Microsoft
Microsoft acquired $3 billion worth of strategic business from Yahoo with the deal moving faster than expected. The company pivoted quickly to handle the incoming business, hiring a full sales team in three months to transition the business, manage client relationships and help satisfy their advertising needs. With no history in place, I was hired to lead communications, help shape the culture, and align the team with the greater Microsoft. During my time, the organization doubled the advertising sales, reached a score of 88 percent in workplace health and became a model for community giving.
Communications Strategy
& Execution
Beginning with a strong communication foundation, the strategy evolved from onboarding basics and training to deepening client relationships and driving customer results. Employees were regularly engaged in communications, contributing ideas and participating in focus groups. Metrics, feedback and survey scores were also used to improve communications and drive greater impact.
New Communication Vehicles
To drive engagement, we created new employee communication vehicles including Win Wire monthly newsletter highlighting customer results (and the teams that made it happen), a #quotacrushers ranking announcing the top five sales pods for each quarter, Sways showcasing big events, and thought leadership discussions with engineers, insights teams and marketing colleagues to answer questions and share the latest news.
Segmentation & Strategy Announcement
As the sales business matured, our client segmentation and overall strategy needed to be updated. In close collaboration with strategy and training teams, I led the communications workstream to announce the global change, support HR communication, educate managers, launch new training and create support materials and websites for our organization.
Global Sales Summits & Events
From initial concept through rehearsals and final execution on stage, I managed the content development and design for key internal events such as the Microsoft Advertising Global Summit and MS Ready events. These events played a critical role to galvanize the team through educating about the business, celebrating highlights, sharing customer stories and having fun together.
Partner Relationships
From client meetings to agency awards events, my role was to position Microsoft Advertising as a key partner that unlocked opportunity. Hitting the right tone for a pivotal client discussion, having sales teams prepped and ready with the latest offerings and celebrating progress, all helped to deepen the relationships and drive success.
Give Campaign
As co-lead of the Microsoft Advertising Give Campaign, we 'gamified' giving for the month of October, unlocking new levels as teams increased participation. Weekly communications highlighting teamwork, giving back and competition generated enthusiasm and helped build stronger teams. In 2019, we hit an unprecedented high with 95% participation and more than $1.3 million donated to communities across the US.