‘Dell connect your classroom competition’ for Dell

Summary
Dell UK is about to award a Dell Connected Classroom – worth up to £25,000 (approx. $41,000) of  ICT technology, services and consulting to the winner of our ‘connect your classroom’ video  competition. 

The competition presented primary and secondary school children with an opportunity to get  creative, working together on a project to demonstrate what technology means for their education  in the 21st century. The competition proved a huge success, with 52 schools submitting their entry  to the competition microsite. A panel of 5 judges decided on the top 10 finalists.  Throughout the voting phase of the competition, we encouraged the finalists to invite friends, families and the general public to come online and vote and comment on their video. We attracted further attention and votes via educational media sites and local press opportunities. The winning school was chosen based on the number of online votes it received.  

The competition was launched at BETT 2011 where we promoted Dell connected learning for  schools, incorporating the Dell Connected Classroom. We used several vehicles to raise awareness  of Dell and the competition, including billboard advertisements, spotlight articles in newsletters,  eshots, online advertising with key educational publications, dedicated microsite, blogs and local PR.

About the client company 
For more than 25 years, educators have viewed Dell as a long‐term technology partner who understands the needs of their local schools. Dell’s broad portfolio of customised products and  services specifically designed for education easily integrate into existing environments, including the  classroom, the data centre, and the home.

Strategy – broader business issues the company is facing
Educators tell us that computers alone are not enough to transform schools. Instead, an entire  learning environment is needed in which students, teachers, administrators, and parents can easily  communicate and collaborate with each other, share secure information around the clock, and,  ultimately, access a world of knowledge beyond classroom walls.

Classroom technology from Dell brings new opportunities to students, helping them develop the  skills needed for success in the 21st century. The competition aimed to raise awareness of Dell’s  Connected Classroom solution as a technology‐rich learning environment that unites members of  the school system so each is empowered to play a key role in its success.

Objectives of the campaign

  • Create excitement and interest among administrators, teachers, students and the community for  the opportunity to win a Dell Connected Classroom.
  • Increase consideration of the Dell brand during the highest buying season (April – June).
  • Generate new leads to align with peak buying season: 
  • 1,000+ site visits per day.
  • 300 – 400 new schools leads.
  • 20 – 30 video submissions.   

The target audience
The campaign was targeted at IT decision makers at UK primary and secondary schools. As the  priority target group, this segment includes directors, policy makers, teachers, principals, governors, inspectors, facilities and purchasing managers and council officials. These are the main stakeholders who make the purchasing decisions. As a captive audience with a clear vested interest in shaping  the role and direction of ICT in primary and secondary education, we need to invest in building  awareness around the Dell offering. We want to foster these relationships to the point where if a purchasing decision between well‐known players is up for grabs, that Dell is a contender in this consideration set. This is why we launched the competition during BETT 2011 – we knew we would have access to a captive audience.

Media, channels or techniques used
Research shows that IT decision makers read a variety of online educational publications. We worked with our media agency to identify nine popular educational media sites in the UK. The results of our online banners were staggering.  We ran the advertising for just over two months at a cost of just under $30,000 and we achieved a 0.70 per cent click‐through rate (CTR), which was great when compared to the  0.07 per cent CTR average for the UK.

During the voting phase, we worked with our PR agency to prepare a draft press release that could  be used with each of the 10 finalists’ local press offices to promote their success and voting in their local newspapers. The schools were grateful for the additional support provided by Dell, and most  went on to post a press release in their local newspapers. 

With so many students, teachers, parents and the general public regularly accessing social media  networking sites, we further encouraged the finalists’ to promote the competition and their  involvement in the competition through sites such as Facebook and Twitter. All finalists’ encouraged  friends, families and the general public to come online to the microsite to vote for their school’s  Submission and to place a comment as to why they think their school should win the competition.

Timescales of the campaign
September 2010 – January 2011 – Phase one: Briefing our creative agencies on the deliverables.  
11 January – 25 March – Phase two: Video submission phase.  
30 March – 5 April – Phase three: Judging phase. 
6th April – 4th May – Phase four: Voting phase.  
4th May – 9th May – Phase five: Announcing the winner of the competition:

Results
The competition was put in place as a campaign to help raise awareness of the Dell brand and Dell’s  Connected Classroom solution. The results of the campaign clearly demonstrate its success: 

  • 1,319 leads captured during BETT 2011 – 69 per cent of the UK leads (667) captured had an influence over the purchasing decisions within schools. The leads have been touched by our sales teams and business opportunities are being identified.
  • 52 videos submitted.  
  • 120,699 visitors to the microsite / Daily visits peaked at 12,849.  
  • 24,868 visitors registered to take part in the voting phase and we were entered for a chance to win  a Latitude 2120 netbook. 
  • 2,688 contacts opted in to receive further marketing information from Dell (10.8 per cent response rate).   
  • 6,000 comments were placed against the top 10 finalists’ videos, globally. 
  • The winning video achieved a staggering 23,202 votes (compared to 18,142 votes for the school  that finished in second place.) 

Client testimonial
At Dell, our philosophy in giving is to empower both individuals and whole communities. The  ‘connect your classroom’ video competition represents a demonstration of this philosophy, giving a  school and its local community the chance to win an ‘IT makeover’ that will help equip its students  with the skills and tools that they need to succeed in the global, connected workplace of today.

The interest in this competition from schools, parents and the general public has been absolutely phenomenal. Since the competition ended, I have been inundated with emails to thank Dell for  running an engaging competition and encouraging schools to think about what technology could  mean to their children’s future. This campaign has helped Dell to demonstrate that we understand  the local needs of schools, their challenges and opportunities – and that we are ready to lead. By  reaching out to schools (via PR, advertising, our sales force, and more) with a unified voice, we will  continue to shift customer perception about Dell away from being a mere ‘box pusher’ toward being seen as a thought leader in the education community.

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