Sharaf DG and Microsoft has launched the Co-Blocks Innovation Showcase activation at City Centre Zahia and City Centre Deira to redefine how people experience technology in everyday life.
Showcasing Microsoft Copilot+, the activation invited visitors to explore AI through curiosity, creativity, and collaboration – turning innovation into an experience everyone could play, learn, and share.
Children rolled oversized dice, parents cheered from the sidelines, and curious onlookers gathered to experience the Co-Blocks game board. Creative agency Promocell designed and executed the activation.
“Co-Blocks is a celebration of how technology can be discovered – not through manuals or presentations, but through play, connection, and shared experiences,” said Vanessa Crasta, General Manager, Promocell Advertising and Marketing.
The board featured four vibrant zones, each designed to highlight real-world uses of Copilot+ PCs in fun, relatable ways:
- Co-Create: Kids designed eco-themed posters, blending sustainability and creativity in shareable moments that celebrated imagination and awareness.
- Live Captions: Real-time translation turned K-pop lyrics into lip-sync challenges, showing how Copilot can bridge languages and bring global culture closer.
- Click-to-Do: Students watched essays transform into catchy titles, discovering how AI can make learning and content creation more enjoyable.
- Recall: Families raced to retrieve recipes such as the “midnight mug cake,” demonstrating how AI can make daily life smarter and simpler.
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“When brands collaborate creatively, technology becomes meaningful for every generation,” said Crasta.
According to her, Co-Blocks allowed AI feel friendly and familiar, while gamification turned learning into play, in an effort to ensure that every challenge inspired participation, discovery, and social sharing.
She explained that the success of Co-Blocks lay in powerful collaboration. Microsoft showcased the possibilities of Copilot+ PCs, making AI accessible for every age group while Sharaf DG provided the retail platform, transforming its high-traffic stores into spaces of engagement and education.
“We wanted to show that technology doesn’t have to feel complex or intimidating — it can be discovered through joy, curiosity, and play,” added Crasta.
In terms of results, the brands claim that the activation quickly became a crowd favourite.
Families queued to roll the dice, students turned challenges into TikTok moments, and parents joined the fun, proving that Copilot+ could inspire both creativity and connection. Online, the buzz continued with hundreds of posts, selfies, and reels capturing the excitement.
Beyond entertainment, the experience had a deeper impact – children learned to see AI as a creative tool, while parents discovered its practical value in daily life.
According to Promocell, Co-Blocks represents a new chapter in experiential marketing for the UAE. It showed that shopping malls – a cornerstone of the region’s social culture – can become interactive classrooms for discovery.
