MICROSOFT | The Franchise Model | 2019
They turned gamers into entrepreneurs, and sales jumped 350% / Microsoft Xbox "The Franchise Model"
There was a site where you could customize your own Xbox controller. People loved designing them, but kept leaving without buying. McCann London found a trick there that boosted sales by 350%.
The problem
Xbox Design Lab is a customization store where you can freely choose colors, buttons, and grips. Users got absorbed in creating their designs, but the custom versions, priced higher than standard ones, rarely sold. The passion was there, but price was the wall.
The insight
What gamers really wanted was to "show off" a design that was theirs alone. If someone else said "that looks cool" and bought it, that wasn't consumption anymore, it was creation. So instead of getting them to buy, why not get them to sell? The McCann team bet on that.
The idea
They built a system where you could register your own design as an "original work," and every time someone else bought it, you'd get a cut. Designs ranged from Minions-style patterns to national flags to ones carrying social messages. Designers promoted their own work on social media, and Xbox backed them up in stores and mass media.
What happened
Sales of custom controllers increased by 350%. Designers earned an average of $95.24, with the top earner making $1,131. The campaign won a total of seven Lions at Cannes Lions, including the inaugural Grand Prix in the Creative eCommerce category. It also took the Grand Prix at the DMA Awards.
Afterthought
Saying you'll turn customers into entrepreneurs is easy, but it only works if you build the legal side, the technology, and the platform all for real. Instead of letting people give up at the price wall, you bring them in as partners. I think this is an invention where kindness and business genuinely worked together.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2019
