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Can Microsoft's brand fight back?
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 No. 
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- June 2, 2008
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Never say never.
Look at Phillip Morris,... um, well, maybe.
Look at Starbucks. I'd say if Starbucks can turn their fortunes around by performing some major restructuring and some rebuilding of their brand, so can Microsoft. I'm using Starbucks as a barameter for Microsoft.
They both come from the same part of the country, they both have under achieving products, they both have over reaching distribution and they both need to play catch up to other players in the market. btw, they both have some major positives to build upon as well.
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David Veal, Graphic Artist, A very small studio - June 2, 2008
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Microsoft and Apple are two different product classes.Apple is a brand that represent a range of products, based on principles of design, style, and social identity.Microsoft makes an operating system that is used in PCs (and on some Macs).What Mac has been able to do is convince consumers that there are two choices when it comes to technology - A Mac and... Not a Mac.The target markets are based on different segmentation criteria, so a whiz-bang ad campaign won't be the Apple killer.But that doesn't really matter, because Microsoft positions its brand through other means, e.g., distribution, compatibility with other applications, sheer numbers of users.So, Microsoft isn’t directly competing for the same market as Mac. What a counterattack campaign has to consider is how Mac was able to create a "competitor" that didn’t exist in reality, i.e., PC, and then position itself as better than it.And once they work that out, reverse engineer it to their advantage...more at tribalinsight
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Paul Harrison, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Marketing, Deakin University, Australia - June 2, 2008
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To recap there are important differences between the two brand franchises. A) They've historically targeted different audiences B) They've different centers of brand affinity/allure,C) Dimensions of product advantage are differentThe core of Apple's success (pun intended!) is that it's injected a fashion sensibility into what was a dry, commoditized category. This hasn't mattered to Microsoft, with its penetration of the corporate computing world, heritage in operating system environments.. and plain aloofness.If Microsoft wants to enjoy the kind of cool cultural popularity that it's nemesis enjoys, it will have to inspire it authentically, not through a 'lipstick on a pig' advertising blitz.In my view, the place that CP B should look for inspiration is Microsoft's Xbox division. The brand character of its gaming experience offering is a terrific hit with just the kind of youthful, involved folks that it will want to improve Microsoft computing affinity among
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Guy Gould-Davies, President, OpenFridgeDoor.com - June 4, 2008
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I believe BrandChannel is making something of nothing here! Have we in fact established that Microsoft has suffered a "beat down?" Look even to the commercials (which I will admit, are quite witty), who are they targeting by these? Young, college aged kids who "don't want to be like mom and dad." There are a few inherent problems with this strategy, the first is that for this sect of consumers...mom and dad are likely the ones footing the bill for the new computer; and likely find the commercials, and their adolecents' ribbings less funny. And the fact that for this to have any real, long term, and drastic effects they will have to wait 10 years to reap the full benefits...after these 'kids' get into a position within Corporate America to make purchasing decisions other than which way to drive the mailcart. I believe it to be a wise decision on Microsoft's part not to directly respond to these. Let their "Brand" to be "above Apple" not worth their time to respond.
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Zach Steltenpohl, VP-Sales, KingBuilt.Com Inc. - June 5, 2008
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No, no, and no.Innovation is what Apple has always been about. Bill Gates and the Microsoft corporation may have brought us the DOS when it counted the most, but then Apple took it one step further, as well as two steps smaller, with the Macintosh.For the average consumer (i.e. most of us that account for trillions of GNP), Microsoft is comparable to the invention of the wheel- or rather an invention that we know was necessary for the evolution of industry, but also something that we take for granted and is neither sexy nor a "must have" Apple, on the other hand, to the average consumer, will always mean the next (and coolest) thing. they may not own a MacBookAir or an IPhone, but admire them and find them desirable.Could the same be said and achieved with Windows XP and the Qtek?I fear that not even creative geniuses like C,P
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JC Fantechi, Business Development Director, BBDO - June 9, 2008
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Yes they can. Mac is building a brand, like many others have done. First of all, that takes a heavy toll on marketing spending and it is very difficult to keep it going for a long time. Mac has been attacking the PC mainly due to Vista, but MS has many other good products such as XP, which is one of the most stable platforms for networking. From a product standpoint MS can unearth many good attributes over Mac. So MS has the product to backup a good marketing strategy. What they are needing now, is precisely that, a communications strategy (high F targeted reach amazing creativity) to build that brand equity they want. I believe that if MS wants, it can fight back, and very strongly. Mac has a very particular brand image, and has done a great job of creating it. MS has the potential to do the same and can win back market share. It is a challenge. Mac has had years of advantage. But it can be done.The question is how much will it cost?
