Microsoft

Microsoft Build 2023

A bright and modern convention center lounge area with large floor-to-ceiling windows showcasing an urban skyline. A sign in the foreground promotes the "Cloud Skills Challenge".

Branding

Production

Strategy

Helping Microsoft rebuild Build for the hybrid audience

Microsoft Build is an annual conference geared towards the software engineer and web developer audience. In 2023, Build took a hybrid approach so that the event was more accessible for those who still wanted to attend but couldn’t be there in person. To make matters more interesting, we worked with two different clients (Microsoft Learn and Intel) for the same conference, with the same purpose – to create an experience where everything from speaker sessions to booth engagements to online blogs, social, and digital promos felt connected to each other.

Data

The key to making the event look seamless was merging the digital audience content with what was happening in person and creating Microsoft Learn and Intel content that worked in both environments. We continuously asked ourselves: Would the at-home viewers still be engaged? Would the people attending interact with the digital elements, like the ever-popular Cloud Skills Challenge that came to life during the pandemic? We tapped into our events and content expertise to answer these hypothetical questions and ensure it was a great experience, no matter where an attendee was located.

Creative

Working with our clients is key to any successful project, but particularly to this one, since there were so many moving parts. There were working sessions with Intel subject matter experts, a late-breaking opportunity to tour the facility ahead of Build 2023, and constant collaboration between the stakeholders–all of which helped bring the hybrid experience to life, a mere 3 weeks before the big event.

When Build was finally upon us, we were ready. For the in-person attendees, we supported the Microsoft Learn Lounge spatial design, activations, interstitial programming, and attendee in-depth interviews for feedback on new AI features. Digitally for Learn, we also connected Cloud Skills Challenge, social promotions, emails, a Learn @ Build site design, and video production to the in-person crowd. While for our Intel client, we focused on their “better together” messaging with Microsoft and created engaging content via blogs, emails, and theater sessions that brought booth engagements, sessions, and onsite interviews all together.

Results

This was a lot of people’s first time back to Microsoft Build since 2019. Having worked on the Cloud Skills Challenge for this event in previous years, we were excited to see that the hybrid audience exceeded our registration target by 17% and content completion by 96% compared to years past. Clients we had never met in person or hadn’t seen since the pandemic were suddenly giving us hugs, rather than the more formal handshake or awkward fist bump, for pulling off such a feat in record time.