Microsoft Kin Gets Social Media Marketing ‘Exposure’ With “Secret Launch Party” in Atlanta

May 28, 2010 • Atlanta, GA USA – Wow! Who knew Microsoft could be so hip or so social?

I was blown away by both the new Microsoft Kin smartphone launch party in Atlanta Thursday (5/27) night and how its Agency, Exposure, conceived, implemented and promoted the party. (Plus, six other Microsoft KIN launch parties across America.)

The time and location of the party in Atlanta was still a secret as of 3:49 pm Thursday – just hours before the concert! “FREE SHOW! More info @ 4pm!,” tweeted Hip Hop Artist YelaWolf earlier on Thursday.

At 4 pm, the Artists’ reveal tweets started to activate the flash mob partygoer fans:

YelaWolf's Tweet Reveals "Secret Party" Location

Makeda Demos Kin

Then the Facebook posts … And, the re-tweets and Facebook “Like This” by the Artist fans.

And, by 8 pm the Yaarab Shrine Temple auditorium, the most unexpected concert party venue in Atlanta – transformed into an ultra-hip MTV-like party space – filled (comfortably) with hundreds of guests enjoying the music, the vibe and the open bar while hundreds were being turned away at the door to the hottest party in the ATL.

No newspaper ads. No TV commercials. No radio spots. Just Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, re-tweets, Facebook’s Like This, and other social media tools such as TwitLonger – and a KIN ‘socialogist‘ – to spread the word among the most likely prospective customers of Microsoft’s new Kin smartphone: the 18 to 20 something that connect and share with their friends through their mobile phones. (And, tweeted and posted photos and videos from the event while it was happening.) Now start adding legs like the viral Kin Facebook Sweepstakes for a chance to win trips to meet five of your Facebook friends (and, of course, post to their Facebook page that you just entered for a chance to win a trip from Kin to visit them!)

This launch party – a “secret show” – was experiencial marketing on steroids. The three Hip Hop Artists delivered exactly the right party crowd, plus the event delivered a healthy dose of traditional media coverage such as Associated Press and  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Big Boi at Kin Launch Party in Atlanta

Props to Microsoft! I can just image the their Agency’s pitch: Kin is all about social media, so we’ll use social media exclusively to promote launch parties across America – and we won’t tell anyone where or when the party will be until just hours before!

What a great Client to recognize a big, powerful way to leverage social media to deliver exactly the right audience to experience a Kin smartphone demo from one of many smart, 20-somethings like Makeda.

I loved how easy the Kin makes sharing/posting photos, video, stories and more via Facebook, Twitter and email. As an Apple enthusiast who drinks and shares the Kool-Aid – iPhone, iMac, Apple TV (and eying the iPad) – I can see why 20-somethings who have been craving an iPhone may just find a Kin more aligned with how they socialize with their friends. (I’ll stick with my iPhone.)

To learn more about the Kin social media marketing campaign, check out CNN Reporter Nick Valencia’s “Rapper headlines secret Microsoft concert” story and this blog post by the head of Edelman Australia Matthew Gains.

To learn more about the Kin, check out The Mossberg Solution column in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Tech Columnist David Pogue in his May 26, 2010 column. To see the Kin follow-up email to my sweepstakes registration at the party to win two Kin phones, click here.

Disclosure:

While the launch party was free, I was a guest of Exposure. And, my “Plus One” party guest was Atlanta Hip Hop Artist Street Lotto: one of the ZOOZbeat Artists for our GREAT! ZOOZ Mobile iPhone app client. To learn more about the Kin social media marketing campaign, check out this blog post by the head of Edelman Australia Matthew Gains.

Postscript:

Microsoft announced it will discontinue its Kin phones after less than three months on the market …

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