Ad Council and TEACH use Innovative Microsoft Advertising to Recruit the next Generation of Teachers

NEW YORK, April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ad Council and TEACH have formed a unique outreach campaign with Microsoft's Advertising team in an effort to recruit the next generation of teachers who will drive innovation and redefine teaching in K-12 classrooms. Microsoft donated over 125 million impressions across Xbox 360, Windows 8, and MSN in order to encourage consumers to rediscover teaching through interactive ad units. This media effort is an extension of the Ad Council and TEACH's public service advertising (PSA) campaign, Make More, which launched in November 2013.

"The most important part of student's education is the person standing in front of the classroom. The TEACH campaign, is designed to ensure that we have a continuous pipeline of great teachers coming into our education system," said James Bernard, Global Director, Strategy Partnerships, Microsoft Worldwide Education. "As a company, we hope to help this fresh generation of high-achieving teachers to embrace and teach with technology, using the most effective teaching practices to nurture, inspire, and educate every student."  

TEACH is a national campaign supported by Microsoft, State Farm, and the U.S. Department of Education to encourage the nation's brightest students to consider careers in teaching. Working with the Ad Council, Microsoft has created probono interactive advertisements that rolled out on Microsoft platforms in February 2014. Microsoft's MSN division kicked off their support of the TEACH partnership by donating more than 47 million impressions in media banner inventory to the TEACH campaign. Throughout March, consumers were able to engage with TEACH "NUads on Xbox," via gesture, voice or controller on their Xbox 360 consoles. Following the play of the TEACH PSAs, users were invited to answer questions such as, "What was the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up?"

Most recently, Microsoft leveraged their Windows 8 platform to provide a unique experience to consumers, enabling them to navigate through a series of questions to help "discover their true passion," along with the opportunity to play challenging mind and word games, such as a word scramble and tangrams. Experiences include:

-  A "Personality Quiz" to define consumers' passions/ interests and encourage them to teach a particular subject;
-  Games that challenge and test logic and reasoning skills – skills needed to be a great teacher;
-  Opportunities to watch PSAs and other videos from the TEACH.org website; and
-  Access to an interactive pathway on TEACH.org to explore the teaching profession.

To see a demo of the Windows 8 platform experience, click here.

"Our TEACH campaign research has shown that millennials are interested in a career where they can make a difference," said Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Ad Council. "Through Microsoft Advertising's enormous generosity and creativity we can reach our target on platforms where they are extremely active and engaged thereby exposing them to an impactful education profession." 

"Teachers are the unsung heroes in our children's lives," said Stephen Kim, Microsoft Advertising VP of Global Agencies and Accounts. "It's our duty to celebrate their tireless efforts and to attract top talent to ensure a bright future for our world. We are honored to be able to work with the Ad Council on this very important cause."

Launched in November 2013, the multimedia PSA campaign demonstrates that the classroom as we know it is evolving and innovating, and teachers can make a lasting impact on generations of students. The PSAs drive to TEACH.org where users can learn about the different pathways to become a teacher, depending on their education, location and interests.  As of March, over 100,000 users had completed the interactive pathway in just seven months.  The site also connects students with information about certification for various teaching jobs and offers a national job directory for users looking to explore the landscape of potential employment opportunities.   

About TEACH
We will see over a million teaching jobs open in the next decade.  We have an urgent need and unprecedented opportunity to drive the transformation of K-12 education by encouraging and empowering our nation's most talented students to teach. TEACH is leading the movement to recruit the next generation of teachers by redefining the profession as a top career choice. This public-private partnership  is lead by Microsoft, State Farm and the U.S. Department of Education, and supported by the nation's top education organizations and teacher associations. To learn more, visit www.TEACH.org, like us at Facebook.com/TEACH.org or follow us on Twitter @TEACHorg.

About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") was founded in 1975. Our mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential by creating technology that transforms the way people work, play, and communicate.

Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.

About Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with digital media and support to help drive deep and profitable engagement with consumers across Microsoft's devices and services. This includes a media network that reaches hundreds of millions of consumers around the world, and services and sales support that help untangle the complexities of digital media to get more value from marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes buying and selling simple on leading media and innovative devices that include Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox, Skype, Bing, MSN and more. More information is available at http://advertising.microsoft.com.   

About The Ad Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshaling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has affected, and continues to affect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives. To learn more about the Ad Council and its campaigns, visit www.adcouncil.org, like us on Facebook.com/adcouncil, follow us on Twitter @adcouncil or view our PSAs on YouTube.

SOURCE Ad Council