purpose of gaming. From consoles being perceived by the older generation as a tool to play games in a solitary way, to now being appreciated as a means to connect and build relationships whilst exploring virtual worlds together with their grandchildren.

Background

According to the charity AgeUK, a million elderly people go a month without speaking to another person, and since the pandemic the issue has only got worse. Yet gaming amongst the younger generation is on the rise, with people using Xbox as a tool to connect, socialise and maintain friendships. We wanted to shine a light on the relationship-building potential of modern online gaming and help bridge the generational divide by enabling the young and old to reconnect.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Xbox launched ‘Beyond Generations’, an initiative to connect young and old through the power of gaming. Realising that the majority of the elderly population don’t own consoles, we saw an opportunity to help empower young gamers to gift their old consoles to the elderly people in their lives. ‘ReBoxing’ Kits were made available to download online. It had everything that was needed to get an old console ready, and also made it super-simple for an elderly person to set up. A ‘what’s in the box’ page acted as both a check list for the sender, and a handy contents list for the recipient. Paper tags could be cut out and affixed to each component, informing and instructing the elderly person to its use. And it was all topped off with a greetings card to write a heartfelt message for their grandparents.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

Xbox wanted to help bridge the generational divide, but it didn’t feel right to target the elderly. Instead, we wanted to encourage and facilitate the younger generation to make the first move. We knew that the vast majority of elderly wouldn’t own a console or even consider buying one. But we knew young gamers would soon be upgrading to the next generation console (the Xbox Series S), which meant there would be a window of opportunity where their old consoles would be lying around collecting dust. Xbox wanted to make gifting an old console a no-brainer, by making the process as simple as possible and also showing the benefits gaming could bring to their grandparents.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The ‘Beyond Generations’ platform was launched in the UK on 18 Dec. Two documentary films were commissioned; each followed the real-life stories of two different families who'd lost touch, whether it was through distance or just growing apart. Shot over the course of 4 weeks, ReBoxed Xbox consoles were gifted to the elderly relatives by their grandkids, and new relationships were formed over games. The films lived on Xbox’s YouTube page & were promoted on social channels. A dedicated landing page was launched for the ‘Beyond Generations;’ initiative, where the ‘ReBoxing’ kit could be downloaded and printed at home. A handy ‘how to’ video also gave useful hints and tips how to ReBox an old console. Xbox also created the first ‘ReBoxing’ video, subverting the popular trend of unboxing videos. Xbox partnered with leading retirement home network, RetirementVillages.co.uk to supply consoles in a number of their homes across the UK.

List the results (30% of vote)

While the primary aim was to foster (re)connection between families, the campaign also had the effect of bringing a previously untapped audience (the elderly) into the Xbox ecosystem. The two films received the highest percentage of positive sentiment from any piece of content released by Xbox before – despite the gaming community being one of the most critical and hardest to please. Some of the comments received said ‘Xbox Cured Loneliness’ and ‘Achievement Unlocked: Family Bonding’. It seemed the films really touched people, as everyone could relate to the issue of loneliness and make them think hard about their own relationship with grandparents. Xbox’s end goal was to deliver on their brand mantra ‘when everybody plays, we all win’ proving that gaming should be inclusive for all. The most important result from the campaign could never be a number or a figure, but the families that reconnected through this experience.