Posts tagged ‘Microsoft’

October 21st, 2009

How to Launch a Product the Microsoft Way

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windowsWindows 7, the new operating system for Windows-based PCs, is being released this Thursday, October 22. The world is getting excited, given the good reviews and buzz circulating about the upgrade, especially given the poor performance of Windows Vista, the prior release.

How does Microsoft launch a product this important? CNET news posted an interview with Tami Reller, head of Microsoft Windows 7 Marketing. Let’s examine some of the key marketing strategies she shared. Your company may not have the resources available to you that MS has, but that doesn’t mean you can’t glean an idea or two and apply them to your business.

1) Think Global

  • Worldwide Launch Events: In Japan, Britain and New York.
  • “Lots of Coverage”: Without giving specifics, Reller stated that there will be TV interviews, and perhaps late-night TV appearances. “You’ll certainly see a lot of coverage from us that day, but no commitments on the exact venue.”

2) Think Local

  • Local Launch parties: Even you can host a launch party at your house, just like Microsoft’s employees do. You can set up your PC’s, or see the new features, give out prizes, or whatever theme you like.  http://houseparty.com/windows7usa

3) Find Symbolic Things to Do to Promote Your Launch

  • Open the Market: Microsoft will ring the opening bell on Nasdaq on Thursday.
  • Close the Market: Microsoft will join with its computer maker partners to end the day’s trading.

4) Employ Social Marketing

  • Facebook Windows 7 page: Microsoft is leveraging its Facebook page by including several interesting features, such as a “Windows 7 Personality quiz.” I was “highly defined.” http://www.facebook.com/Microsoft.Windows.7
  • Twitter “Windows 7 Sweepstakes”: Prizes for answering challenges from this Twitter page, plus the latest news on Windows 7. http://twitter.com/mswindows

5) Have a Spokesperson

  • A cute spokeswoman girl: Kylie the young’un demonstrates Windows 7. See her on TV, or on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOq02DTTMU&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6adgIJE8YQ&feature=channel

6) Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse

  • Worldwide Discounts: “Part of October 22 is going to be all about some screaming deals,” says Reller.

7) Create Strong Product Enthusiasm

  • Leverage Early Product Reviews: With early releases and trials, Microsoft has found “end-user acceptance and enthusiasm for a product matter. And that’s why we’ve put so much emphasis on the last year, in making sure that we had strong, strong engagement from users broadly across many demographics.” In fact, a senior IT administrator I know speaks well of Windows 7. He supports it, saying it is more stable, has a quicker install, runs everything that Vista will run, and provides a windows XP mode, among other features.

8) Start Something Unexpected

  • 1st retail store, ever, to open: The opening of the very first Microsoft retail store in Arizona coincides with the Windows 7 release.

Granted, Microsoft is a huge company with huge dollars to spend on marketing. But that doesn’t mean you can’t think huge within the budget you have. By using these techniques, even a small budget can get big results.

CategoryAdvertising, Microsoft | Comment5 Comments »

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September 23rd, 2008

Coca-Cola, Interbrand and a Book Called “Branding Only Works on Cattle.”

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Once again, Coca-Cola has taken the top spot in Interbrand’s list of the world’s most valuable brands. As is often the case, IBM and Microsoft followed closely behind. Google had a good run of events as well, jumping from #20 to #10 in just one year.

This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about Interbrand’s annual report in this blog. The report is essentially a barometer to test the “value” of any particular brand. But in a new book out by Jonathan Salem Baskin called “Branding Only Works on Cattle,” Mr. Baskin challenges the “math” behind Interbrand’s approach.  The book is worth buying if only because of the wonderful way in which Mr. Baskin disassembles Interbrand’s formula. Mr. Baskin’s point-of-view is summed up quite nicely at the end of this passage when he states, “This isn’t math, it is religious scripture, created to reaffirm belief to the flock while ginning up enough obfuscation to dissuade nonbelievers.”

