Getting schools talking about Surface Pro 3 with a cardboard tablet that actually works.

School principals, IT managers and teachers receive a steady stream of education technology marketing, and most of it is ignored. Microsoft needed a piece that would cut through, show what Surface Pro 3 could do for teaching and learning, and give recipients a clear reason to find out more in person.

Rather than send a brochure about the tablet, we sent the tablet, or at least a cardboard version of it. The mailer was built to look like a Surface Pro 3 with its blue Type Cover, complete with a small working screen playing a video about the device’s features. Each pack pointed recipients to a dedicated landing page to register for the Microsoft Education breakfast series, where they could try the real thing.

The cardboard Surface Pro 3 landed in schools across Australia, and within hours the campaign had gone viral, picked up by The Verge, Gizmodo, Business Insider, VentureBeat and Neowin. A B2B mailer became a global talking point for the Surface Pro 3 launch, while driving registrations for the breakfast series.