Keep it Weird Microsoft

Is it OK to be sick of Apple? I know we are all supposed to admire for their chic industrial-design and oh-so tasteful advertising. One reason Apple stand out so boldly from their competition is that most technology is advertised so badly which is why I instantly take-note when some other tech company manages to churn out a good campaign: Take Microsoft's People Ready campaign. It's a real improvement from the company which previously gave us the comic duo of Gates & Seinfeld.

This innovative ad is intended to promote Microsoft's extensive range of business products - a line that is increasingly under threat from commercial and free rivals. Given that there's a free alternative to just about every one of Microsoft's commercial products it makes sense that they talk more about the solutions to which their products can be put to rather than fussing about the products themselves. This reminds me of how IBM's marketing had to transform over the 90's: Like Microsoft today IBM realized that they were loosing their monopoly - they could no longer be profitable simply by selling shrink-wrapped software products.

 Even if it's not immediately clear what exactly what product or service Microsoft are advertising here, the campaign positions Microsoft as an enabler behind some of the world's most interesting companies. It has a kind of silicon-valley start-up energy, and it's not at all the sort of thing I'd expect to see from a gargantuan megacorp. Having worked for some of the world's largest IT companies, I've noticed a trend towards ultra-conservative advertising: It usually starts with risk-averse brand-managers but is compounded by agency staff who do not understand the products or are simply not interested in all that "techie" stuff. It's no surprise that there are so few award-winning IT business ads.

There's a widely-held belief that b2b advertising has to be corporate and dull in order to work. Complete and utter nonsense. Business people are also 'normal' people with a creative side and a sense of humour. They do not leave their 'souls' at the office door when they enter the corporate world. A great advert like this can only come-about about when a confident brand-manager has the courage to let their agency work outside the shackles of convention. They have to really want to stand out, something that most IT people seem to find hard to do.

It's great to see Microsoft acting as an equal in the playground. Its about time they stopped looking up at Apple and started acting as a leader they really are.

Carrotmob anyone?

People come to together in a time of crisis. The Internet is enabling the spirit of mutuality but more interestingly the recession is driving people towards collective buying.  A strategy that people have little time for when the economy is good but in harsher times could turn tables on companies who are seen to be too greedy.

Last week's Economist describes how the residents of the San Francisco have been signing up enthusiastically for a new green energy campaign called 1BOG- short for "One Block off the Grid". It asks homeowners to switch solar energy one block at a time by organising them into buying-clubs. The more people who sign up, at any time the bigger the discounts. Finally the contract to supply, install and maintain the system is put out to tender the "Carrotmob" outsources the work to the most competitive bidder.

Marketers have long harped on about the shift of power moving from the company to the consumer, but it's not actually happened until now in any great measure (with the exception of a few groups on Facebook).  The fact remains that the majority of technology companies are still interested in what interests them rather than what interests their customers.

So many women tell me that technology is "way to complicated" "designed by men for men" "lacks any intuition" "is frustrating and dull."

Imagine another world, where women Carrotmob for intuitive and sexy technology.  Technology that was made with women in mind.  Where substantial numbers of women gather together and say what they want. Where ten-thousand women were to draw up a list of their ideal next phone/TV/PVR/console and pledge to buy it. Where tech brands bid to build and support this product knowing that they had guaranteed buyers, and in return women would have to honor their contract.

It's about time we carrotmobbed for intuitive, human technology that reflects what we are interested in.

What would your ideal phone/TV/PVR/console/piece of kit look like?  How would it feel using it?  How would it be different from whats out there now?

Your thoughts please.

Digital Mom

Marketers seem to have finally come around to see that mothers use the Web 2.0. The insightful report called Digital Mom was produced by Razorfish and CafeMom.

The first part of the report is based on a survey with 1,500 mothers who are users of Web 2.0. The report produced some interesting findings:

1. 65% of mums use social networking sites, 56% SMS and 52% game online or via a game console. This is for me the most striking finding showing that gaming is no longer a niche activity for adolescent boys but has gone mainstream.

2. There are also age differences. Moms over 35 are more likely to use the web as an information tool while moms under 35 are more likely to use social network sites. Also women with children over 12 tend to game more (57%) than women with children under 12 (51%).

3. The mothers’ interests go beyond parenting. These women retain many interests. In the last three months the surveyed mothers had researched or purchases fashion items or clothing (40%), food and cooking (31%) and baby/parenting (26%), banking (22%), computer and electronics (21%) and medication/medical condition (20%). Part 2 is based on an in-depth survey of 1,750 women active in CafeMum.

4. Digitalmoms spent 18.5 hours per week online.

5. These mums are active in social networking sites not passive consumers.

6. The report develops five segments of digital mums: the self-expressor, the utility mum, the groupster, the infoseeker and the hyperconnector. Marketers seems to have discovered that mums online a worthwhile target group. I wonder when we will see the Digital Dad.