CDSA

First joining Microsoft in 1997, Steve Clayton, chief storyteller and GM of Microsoft’s innovation, culture and stories team, spent the first 13 of those years telling stories as a hobby. He’s spent the last 10 doing it for Microsoft as a full-time job.

And what he’s learned in recent years is the philosophy of storytelling needs to shift with the times.

“We’re in this world where our attention is under attack, bombarded with information 24 hours a day,” he said, speaking Dec. 8 during a presentation — “The 5 Ps of Microsoft’s Storytelling” — at the annual Content Protection Summit. “Stories are what stick with people, they’re what people pass on.”

Clayton and his team are responsible for shaping Microsoft’s image both internally and externally via storytelling, whether they be long or short, via photos or cartoons, or with a keynotes and demos. And in recent years, their successes have been both touching and inventive. Microsoft’s strategy around engagement across all of its products, platforms and business offerings relies on two pillars — Innovation and culture — and five Ps: People, Place, Pictures, Personal and Platform, according to Clayton.

At the Summit, Clayton shared the example of the Emma Watch, a wrist technology that features a rhythmic vibration via small motors around the wrist, that can ease hand tremors. The video story his team created showed a graphic designer named Emma Lawton get control over symptoms of Parkinson’s by using the watch to write her name.

“Most people who see this story are brought to tears,” Clayton said, adding that the video would go on to be used in Microsoft keynote addresses. “It’s an impactful story.”

Another example he shared was a simple photo of a rural Kenyan parent and child heading to school, with a new cell tower and a mountain range in the background. The day that tower went up, 30,000-plus rural residents suddenly had access to high-speed internet, and school scores rose immediately afterward.

The photo was a perfect way to “bring to life [Microsoft’s] mission statement … of the company empowering everyone on the planet to do more,” Clayton said.

And sometimes Microsoft’s stories aren’t just beautiful, they’re practical: Clayton showed off a 3D video tour his team put together that takes viewers inside the company’s quantum computing labs. Because of the risk on contamination, such tours aren’t possible in-person, but a small camera crew can bring millions of people inside virtually.

Presented by Microsoft Azure, the Content Protection Summit was sponsored by SHIFT, Genpact, Akamai, Convergent Risks, Friend MTS, GeoGuard, PacketFabric, Palo Alto Networks, Richey May Technology Solutions, Splunk, Zixi, EIDR, Cyberhaven and Xcapism Learning.

The event was produced by MESA, CDSA, the Hollywood IT Society (HITS) and Women in Technology Hollywood (WiTH), under the direction of the CDSA Board of Directors and content advisors representing Amazon Studios, Adobe, Paramount, BBC Studios, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, WarnerMedia, Amblin Entertainment, Legendary Pictures, and Lego Group.