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Michel Kattan, Marketing Manager, Sumo Technologies - June 9, 2008
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Brands are not smokescreens. They're real promises of value, and Apple and Microsoft will never really occupy the same space. Windows does have real negatives when it comes to issues of trust and loyalty, because, quite simply, MS sucks and Mac doesn't. But MS has a marketing plan that will keep the company moving forward at least for the foreseeable future, and probably will keep it ahead of Mac in terms of sales and penetration, just by virtue of its "open" approach to development. As long as their approach involves spreading the Windows platform to as many environments as possible, they will thrive. Since Apples and PCs are now so compatible, there is no longer any real "side" to choose. The choice is based on preference and money, and consumers can cross from one to the other just as they can cross from Toyota to Lexus. There is plenty of room in the market for both, and they will continue to do a careful dance, each filling demand in their own way.
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Tim Johnson, President, Brandwave - June 9, 2008
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Crispin will easily and certainly give MS the imprimatur of cool. And their media won't just include galvanizing spots, but will also feature packaging (think Gateway boxes and Burger King bags) and surprise and delight (think Mini convertibles delivered with the top down and Truth events). But more than that, as cultural anthropologists, Crispin can actually use the rules of cults to leverage PC’s central ideology – turn PC into the ultimate insider as PC assumes the role of the underdog, the misread, misunderstood. Ultimately, it’s not mainstream that’s cool, it’s what’s alternative. And by taking itself a little too seriously, a little too glib, a little too mainstream, Mac is no longer the "brand" for the rest of us and may have jumped the shark, giving PC the opening they need and that Crispin and MS will exploit. PC is about to become very cool indeed.
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Cliff Courtney, CSO, Zimmerman - June 10, 2008
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Maybe. Look at Apple themselves as an example. They were cool when Jobs headed the company and delivered innovation with the Mac Plus. Then when he was given the boot, the company tried to compete on Microsofts grounds, failing and becoming a joke - the little PC pest wannabe. Then Jobs grabbed the reins again as iCEO and launch iEverything. Cool. But if you want cool, look no further than music. Talk about passing off! The iPod changed the game, smashed the music industry, became an icon, and it's cousin the iPhone is about to smash the mobile handset and telco game.Cool can be harnessed. Just make sure it is real and not manufactured. Microsoft can learn from the Zune mistake and the xBox success for guidance.
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Neil Wilson, Marketing Manager, Mobile Customer Marketing, Optus SingTel (Australia) - June 23, 2008
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Can? Why not, but it won't be accomplished with a Brand New Image, neither with a great AD campaign.
If Microsoft would like to change the way people think about them, the need to start changing the way they think about people. Changing the way they see, the way they understand people (customers, consumers) will drive them to change the way they treat them, the way they think and develop their products, the way they relate with them, and that's what branding is all about. Can you change your essence?, may be you can enhance it, but not change it.
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Matias Gaviria Uribe, Meat - June 23, 2008
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Look, Apple is an innovative company; a leader in what it does. It revolutionized the tech world with its "i" products, starting with the iPod. It pretty well has about 13-15 share of the computer market worldwide but I think people - both consumers and investors alike - have been following it closely because of how canny it is with its product engineering, never mind their product launches - we've seen how successful those have been. They're really causing much grief to their competitors where, in a low-margin business, for a prolonged period of time - even for the big players, market share shift can be devastating. Leopard OS took leaps and bounds. Now, it's iPhone. It's a relentless beast with no signs of slowing down. It's hip; it's young; it's current; it's emotive; it's what the people want. Their integrated marketing is well thought out; has legs; and evidently, goes far in terms of AIDA strategy: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. Their logo, well, who doesn't know it?
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Nicholas Di Cuia, Creative Director, Ferrand Communications, Inc. - June 28, 2008
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back to debate
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