Microsoft is putting this to the test with a US$500 million marketing campaign to roll out its worst-kept secret, Vista. After all, there are plenty of things the corporate giant wants us to forget: Vista’s five-year delay, Steve Jobs’ sneer, and more recently, a well-intended but carelessly-executed attempt to tap some A-list bloggers. Otherwise, it is difficult to understand why the lugubrious monolith, whose Windows software already commands over 90 per cent of the PC market, would feel the need to invest a sum exceeding the GDP of 17 different countries.
What’s more, by Microsoft’s own predictions, 80 per cent of Vista sales will be made through the next purchase of a PC anyway. Coupled with the thousands of hardware and software manufacturers who stand to profit $18 for every dollar that Vista makes, you’d think Microsoft’s marketing team has its work cut out for it.
Still, this hasn’t stopped them from coming up with audacious initiatives such as an online puzzle contest called Vanishing Point, whose winner gets a free ride into space through a private space travel company. Or in India, a choreographed dance that ends with the Windows logo being projected onto the Taj Mahal.
But if the first two weeks are anything to go by, no one is forgetting any time soon. In fact, Google ‘Microsoft Vista’ and you’ll find a trove of wisecracking headlines such as ‘Microsoft’s Vista debut not nearly so wow’ or ‘Enjoy the pretty Vista, but don’t step off the cliff’. Apple reportedly spent US$10 million to market the iPod, which has bought it a lot of love. Hopefully, money will do the same for Microsoft.
Politics as usual for Edelman in Thailand
As Thailand continues to get to grips with the fallout from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s ousting, PR agency Edelman is dealing with the repercussions of taking on a communications assignment for Thaksin, casting the former PM as a humble private individual simply looking to return to his home country.
Almost immediately, Edelman’s Thai affiliate — Spindler & Associates — publicly terminated its relationship with the American agency. Spindler’s move is hardly surprising — founder Julian Spindler’s wife, Kanjana, is deputy secretary-general to the country’s current PM. Thus, any association between Spindler and Edelman is not likely to be viewed kindly in the country’s present state.
