Stranger Things & Microsoft

A big strange partnership

We created a robust partnership campaign between Netflix and Microsoft around the launch of Stranger Things Season 3. Our goal was to increase shared brand love, drive social engagement, and make Windows part of the pop culture conversation. We leveraged shared values and a common insight to pay off Microsoft’s mission of empowerment through technology and deliver a ton of custom, unique content that Stranger Things and Microsoft fans would love.

A strange trip back in time

Stranger Things Season 3 takes place in 1985—the same year Microsoft released the original Windows. We teased the partnership campaign by taking Windows social channels back to 1985, with nostalgic content we knew fans would love. Then, we invoked a spirit of discovery and intrigue with our fan base by turning our social channels strange.

Retro Windows for the modern fan

After building the hype on social media, we delivered in a totally tubular way. We partnered with a development team to create a strange rerelease of the original Windows, called Windows 1.11. Featuring throwback Microsoft technology, retro games and graphics, unique content, and more, it combined everything fans love about Stranger Things with everything they love about Windows. We created throwback kits for influencers and had them help spread the word. The world took notice in a major way.

Using the Past to Look Forward

We used the app launch as a way to transition from past to present to future. The kids of Stranger Things embody Microsoft’s vision of the power of technology education. And so we used them as a way to help teach a new generation how to save the world. We took the fictional camp from the show—Camp Know Where—and turned it into a real experience at Microsoft stores. We created custom Stranger Things–inspired classes. Of course, we used the smartest girl in the camp to promote it, becoming the first and only brand to work with Suzie.