Brand is as Brand does

So last night I decided to take a stroll online and see what the new version of Microsoft Windows 7 is all about. After all, they are now trying to target Mac users with their marketing (so this was of personal and professional interest to me). Which, by the way, is their first mistake. Two brands cannot occupy the same space, usually the first one to get to that space wins. As I get to their landing page which is supposed to announce their coveted new software, I quickly realize that it is stale and boring. That’s another mistake. What you see in the billboards and in TV ads, and what you get online when it’s time to try to get the consumer to seal the deal are two completely different things. Why did they do it that way? Although no-one can be totally certain, I imagine it is because they are trying to market to too many people and in too many different ways. Ultimately they market to no-one. What does it say about Microsoft? That it has no personality. Microsoft no longer has a niche, nor a specialty. It’s only reason to be is that the software ship is too big to simply veer away from Microsoft quickly. It may take some time for Microsoft to completely die out as a software for the people, but it will most likely happen within the next decade.

Then to add insult to injury, as I clicked on one of their several “7″ second videos about the features of the software… guess what happened? Yes, my browser crashed! Mind you I was on the latest version of Firefox on a fairly new iMac. I know some may say “You’re on a mac, why should they care about you anyway?” Well, they should. After all, they are marketing directly to me in print and on television… a business owner, creative and marketing director, with a family, 2 kids. As a consumer I have a right to change my mind and choose new things, such as Windows 7. But, as you may have guessed, I won’t.

Although I am in branding and marketing and can consciously see these things I have mentioned, it doesn’t mean that others who aren’t in the same field as I am cannot. A Brand is typically felt and reacted to on a subconscious level. So, if I had this feeling about the Microsoft Brand experience I had last night, then probably many millions of others may have as well with their own experience. And so I reinforce my conclusion, Brand is as Brand does. Yesterday’s experience was a clear indication to me of what I would most likely get from the Microsoft Brand and Windows 7, another huge mess.

See for yourself: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/what-is-windows-7.aspx

Author: Jason Pires