**Situation: Losing Ground with Developers**

A survey of 3,395 developers revealed that when it came to top-of-mind brands that developers were exploring for AI implementations, Microsoft lagged behind. IBM led the pack at 29%, Amazon at 24%, Google at 22%, and Microsoft trailed at 19%.

This finding started our journey to win the hearts of software developers in Canada.

**Brief: Win Developers’ Head, Heart, and Hands**

Microsoft wanted to connect with developers on a deeper level with a net new developer engagement strategy.

**Objective: Drive Impact within Key Accounts and Mass Market**

We took an account-based (ABM) and mass market approach to solving the developer engagement gap.

ABM Objective:

Drive deep engagement with lead developers at 20 priority accounts to foster increased consumption of Microsoft cloud services.

Engage 500 developers in Microsoft learning pathways across priority accounts.

Mass Market Objective:

Reach 100,000 developers in Canada through digital channels.

**The Creative Idea: UpDev**

Grounded in Reddit culture, UpDev was a net new initiative designed to celebrate and empower developers. There were 2 core parts:

**Part 1: DevHeroes Recognition Program**

DevHeroes celebrated outstanding developers at Microsoft accounts. We worked with sales to nominate strategic customers who selected one stand-out developer in their company to be celebrated.

Selected DevHeroes received their very own custom Funko Pop! and surprise workplace celebration. We also told their incredible stories through their very own comic – befitting of a true superhero.

DevHeroes were given opportunities to build their personal profile by hosting our developer meetups and speaking at flagship events like Microsoft Build.

**Part 2: DevCloud Skills Challenge**

DevCloud Skills Challenge is a learning pathway to support developers who want to constantly self-learn. Through a gamified experience, they navigated scripting environments and completed coding challenges. Each learning module enhanced their familiarity with Microsoft’s solutions.

**Understanding Developers in Canada**

Developers were our target market. Pulling from a survey of over 3,000 developers in Canada, we learned that :

89% are male

65% are between the ages of 25 and 44

71% learned to code through self-teaching

96% are actively pursuing informal, self-training

Reddit is the #1 social platform for developers.

**Tapping Into Their Passion for Learning**

As uncovered by the data, nearly all developers are actively pursuing some form of informal, self-training. This insight was further substantiated by social listening data. We used this insight to create an immersive, gamified learning environment.

**2019: Upping the Game on Developer Engagement**

Step 1: Break Through to Key Developers

For our DevHeroes at target accounts, they received something they’d never seen before – their very own Funko Pop. We asked developers to submit their pictures, which we turned into a custom, hand-crafted figurine.

Step 2: Extend Engagement to Developer Teams

Developer teams were engaged through direct email and LinkedIn, inviting them to register on a microsite to unlock the gamified learning environment. Teams that completed a high volume of modules were sent “Bonus Packs” containing swag and novel items such as a Raspberry Pi-powered mini Pac Man arcade.

**2020/2021: Amplifying Developer Reach **

Step 3: Sharing DevHero Stories

We crafted comic strips that told our DevHero stories. Each panel reflected the different chapters of their journey from their family values to life lessons to milestone moments. Stories were shared via Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

**The Endgame**

34 DevHeroes (1.7x target) at key customer accounts were recognized, winning mindshare with VP’s, Senior Developers and Enterprise Lead Data Architects.

1,368 developers participated (2.7x target) in the DevCloud Skills Challenge, consuming over 26,500 modules, in 31,200 hours of learning – an average of 23 hours from EACH developer.

IT executives honored their DevHero’s on social, also organically promoting their partnership with Microsoft. DevHero stories were shared on social reaching 126,000 developers across Canada (126% of target) with 60% higher engagement than Microsoft’s benchmark.

**Setting a New Standard for Developer Engagement**

DevHeroes has evolved into a national thought leadership community and was highly awarded by Microsoft globally based on creativity and business impact.