Preserving History Through Digital Innovation
One of Prime 8’s greatest privileges is to work on consulting projects that help our clients make a positive social impact. One recent example of such a project is our collaboration with the Microsoft Strategic Partnerships team on a project for The King Center.
The Challenge: Digitizing Thousands of Historical Artifacts and Preserving a Legacy
The King Center is home to Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and the world’s largest repository of civil rights movement artifacts. Facing a pressing need to preserve and digitize these historical treasures, which include both physical items and archival footage, The King Center turned to Microsoft to provide support and technology.
Microsoft gladly accepted this challenge with the dual goal of elevating The King Center’s website traffic and helping to address racial injustice and inequity by raising awareness of some of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement. With a strong commitment to use its technology for social good, Microsoft is always on the lookout for ways to make meaningful societal contributions as a company, and The King Center project was a perfect fit.
The preservation and digitization task was herculean, and the stakes were high. These artifacts and the history they represent are an essential part of the American story with significant social meaning. In addition to preservation, another critical challenge was to facilitate broad access to the artifacts so that millions of people could benefit from them.
The project also aimed to shine a light on the importance of Corretta Scott King’s work, both as a civil rights pioneer and as the architect of her husband’s legacy. All stakeholders involved felt the pressure to honor that legacy in the best way possible.
The Solution: Great Storytelling and Technology Merge for Real Impact
As a key member of Microsoft’s Strategic Partnerships team, our Prime 8 consultant worked on the implementation of an Azure-based Digital Asset Management solution to catalog and digitize the collection of artifacts with accurate and high-quality reproductions.
Although this part of the project was a huge lift, there was much more to come. The Prime 8 consultant also collaborated to create The King Center Timeline as a tribute to Coretta Scott King, showcasing her 50+ years of dedication to community, cultural, and socio-economic progress rooted in Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolent social change.
Telling the story of Coretta Scott King’s role in shaping the civil rights movement was a great way to celebrate her own accomplishments and showcase her as an equal partner with her famous husband in the fight for justice. Through a greater understanding of her role in the civil rights movement, visitors to The King Center’s website could be inspired to take up her lifelong fight against injustice and inequality.
To tell Coretta’s story effectively, our consultant worked with the Microsoft team to develop the #DearCoretta initiative, which began with a short film and a social media campaign that included several notable celebrities sharing their thoughts about how Coretta Scott King impacted their own lives.
Additionally, in an effort to continue and expand the educational work of The King Center, our consultant used Microsoft’s Flip platform and OneNote to develop a companion guide for the timeline project. The guide empowers educators to use the digital timeline effectively to engage students and provide a deeper understanding of the civil rights movement and its significance.
The Result: Greater Awareness of Microsoft, The King Center, and Coretta
Through the extensive work our consultant did on this project, Microsoft was able to showcase its strong commitment to social impact and using technology for good — a core tenant of its brand purpose.
Within just four months of its release, the project’s #DearCoretta short film had been viewed over 600,000 times. The social-first advertising campaign on various platforms generated thousands of impressions and clicks to the King Center Timeline microsite.
The project also received positive feedback from various stakeholders, including The King Center and its supporters, historians, and educators. Additionally, Microsoft's partnership with The King Center on this project generated positive media coverage.
Beyond these metrics, the true impact of the project will be measured in the months and years to come as more people discover and engage with the microsite, the film, and The King Center's digital archive. The project's ultimate goal is to inspire a new generation of activists and leaders to continue Coretta Scott King's legacy of nonviolent social change.
Prime 8 is proud to have played a role in shaping this project and bringing it to life. Working collaboratively with Microsoft and The King Center, our consultant was able to help ensure that future generations can learn from and be inspired by the past.
What Can a Prime 8 Consultant Do for You?
Is your brand looking for love? Prime 8 can help you find and implement projects that have a positive impact on your brand and on the community at large. Connect with us to discuss your vision today.
