public relations

Microsoft Strikes Back … Finally!

Apple had cool machines, software and advertising. All the cool kids used Macs. I Pods ruled and you were considered ‘creative’ if you carried a fruit marked machine. On the other hand, if you used Windows you were square. A business person. You wore glasses and were a nerd.

Much like that sci-fi classic, the ‘empire’ truly has struck back as it’s public persona - once thought to be going the way of a very boring dodo - has been revived. And what a revival indeed!

If you believed advertising you would definitely have thought that Windows meant you were boring and Apple meant you were cool. That would be your world view … at least until the new campaign kicked off.

Suddenly, things aren’t quite so cut and dried anymore.

Now, if you use Windows - or a PC - you can be cool. You can be different. You can come from all kinds of places and do cool things like dive with sharks and stuff! Despite the initially confusing Seinfeld ads, the latest batch of ads from Microsoft seem to have got the community buzzing. And buzz like this must be a nice change for the software giant.

It’s good to see some competition in not just the product but in the marketing as well. Can’t wait to see what the response from Apple is going to be (we’re cooler then cool?) and what Microsoft’s next salvo will look like.

SMBs (small and medium sized businesses) in particular could take heart from the advertising - and more importantly the public relations - that these respective companies are using. Granted, they both have loyalists. Evangelists who are out there in the trenches selling all and sundry on the virtue’s of their products.

But good products alone aren’t enough anymore. While the better product will automatically win in an ideal world, the business of today needs to have a great product, fantastic perception of the product and tremendous word of mouth marketing to truly become a brand to be reckoned with.

So quick takes from it:

1. Just because you used to it that way doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it that way
2. Perception is Reality
3. Products matter. Advertising matters too. Public Relations is key above all else!
4. Communicating with your audience - and not at them - is always cool
5. Underdogs don’t stay underdogs forever - and vice versa for leaders in a niche
6. Learn from your competitors - then beat them!
7. Cool doesn’t have to be corporate. Have some fun with your product - even if it is for business

And before anyone starts ranting - I use both a MacBook Pro and a laptop PC.

So what do you think would be a great treatment for the next set of ads from these two brands?

More importantly what do you think their PR and brand guys need to be doing to work with the raw opportunity the hype around the campaigns are giving them?

Not often that we see such a shift in a long established brand - any examples of your own that you want to share?

© 2008 Journeys Through The Line.