On page 105 of PresentationZen, author Garr Reynolds goes into how mediocre Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates' keynotes are compared to rival Steve Jobs of Apple. "Low aesthetic quality," "not really necessary," and "more of an ornament" are just a few ways Reynolds describes Gates' slides. As Microsoft's Interactive Marketing Consultant, I am here to dispel any rumors that the corporation is incapable of providing riveting presentations and prove, once and for all, that Microsoft can be interesting.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Microsoft's "No, seriously... Windows 7 Was My Idea" campaign.
Before my pitch, let me first say that my slideshow/campaign was crafted entirely with a live presentation in mind. The slideshow I submitted to SlideShare is a stripped-down affair that does not give the campaign's goals justice. The real slideshow is much more dynamic and engaging and I cannot wait to present it to the New Media Driver's License student body in person on Dec. 4.
First we begin with services and products offered by Microsoft, including the main focus of our campaign: the Windows 7 operating system. Next we go into Microsoft's main rival, Apple Inc., and what the campaign hopes to solve.
Following that is the revelation of the target, college-aged students, as well as the campaign's overall strategy: Strengthen Awareness of the 7 Brand by Strengthening the Target’s Social Skills. This strategy was the driving force behind all aspects of the campaign directly related to target participation - if it didn't apply, the idea didn't fly. After the amazement and wonder of that wears off, we introduce the campaign to the audience: No, seriously... Windows 7 Was My Idea.
The "Windows 7 Was My Idea" campaign has already proved to be successful for Microsoft, as evidenced by sales figures in the 170 millions. The "No, seriously" prefix is the interactive media division of the campaign.
The first promotion of the campaign is the, "7 Ways PCs do it Better" contest. Taking a page from Ford Motor Company's Effie award-winning Fiesta Movement campaign, this contest has bloggers do what they do best: blog. Entrants must write a blog entry explaining 7 reasons why they prefer to use PCs. They then submit the URL to the official "No, seriously" website. Judges will choose the 7 best posts and each winner will receive $7,000 as well as a Windows 7 prize package from HP. The best part? Increased use of key words such as "Microsoft" and "Windows" to appear in searches.
Next we have Social Media. The Facebook 'Tag7' contest is easy enough: best photo incorporating a '7' to be posted on the 'No, seriously' page wins. The 7 entries with the most 'likes' wins. The Twitter '7 in 140' asks users to attach the phrase "#NOSRSLY" to their Tweets about how Windows 7 makes or made their lives easier. Our interns will scour through each Tweet and choose the 7 best. Each contest winner will also be receiving $7,000 as well as a Windows 7 prize package from HP.
If someone puts this much effort into their Tag7 entry they deserve everything that comes their way.
This is my favorite: the 7 Seconds to Fame contest. Here, YouTubers submit their 7-second (yes, just 7seconds) video explanation for why they deserve the right to write/direct the next nationally-aired 60-second Microsoft TV spot. After our interns choose the top 24, people will be given the chance to vote periodically and narrow it down to the winner.
Search engines will also be utilized. Of course Microsoft already has Bing, but people still use Google and it cannot be ignored. Obvious AdWord submissions such as "Windows" and "Microsoft" will be bought, as well as variations on "no seriously," and "my idea." Our SEO approach is going to pull a 180 and take the comparative route: our website copy will feature copy including the words, "Apple" and "Mac" so searchers will be shown the great features (and prices) of Windows 7.
As mentioned above, we already have the fantastic tools provided by Bing at our disposal, so advertising management programs from Google such as DoubleClick Studio are not needed. We can, though, utilize Google Analytics and Insights for Search to both save costs and get to know and learn from what our competitor, Google is providing to its advertisers.
Besides the obvious measurements tools such as number of followers, fans, views, and contest submissions, we will also utilize tools such as Technorati and Monitter to keep up with not just how many people are talking about Microsoft and the campaign, but what they are saying.
This campaign will need some elbow grease in the forms of an account manager, an online ad traffic monitor, a web designer, a SEO analyst, a creative director, and some interns (of course). The campaign will go through an experimental 3-month startup phase to look at its effectiveness. By using Microsoft's already available wide array of resources, the main costs to examine are wages for these three months along with the prize costs. The total? Under $275,000 from Fortune 500's No. 36 company, Microsoft. Pocket change, really.
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