Transforming the ecosystem of a legacy brand
- ClientMicrosoft
- IndustryConsumer Product
- ServicesCustomer Experience
- CapabilitiesCustomer Experience · Brand Transformation Strategy · Customer Journey Mapping
A unified strategy to drive product consideration
Already a worldwide leader in technology, Microsoft’s Modern Life, Search, and Devices division approached us with a challenge—to translate high brand awareness into product awareness and trial across its vast hardware and software lines.
Our task was straightforward, albeit not simple: Improve education, consideration, and conversion across the Microsoft ecosystem, tailoring experiences to sales funnels that vary by segment, industry, and location.
Key Takeaways
Engaging audiences through new storytelling approaches based on data-driven insights and user needs
Using concept testing and launch measurement to strategically scale innovation
Pushing the envelope of visual design and UX to create modernized sites while delivering a definitive brand experience
Transforming a legacy brand ecosystem requires aligning storytelling, testing, and experience design
Windows 11 Website Experience
The world’s most iconic operating system tapped Code and Theory to create new website pages for the release of their latest OS, Windows 11, across both D2C and B2B customers. Taking on this task, and creating a successful experience, meant that our team had to get to the heart of the business’s meatiest challenge to overcome—how do we convince new consumers to purchase a Windows-enabled device, and existing ones to upgrade to the latest OS? The solution to this challenge required an investigation into Windows’ audience.
Through research, we discovered the key motivators and questions users were seeking. Designing around these needs enabled us to support the customer’s decision-making process by arming them with the specific benefits and use cases they are looking for when considering a new OS, rather than filling the page with heady product features that may sound smart but don’t answer our audience’s questions.
We ultimately created three key touchpoints within the site, along with other smaller site updates, to support users at different stages of their journey. First, a landing experience to introduce customers to the latest software and system, then more tactical pages focused on inspiring and guiding existing customers to update and new ones on how to get Windows 11.
Streamlining the Microsoft Education Web Experience
Microsoft Education provides a wide-ranging offering of software and hardware catering to a diverse set of audiences–from students and teachers, to school districts and higher education institutions. Microsoft products have demonstrably created meaningful impact in the classroom, both for in-person and remote learning experiences. However, among the target audience, a lack of understanding and perceived complexity of the product ecosystem remain. This, combined with a currently cluttered and hard to navigate site experience posed a significant challenge to successfully meeting users’ needs.
We were tasked with driving a strategic site restructure effort that would streamline the web journey and evolve the site experience into an innovative and engaging touchpoint. Our first step was to conduct user research activities to properly understand customers' diverse and changing needs and document their purchase journey. From there, we identified key priority areas to focus on and help inform the roadmap for the 2023 fiscal year.
To drive impact incrementally, we targeted flagship product pages to redesign and created a Help Me Choose Finder feature that would enhance the overall experience and facilitate navigation for both low and high-intent users. The approach for the new Teams for Education and Microsoft 365 for Education pages focused on demonstrating the instructional value and elevating key features and benefits of the products to facilitate the path to conversion for all audiences.
Efficient component updates with the Windows team
To ensure the Windows team could build our vision efficiently, we partnered with their development team to make impactful design updates to existing components. This elevated and modernized the overall look and feel without adding significant development burden.
Cross-Segment Digital Experience Across Microsoft
From hardware to software, our relationship covers Microsoft’s most iconic lines of business (Surface, Windows, Edge and Bing) across commercial, consumer, and education sectors.
Across each engagement, we start by grounding the work in audience research to understand needs, motivators, and decision-making moments, then translate those insights into clearer journeys, streamlined structures, and modular experiences that can scale across products and releases.
Surface device storytelling strategy
Microsoft Surface has dedicated a decade to the craftsmanship and innovation of hardware, however, its audience lacks a fundamental understanding of what each device does and how they differ from one another. When tasked with launching three new products in the Fall of 2022, our first step in establishing a vision, one that would set a foundation for a refreshed look and feel and module system to be leveraged in future releases, was to develop a strategy around how to successfully educate consumers about devices.
Our approach was a foundational shift in device storytelling grounded in audience research. A core principle of the strategy was to elevate key features and benefits– and what they enable– based on top of mind needs and motivators audiences have when considering a device. Aesthetics, use flexibility, and customization were all high priority for our audience, but we couldn’t just tell this story we needed to show it.
Collaborating closely across the Surface organization from engineering to Brand ID, we designed a new system of modules that enable users to experience richer feature demonstrations, tactile close-ups that highlighted form factor differences, and improved storytelling that tied hardware and software features to real-world applications audiences care about.
A scalable module system for Surface product storytelling
The new product pages and system of modules was developed with flexibility in mind to ensure it could scale to accommodate a range of use cases across future products, languages, devices, performance, and the evolving architecture stack.
The new, modern experience has successfully increased both product understanding and engagement time, delivering meaningful business impact by driving consideration for Surface devices. We continue to push the brand forward into 2023, supporting tentpole launches, drumbeat moments throughout the year, and continuous testing and optimization.
Transforming a legacy brand ecosystem
This work focused on transforming the ecosystem of a legacy brand, aligning experiences and touchpoints into a more cohesive whole. By bringing clarity and consistency to how the brand shows up, the project helped modernize the way people engage with Microsoft across its ecosystem.
The result is a stronger foundation for ongoing evolution, built on audience research, clearer journeys, and modular experiences that can scale across products and releases. It supports change without losing what makes Microsoft recognizable by bringing clarity and consistency to how key touchpoints show up across segments. With streamlined structures and more cohesive storytelling, it sets a clearer, more connected direction for future experiences. In doing so, it reinforces trust by making the ecosystem easier to understand and navigate.
Read More
Let’s get to work. Start a conversation.
newbiz@codeandtheory.comCode and Theory is a proud member of Stagwell Group. Stagwell is the challenger network built to transform marketing. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our 13,000+ specialists in 34+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for their clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com
Decode
Keep up with the culture, one newsletter at a time. Subscribe to DECODE:
Find Us
One World Trade Center,
69th Floor
New York, NY 10007