Microsoft France Engages 4000 Super Fans on House of Fans, an Exclusive Advocacy Community

Microsoft fans aren’t just engaged with the brand; they’re passionate about its products – from Windows to Surface, Xbox to Office. With an active network of bloggers and social media influencers, Microsoft France has gone one step further by engaging a community of super fans: customers and followers who are passionate about the brand, and ready to advocate for it. The company has achieved this with House of Fans, a gamified engagement and advocacy platform developed by Sociabble.

“We wanted to drive our fans’ passion, develop their product knowledge, and transform them into brand ambassadors,” explains David Dufour, Consumer Marketing Communication Director at Microsoft France. “By creating an interactive community, our objective was to better understand fans’ expectations, and empower them to advocate for Microsoft.”

We wanted to drive our fans’ passion, develop their product knowledge, and transform them into brand ambassadors

David Dufour Consumer Marketing Communication Director

House of Fans: An Exclusive Community for Microsoft Super Fans

Available on the web and as a native mobile application, House of Fans is a private fan club that provides access to exclusive content – the latest Microsoft news, as well as quizzes, tips and tricks, videos, and interviews with Microsoft employees. House of Fans members can also create their own content (such as product feedback, advice and ideas) which, once approved, can be shared by other users, and on official brand channels. House of Fans has become a content gold mine for Microsoft France, with 5 000 pieces of user-generated content (UGC) being submitted during the first three months.

Super Fan Recruitment

Through a communications campaign that combined organic and paid social media, display advertising, brand mailing lists, and existing influencer communities, Microsoft fans were invited to apply for House of Fans membership by completing a questionnaire and submitting a letter of motivation.

10 000 applications were received in just two weeks, with 4 000 individuals being identified as super fans and selected to join House of Fans.

Driving User Engagement through Gamification

The House of Fans platform offers a fully gamified experience, with points, challenges, badges, and prizes driving engagement rates that are up to five times greater than those achieved on social networks.

During the first three months Microsoft France recorded 400 000 engagement actions (likes and comments) on the platform, over 15 000 external shares on social media, and an organic reach of three million audience touchpoints.

Microsoft France uses multiple-choice quizzes to test and develop super fans’ knowledge, linking quizzes to badges and prizes. Meanwhile, polls are used to obtain users’ feedback, driving increased affinity with the Microsoft brand and involving the super fan community in cocreation initiatives. 

House of Fans members have a profile page containing their bio, latest activity, badge collection, points total, leaderboard position, and direct links to their social media accounts.

Platform administrators have access to a designated back office on which they can configure platform features, moderate UGC, and view in-depth analytics regarding user activity, trending posts, and the engagement generated by content externally on social media.

We’ve noticed that when we bring together a group of people who have a shared passion, it reinforces the sense of community

David Dufour Consumer Marketing Communication Director

Combining Digital and Physical Initiatives

In addition to the platform itself, physical events have been organized for the House of Fans community, allowing fans to meet each other face-to-face, discuss their favorite Microsoft products, and discover new brand releases ahead of time. We’ve noticed that when we bring together a group of people who have a shared passion, it reinforces the sense of community.

By launching House of Fans, Microsoft France has taken a new, innovative step in fan communications.

With 75% of users connecting to the platform on a daily basis, the company has successfully engaged a community of super fans who are proud to engage with, learn more about, and advocate for their favorite Microsoft products.