Help People Take Back (Snack) Time

Microsoft

Motivating Millennials and Gen Zers to take a bite-sized step toward combating meeting fatigue.

PROBLEM 

Microsoft’s annual Work Trend Index revealed that taking breaks — even short ones — between virtual meetings is vastly beneficial for employees, especially those facing back-to-back meetings. Breaks can reduce stress, alleviate meeting fatigue, and help individuals stay focused and engaged.

Using that insight, Microsoft wanted to encourage millennial and Gen Z users to carve out time for breaks and improve their workplace wellbeing — while also helping to reinstate regular breaks as a cultural norm.

SOLUTION 

Through a joint collaboration, Microsoft 365 and OREO Thins teamed up during National Cookie Month to create “THINVITES,” a delicious combination of 15-minute virtual Microsoft Teams meeting invitations and limited-edition, Microsoft 365-branded OREO cookies. The goal of “THINVITES” was to inspire people to block out time for much-needed breaks.

With Gen Z and millennials as target audiences, WE chose to collaborate with OREO, one of Gen Z’s favorite brands, adopting a social-first strategy to spark conversation on digital platforms. To generate early interest and buzz, the team sent cookies to more than 200 media outlets and creators across several verticals. In tandem, they hinted at the collaboration with teaser posts on Microsoft and OREO social channels before officially spreading the word about the sponsored snack breaks, partnering with influencers @imdrebrown and @corporatenatalie to sustain momentum over the post-launch period.

To drive further engagement and action, Microsoft created custom OREO emojis in Teams as part of the unsponsored joint collaboration. The campaign also drew on nostalgia and included Clippy, Microsoft’s iconic virtual office assistant that has gained recent popularity with millennials and Gen Z, on cookie packaging and a “Clippy Dippy” accessory designed to keep hands milk-free while dunking cookies.

RESULTS

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WE Communications