Future Advertising Direction
Today I came across an article talking about the future direction of Microsoft advertising. The article is an interesting read and I definitely think we need to do something to save our image problem compared to Apple or Google’s attempts at discrediting us at every step.
For me though, Its all about Vista
So wait… you might be asking yourself if this post is about the new general advertising strategy, why is there a Vista software box image on this page? The answer is simple (and obvious to anyone following me on twitter), im really, really upset over our Vista image problems with consumers and think it should be a priority to resolve ahead all others.
Sure we have plenty of other products out there, but honestly I think devices like Zune for example have bigger fish to fry then their image, but Vista has no more real issues, it really is (in my opinion) now just the consumers image of the OS thats broken.
"It's not a matter of forcing people. It's getting them to want to use it. If you can't, you're not going to do great advertising."
The quote above comes from the article I am referencing here and really spells out our issue with Vista. We really are not doing a good job at making the operating system seem “wantable”. Sure people will be forced to use it as we stop selling XP but in the long run that will not win over new customers. I really do agree with my MS buddy when he said:
When it comes to those Apple ads, they aren’t getting on my nerves. They are one of the most brilliant advertising campaigns since “Where’s the beef?” in the 80s! They work. They just work.
Its time that we found something that “just works”, its time Microsoft software image and advertising felt like something in-touch with the people, something dare i even say “felt good” to use.
Its been a very long few days so I will end my rant here, but surely bottom should be coming right up, so up should be the new direction.
Related Links
I also recommend seeing some comments on the mentioned above article by Paul over on the Supersite: Making Microsoft cool ... Is it even possible-
Update: My Zune Comment
Before people get the wrong idea by my Zune comments let me clarify...
I think our Zune is a perfectly valid MP3 player and my comment above about its "bigger fish to fry then their image" is referring to my personal opinion that the look of the device has not found perfection yet. I really think we need to do more on making the device look and feel "cooler".
Also id love to hear that they fix such problems as sharing content between the XBOX video store and Zune. Its not something i personally experience as a pain but I hear this a lot from our customers.
Technically speaking the Zune team is implementing a lot of exciting things into its software and its only going to get better from here. I would not be surprised if the next version of the hardware finally made me switch to it, but I have no insider knowledge here and am merely speaking optimistically.
6 comments:
Thurott just linked to your post and I was left a tad perplexed about the Zune comment so I thought I'd ask:
What exactly do you mean by that?
Seems to me like the Zune guys are doing a lot of things right by their customers with the upgrades working on all devices(even the previous gen ones, the feature set and the usability.
Sure there are some drawbacks but I suspect that these are a result of Microsoft actively trying to avoid lawsuits where they can.
Whenever I read about the Zune online, people just seem to fault it for not being an iPod.
Rask,
Thank you for your comment! I just posted an "Update" section to this entry to try and clarify my position.
If this still does not answer your question let me know.
It did =) Thank you.
Great, please feel free to post more questions.
My goal is to provide honest posts and follow-up answers the best that i can. These are all just my personal opinions and im sure wont make everyone happy.
devastating. That's the word for it... the impact of the negative perceptions people have toward Windows Vista on smaller partners and systems builders. We have built so few new machines for customers that it isn't even worth it any longer. When we demo what we do for our existing customers, they are amazed by what they see and they ask: "what is that?" We tell them it is Vista and we explain what it can do and share its features and how they run on the custom machines we build.
They don't order however, because they are concerned about their existing hardware and software not running well under Vista.
I don't fault Microsoft. I reason that the perception is based upon what people see, hear and read on an ad driven web dominated by Microsoft's competitors. I understand what the challenge is, but I also understanding that smaller shops and MS partners do not have the resources to sustain the personal compaigns they have had to wage in order to sustain their businesses.
No matter how good Vista is, and it really is very good, the entire base feels abandoned and left to defend a product and a company that has done very little to supply us with resources. There is a fatigue out here that MS may not understand. Its base is winded, out of gas and despite a complete understanding of the sciences behind Vista, unable to translate that understanding into language that may be easily understood by consumers.
I imagine, and recognize the same fatigue in your blog, that MS engineers feel much of the same frustration.
Lloyd,
Thanks for your reply, I really hear and appreciate what you are saying.
One big thing to consider is that Microsoft is a huge company, with many levels of decision and "direction creation". My instincts tell me that people at my level of Microsoft really do get it, they see the problem and maybe even have some ideas on how to fix it. The problem perhaps is with the system itself, to make such a large ship turn takes a lot of time.
I simply ask you not to give up on us. I think most people can admit that modern PC's can handle Vista without issue and have no more driver issues for mainstream hardware. When a company with older hardware hesitates to move to Vista I get it, but anyone ordering new equipment or wanting to upgrade one year old PC's should definitely go Vista.
At the end of the day Sales will be fine, Microsoft will makes its money, but my only concern is our image and how that image will impact the business as a whole on a much larger time-frame.
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