But to say that’s the only time Mr. Baskin shouts “the emperor has no clothes” would be a disservice to the book. In fact, the main premise of the book is pretty extraordinary — that is, that the branding people who tell you it’s about what people think have it all wrong. It’s not what people think about your brand that’s important, it’s how people behave with your brand.

It’s a deceptively simple premise, but one that has profound implications. Baskin writes about Gillette’s introduction of the new Fusion — a five-bladed razor that consumers haven’t embraced. Why? Because it was built on a faulty premise of how consumers think about shaving, rather than how they want to behave when they shave. (Lagging sales would indicate that consumers want to behave by buying a simpler, less expensive shaving solution.)

Just when you thought you’d read everything you needed to about branding, along comes Mr. Baskin’s book that turns everything on its head. Mr. Baskin says that one of the most sacred tenets in marketing — brand theory — needs to be reinvestigated and turned upside down.

To be sure, the book offers plenty of arguable premises. For example, even though the Interbrand approach may include some arguable assumptions, it’s still the best thing we have. And, at a bare minimum, the Interbrand solution can be used as a way to compare your brand’s value relative to your competitor’s and that, in an of itself, has some value.

In any case, “Branding Only Works on Cattle” is a smart, insightful, well-written book that’s worth taking a spin through.  If you like Mr. Baskin’s approach, you can also follow him on Dim Bulb, his blog about marketing and branding.

CategoryBranding | CommentNo Comments »

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September 15th, 2008

Seinfeld and Gates: Microsoft Ads Get Their Footing

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Over the weekend, the new Microsoft campaign featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld finally got its footing. Last week, the ads generated a lot of buzz, much of it negative, about whether Microsoft was throwing away money on a campaign that seemed to have little to do with their products.

But when you’re Microsoft, and when you have Microsoftian budgets, you can afford to do a mutli-phase campaign that generates buzz first, then talks about product-specific differentiators.

Here are four reasons why this campaign is actually a good thing for Microsoft:

1) It humanizes the company: Steve Jobs has done a great job (no pun) making Apple the apple of consumers’ eyes (stop it already!). Microsoft, until this campaign, has always been seen as a highly-successful company run by Borgs, Driods and other non-human entities. This campaign helps bring out the human side of Microsoft.

2) It’s gotten people talking about Microsoft again: There are many campaigns that generate buzz, but very little brand awareness. In this case, the campaign is doing both — it’s generating buzz and that buzz is linked directly to the Microsoft brand.

3) It takes the conversation away from Apple’s ad campaign: Make no mistake, Apple’s campaign is brilliant and that must have been driving Microsoft crazy. But this campaign gets us talking about Microsoft again. It also comes at a time when Apple’s wonderful campaign is rounding third base and is probably on its way out the door.

4) It sets up future ads which are going to be product-specific: As mentioned, when you’re Microsoft and you have very, very deep pockets, you can afford to do a two-phase campaign. Phase I is to get people’s attention (Grade: 93 on a 100-point scale). Phase II is to talk about what makes your product better.

We’ll see how Microsoft does in Phase II. But Phase I was an “A” job, which ain’t so bad.

CategoryMicrosoft | Comment2 Comments »

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August 11th, 2008

IPhone Software Sales Skyrocket

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Apple has knocked it out of the park again. According to the consumer electronics company, users have downloaded more than 60 million programs for the iPhone in recent weeks. 60 million downloads!

If sales continue at this pace, they could reach $350 to $500 million per year in the very near future. According to The Wall Street Journal, even Steve Jobs was impressed. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my career in software,” he said.

Which brings up a good point — Apple isn’t just about the Mac, the iPod or the iPhone. It’s about a phenomenal user-interface and a software development process that’s unmatched by Microsoft, Google or any other developer.

Congratulations, Apple. You’ve hit a grand slam.

Again.

CategoryApple | Comment10 Comments »

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