Microsoft Inspire. Empower. Lead
From communication to cyber security, Microsoft Ireland engineers develop and innovate tools that influence millions globally, on a daily basis. To continue their ongoing mission to recruit the best engineers in the market, they approached us for help.
The Challenge
Our objective was clear, we needed to elevate the profile and highlight the impact Microsoft Ireland engineers have, both on a local and global scale, attracting top talent and generating quality applications for an array of engineering positions.
Our Approach
There’s no better way to show what you can do at Microsoft Ireland than by telling the real stories of engineers and the global solutions that they develop here in Ireland. To best achieve this, we began a series of in-depth interviews with team leads across all engineering departments, homing in on key stories, engineering our own narratives.
Continuing our approach, we focused on content that resonated with key Microsoft attributes, from Innovation to Diversity and Inclusivity. This ensured our messaging both rang true with brand values but also gave prospecting employees good insight into life of a Microsoft engineer.
By championing the stories around the continuous innovation and growth of its engineers, we could begin to dispel any brand misconceptions, and elevate Microsoft as an employer.
The Execution
To tell these real, compelling, and current stories about the Microsoft Engineering teams, we highlighted four key aspects of the company’s presence in Ireland: One Microsoft Court, Microsoft Natural Language Experiences, Azure Life and Safety, and Microsoft Identity.
One Microsoft Court
This new thriving ecosystem in Ireland empowers Engineers to be their authentic self and is home to over 700 Engineers. This space puts digital transformation first and by showcasing it as the figurehead for Microsoft Engineering in Ireland, we made applying for roles with the company a highly attractive proposition.
Microsoft Natural Language Experiences (NLX)
The NLX team develop features that are used by millions of people across the entire planet, every single day. By highlighting this team and the everyday affect they have on people’s lives, we catered to those who were looking to not only develop professionally but who wanted the opportunity to actively contribute to the world at large daily.
Azure Life and Safety
The Azure team manage the global crisis, live site and communications function for Microsoft from Dublin. It deals with critical services around the world and operates 24/7 globally. It’s the perfect sector of Microsoft to attract prospective employees who want to support customers globally.
Microsoft Identity
Identity seems pretty straightforward but everything is difficult at scale, and that’s why it’s fun. The Identity team serve some of the largest companies in the world, making sure their users and their data is protected. We focused on this team as a means to grab the attention of prospective employees who love problem solving.
The Results
Our campaign achieved incredible results across key metrics with word of mouth being a significant standout. Multiple candidates openly referenced our campaign as one of the reasons they were attracted to applying for a role in Microsoft Ireland, with a large number calling out the videos as a driver in changing their perception of Microsoft as a prospective employer. Year on year, the campaign brought significant increases in key metrics such as videos views, clicks, and most importantly for a recruitment campaign, it saw an increase both in the overall number of applicants and the quality of applicants who applied.
- +191% clicks (compared to previous year)
- + 58% video views (compared to previous year)
- Significant increase in applicant numbers (compared to previous year)