How does an unfamiliar product break through when playing catch-up against entrenched competitors with loyal customer bases? Research indicated that even though familiarity was low, favorability and purchase intent increased significantly when consumers were able to experience the new product first-hand. But the challenge of getting the actual product into the hands of consumers in a scalable manner was formidable.This was the situation facing Windows Phone in the fall of 2011 as it prepared to release version 7.5 of its mobile operating system it had introduced into the marketplace less than a year earlier.In part, the answer was delivering a touch-enabled experience on mobile web using HTML 5, JavaScript and CSS3. No app download or diversion to an app store required. The solution was one click away and effortlessly delivered straight to the phone via the mobile web browser. And to take it a step further, the experience would be optimized to take advantage of the competitor’s market share and strength in mobile browsing experience by targeting and delivering the demo directly to their devices.The solution… use mobile web to deliver a touch-enabled demo of the Windows Phone Metro UI directly on iPhone and Android devices.The demo was introduced through a modest mobile media campaign combined with social media execution that drove over 5 million demos with 96% of this traffic resulting organically through social media amplification. Industry coverage was solid with over 200 PRIME media and blog citations including the PC World quote “so slick and snappy I had to keep reminding myself it was only an HTML5 demo…” and “mission accomplished, Microsoft… got me thinking about adoption” from CNET.Consumer reaction was strong and positive with over 1000 reader comments posted within 24 hours of Engadget publishing a story about the demo with quotes such as “now this, is GOOD ADVERTISING!!!”, “Microsoft really thought outside the box…” and “This is honestly one of the most brilliant pieces of marketing for WP7 they’ve come up with so far…”.Post-demo attitudinal survey data reported an 18 point lift in product familiarity and 32 point lift in purchase intent with iPhone and Android visitors reporting an astounding 73% level of purchase intent after completing the demo. All campaign goals and client expectations were exceeded beyond measure.