Traditionally, the whole "delivering-custom-holiday-gifts-to-millions-all-over-the-world-in-one-night" thing has been strictly Santa Claus. Until Xbox asked us to slip down a bazillion chimneys to deliver a special holiday gift to every Xbox gamer on Earth.
So we celebrated Xbox gamers with an immersive, data-driven experience showcasing their individual year in gaming—all wrapped up for the holidays in a personalized snow globe.
As the Creative Lead on Xbox, my task was to create a moment in culture that would electrify the gaming community and inspire conversation and engagement.
I led a cross-functional team of 20+ creatives, strategists, 3D artists, and producers—and collaborated with with Microsoft data scientists—to develop the Xbox Year-in-Review, a data-driven, fully personalized experience that celebrates every user’s unique year in gaming, turning their achievements into bragging rights.
Digging in, we uncovered a monumental insight:
Of course gamers love to relive the memories of their greatest achievements. But rather than simply regurgitate their data back to them, or worship icons like Master Chief and Lara Croft, we wanted to build a million monuments to each individual gamer.
Because the true heroes are the gamers themselves.
Web
We created a 3D web experience where gamers relived their best moments, building a tribute to their year in gaming along the way—a personalized Xbox Year In Review snow globe to download and share.
Our audience’s enthusiastic response generated a world of fan-driven content, built on gamers’ devotion to Xbox.
Earned Media
For our fans, bragging about it was the only logical next step.
Owned Media
In paid social, we teased out the experience and amplified some of the fun that went down over the past year, feeding campaign momentum every step of the way.
Influencer Engagement
To make it rain—or snow—good Year in Review vibes, we leaned into a few of our favorite influencers, sending them a custom-made snow globe celebrating one of their epic achievement from the past year.
Hand-made goodness, straight from the Xbox elves workshop.
And they delivered.
The campaign was a massive success, earning over 149 million impressions in just over two weeks and four Gold Addy awards. More importantly, it positioned Xbox as a brand that listens to and celebrates its audience, creating a strong sense of community and connection within its fanbase.
Results
Awards
Gold Addy: Data Driven Media
Gold Addy: Online/Interactive Campaign
Gold Addy: Direct Mail 3D Campaign
Gold Addy: Tools & Utilities