Microsoft is a multinational technology company and one of the leading producers of computer software, hardware and services worldwide. While Microsoft is also a dominant player in the office software suite market, in particular with Microsoft Office, as well as the operating system market, it does have an otherwise diverse product offering. Microsoft has been operating in Cyprus since 2003 and is also responsible for the Maltese operations.

We were approached by Microsoft to implement a digital strategy that would assist in increasing the number of subscriptions to Microsoft Office 365 in Cyprus and Malta. Microsoft has traditionally sold its hardware and software products off the shelf through distributers and resellers but the effectiveness of sales in this manner has declined. Microsoft Office 365 however is a Software as a Service (SAAS) product. It refers to a set of subscription plans that gives one access to the entire Office suite of products on the cloud (over the internet). The challenge for Base Element was to identify potential users (audience) of Office 365 in Cyprus and Malta and then convert those users to sales (subscriptions).

So as to achieve wide audience reach in both regions, we began by identifying and then micro-segmenting possible users of Office 365 primarily into two groups - those that were interested in the product and those that were interested in similar products.

We then converted those users to sales (subscriptions) through the creation and execution of an integrated digital marketing strategy that included a combined approach of search, display and remarketing campaigns; the analysis of specific landing pages using A/B testing so as to determine and improve their conversion rate and the implementation of Facebook Advertising campaigns so as to engage targeted audiences using different messages, and drive website traffic.

In the course of the campaigns being run, research and analysis showed that marketing the same product was achieving different results in each country despite the regions being so similar. As a consequence, the campaigns were restructured differently and optimised for each location.