Microsoft Canada is inviting media and influential consumers to test its suite of Windows products – including the Xbox One, due out in November – during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Though the brand is not an official TIFF sponsor, it’s hosting a party in Toronto during the festival to align itself with a “cultural moment,” according to Chitra Anand, public relations lead for Microsoft Canada.
Microsoft is taking over the clubland bar Bloke & 4th today, and outfitting it with a “connected living room” that showcases how its products work synchronously in the home. Traditional media can test drive products during the daytime previews and media, bloggers, influencers and Microsoft’s c-suite clients are invited to an evening event.
The intent of the party, Anand said, is to show a cooler, sexier side of Microsoft and associate it with lifestyle, culture and the arts.
“TIFF is an amazing opportunity, because we want to show the best of what Microsoft has to offer and we want to show up in a different way than what people would expect from Microsoft,” she said.
Microsoft has been working to diversify its consumer base in Canada and shift the perception that it’s a conservative, business-driven brand. As part of that shift it ended its long-standing relationship with High Road Communications and selected Veritas as its new PR agency of record in June, setting off a new plan to use influencer marketing to change brand perception.
“We really want to show that smart can be sexy,” Anand said. “We’re known as a very traditional software company but we’re trying to transform to show that not only do we have sexy devices, but our high value tools can be sexy, too.”
