I enjoy campaigns that enlist bloggers to solve puzzles, give away prizes or simply increase brand awareness.
To promote its Windows 7 phone, Microsoft brought to life its personalization feature, in the form of shadowboxes (those glass-covered display cases) featuring dolls hand-sewn to resemble 60 national bloggers.
Hub Strategy, the agency behind the campaign, played off the Windows Phone 7's "Live Hubs" feature that allows users to personalize their start screens with calendar, photo and email tiles.
The mobile concept took on a more physical and personal meaning when handcrafted shadowboxes arrived at bloggers' doorsteps. Each shadowbox included two Windows Phone 7s, one for the blogger and one to give away to a reader, via online contest.
Shadowboxes also came with hand-sewn "Me" dolls that looked like their blogging recipients; food bloggers had mini chef hats, while beauty bloggers had miniature pieces of make-up.
Each doll even came with a personalized "to-do" list based on an imaginary day in the life of the blogger. For example, there was Maggie, blogger for Mighty Girl, a lifestyle and fashionista blog. Her "Mighty Life List: 100 Things To Do List" was miniaturized into a "to-do" list for her doll persona, all in an effort to emphasize personalization.
Creating 60 custom dolls and custom "to-do" lists for bloggers? I'd say that's getting personal.