I know this is said a lot, but it's true: Microsoft does a *terrible* job of advertising. I can't understand how a company with that kind of money - enough to hire the most talented marketing people in the industry - can't get awareness out to people about their generally excellent products.
They also need to do it in a way that isn't so "meh". For example, the Honestly ad campaign wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing either. I want something that I make an emotional connection to, or at least am visually attracted to. Remember this minute-long intro video when the Surface was revealed? That's one aspect of what I'm talking about, and I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't trim it to 30 seconds and release that as one of their ads. I still get chills looking at it. For that matter, the dancing ad that everyone seems to hate was actually excellent. It caught people's attention which is exactly what an advertisement for a new product category should do. They just failed to follow it up with anything explaining the product, which was incredibly stupid. It's like the entire department didn't have an ounce of common sense.
Anyway, I'd love to see a series of ads that each focus on one of their services, with the kind of polished, human, and modern feel that Apple, and to an extent Google, does so well. A 30 second spot for OneDrive showing (again in a very visual, modern way) what you can fit in 15 GB, and then pointing out the upsell to Office 365 and it's 1 TB of OneDrive space. A sub-series of Xbox Entertainment ads to clearly show that it's not just games - one 30 second ad for Xbox Music, one for Video, and if they ever get off their butts and make an eBook platform like everyone else? one for that too. Oh and don't forget OneNote!
If Microsoft seriously wants to go after consumers - and there is no reason they shouldn't with the wonderful array of products and services they have - they NEED to advertise. Apple and Google don't need to because they are the giants whose products Joe Consumer already uses. Microsoft does not have that luxury, and they need to proactively shape people's perceptions.
They also need to do it in a way that isn't so "meh". For example, the Honestly ad campaign wasn't bad, but it wasn't amazing either. I want something that I make an emotional connection to, or at least am visually attracted to. Remember this minute-long intro video when the Surface was revealed? That's one aspect of what I'm talking about, and I can't for the life of me understand why they didn't trim it to 30 seconds and release that as one of their ads. I still get chills looking at it. For that matter, the dancing ad that everyone seems to hate was actually excellent. It caught people's attention which is exactly what an advertisement for a new product category should do. They just failed to follow it up with anything explaining the product, which was incredibly stupid. It's like the entire department didn't have an ounce of common sense.
Anyway, I'd love to see a series of ads that each focus on one of their services, with the kind of polished, human, and modern feel that Apple, and to an extent Google, does so well. A 30 second spot for OneDrive showing (again in a very visual, modern way) what you can fit in 15 GB, and then pointing out the upsell to Office 365 and it's 1 TB of OneDrive space. A sub-series of Xbox Entertainment ads to clearly show that it's not just games - one 30 second ad for Xbox Music, one for Video, and if they ever get off their butts and make an eBook platform like everyone else? one for that too. Oh and don't forget OneNote!
If Microsoft seriously wants to go after consumers - and there is no reason they shouldn't with the wonderful array of products and services they have - they NEED to advertise. Apple and Google don't need to because they are the giants whose products Joe Consumer already uses. Microsoft does not have that luxury, and they need to proactively shape people's perceptions.
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