« As Google readies "GDrive", will Microsoft lead, or follow?Messenger 9 Beta appears to be up and running »

Microsoft funding $300m advertising campaign for Windows and Windows Live

Nov 28, 2007 6:54 am by Chris | 6 comments

Following the launch of Windows Live Wave 2 earlier this month, its unsurprising to hear that Microsoft is gearing up for a large advertising campaign to push the new suite of services. With Windows Live aiming to be the Software and Services extension to Windows on the internet, the advertising campaign aims to promote this link and show the benefits offered by using Windows Live as part of your online experience.

The $300m advertising campaign mentioned by the New York Post is apparently still in the pitch stage, and from what we hear will cover Windows Vista + Windows Live, Live Search and also Windows Mobile. With an apparent launch date around late spring/early summer 2008, the ads are expected to run in both the USA and other key markets.

Whoever wins the campaign will have a challenging task in front of them, with a shift in consumer attitude towards the Windows brand much needed. The phrase Todd Bishop picked out is particularly key:

“They are trying to make Windows cool, relevant and Internet-centric,” said one source close to the company. “They don’t want to be seen as a stodgy computer company.”

On top of the perceptual challenges currently surrounding the Windows brand, there are also the measurable ones - sales of Windows Vista PCs, search share, the sale of Windows Mobile devices and the number of Windows Live users. These are all key if Microsoft is to draw in more advertisers wishing to run their own campaigns on Microsoft sites. After all, Kevin Johnson has his 10/20/30/40 mantra to aim for. I guess the question is whether the $300m is best spent on advertising, or put towards buying Yahoo ;)

Blue Monster TV spots anybody?

(via Todd Bishop)

This entry was posted in News and tagged Advertising, Corporate Strategy, Windows Live. Bookmark the permalink.

Rusticated
Spring/summer 2008?! Surely it would have made more sense to launch a campaign around the time of the Wave 2 launch, not up to 6 months later? I’m glad Microsoft is finally looking to market Windows Live (though seriously, consolidate the 3 or 4 homepages into one before you do so, so people know where to look!), but they should be doing so now. This should’ve been in the planning stages a long while ago.
Alber1690
Windows Vista needs massive marketing; too many people think the Apple ads are fact and the only word on the street. Windows Live needs a little work (like mentioned by Rusticated), so I would see why they would want to wait until Spring/Summer (summer is way too late). But now is the time, for the holidays. What’s up with Microsoft and the beginning of the year…?
quikboy
I hope they don’t do another lame campaign scheme.
And web ads won’t cut it, if people are blocking it, or even ignoring it.
The BEST way, these days, is product placement. You know, putting your brand in TV shows, movies, etc.
Apple does this all the time with their Macs (and yes, I know for sure Apple pays them), and obviously it’s pretty successful, and sometime ubiquitous.
So I could see a character using Live Maps to see someplace in more detail, Live Search’s many Instant Answers, Live Messenger for a funny IM chat comedy, etc.
Otherwise, it’s just a waste of $300 million on nothing. And hopefully it won’t have a “your world is perfect using (some Live product) and then show a couple of ‘random’ people using it, with happy smiles on their faces, etc. That’s lame advertising of the last century.
Well anyways, I hope they don’t pitch a useless ad campaign.
Khristopher
Spring/Summer 2008? Shouldn’t they be advertising, oh I don’t know… NOW?!?
By then this stuff will be old and need updates.
Also if they want to be “cool” and not a “stodgy computer company” they should have not put Windows in the product name.
LosHavros
@ Rusticated and phunky
I absolutely agree, I was myself going to say ‘how about NOW?’
I can practically visualise the slow, grinding cogs of Microsoft struggling to get into gear. Windows Live should be further separated from the main Windows group etc.
Looking at this info, I’d give the Windows Live team their own separate marketing department as well
Mephiles
Microsoft seem to be hyping the windows live software as if the web services don’t even exist!