No matter what is said about Redmond’s latest products, the company seems to be fully aware that these past few months made up Year One. This next season is the real, make or break, deal.
And Microsoft appears to be making all sorts of preparations for this new showdown.
The end of the year promises a complete refresh of the company’s products and services, prime among them being Windows 8.1 and the second generation Surface units. With each passing day, the 2013 holiday shopping season is shaping up to be a key few months for the technology titan.
And according to the latest reports, Microsoft has hired a new marketing partner for these two products. Ad Age is reporting that Reazorfish will handle the digital marketing efforts for both the Windows and Surface brands.
The agency already does the same for the company’s Xbox and Bing divisions.
It does not happen often, but a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the change, without going into any sorts of details:
“The decision to switch digital online advertising agencies arose due to competitive conflicts with the previous agency.”
Redmond, obviously, needs to get its products in as many hands as possible. These include the Surface tablets, which according to unofficial estimates have not exactly lit the house on fire. Improving the overall sales of Windows PCs is also on the agenda.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has reportedly admitted at a recent internal company meeting that he expected higher sales numbers for, and the current figures are, plainly, not enough.
But this much is certain that Microsoft liked what Razorfish has done with both Xbox and Bing, to offer the agency two of its most prized products — Windows and Surface.
The only question that remains is what sorts of digital campaigns can this new marketing agency come up with, for Windows 8 in general and the Surface tablets in particular, in order to convince end users to try them out. We will find out in a little while.
All Comments
I’m looking forward to what they come up with.
I am looking forward to the pricing structure of the 2nd Gen Surface Tablets. Price alone can make or break Surface going up against iToys and Android devices.
They also need to get a face and a athlete on board to push their products. Jessica Alba never did but one commercial and she should have done more.
No matter what marketing agency they use, price is one of the most important thing to consider for people who is buying a pc/tablet.