4 ms·

Microsoft continues to fail miserably on one very important front: Marketing If I were in charge I'd fire the ENTIRE marketing department and start fresh. The

Microsoft continues to fail miserably on one very important front: Marketing If I were in charge I'd fire the ENTIRE marketing department and start fresh. They have lost the tangible sense you need in order to understand your customers and communicate with them. Much like when UPS decided to almost ruin a brand recognized world over by launching a campaign that re-branded them as "brown". What an absolutely clueless move! Microsoft examples abound. From commercials with people dancing around a table snapping magnetic keyboards on and off a device to "Cortana" (WTF!), a name only a mother could love and want to say all day long. I am disappointed because they have a lot to offer. They just don't seem to have a clue as to how to make the right decisions any more. Please fire everyone and hire me as your benevolent dictator. Almost anyone could do better.

vetinari 12y ago
Come on, do you really think that the marketing department at Microsoft (or other company of similar size) is in charge? Strategy is being decided by their higher-ups, only details of operations are on them.
- seivan 12y ago
  Same thing applies to most software I write. Strategy, ideas and decisions are from higher ups. Far away from implementation.
  - vetinari 12y ago
    Thank you. That's exactly the point. Most people see something similar at their own job. Why is it a stretch of imagination to think, that other departments are in the same position as yours?
seivan 12y ago
I thought Cortana was a brilliant idea, and a nice touch. Halo has served Microsoft very well, it's an extension to that. Just my take on it.
IanDrake 12y ago
To riff off that: .net - A bad name and it was impossible to search for information in the early days. SkyDrive - Great name...but oops already trademarked. Live.com - Makes no sense. Bing.com - See Live.com.
- eli 12y ago
  Does "ebay" or "amazon" or "google" make sense?
  - slouch 12y ago
    At least for ebay and google, these names held no previous definition. Live, bing and amazon are all words that meant something before they became brand names.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - astrodust 12y ago
    "ebay" and "google" are made-up words, very distinctive. "amazon" isn't unique, but it wasn't hard for them to wrestle to the top on that one, especially with the .com domain. "live" could've been a thing, but it's buried under layers of branding. Is it Microsoft Live? MSN Live? Is it "live" as in "alive" or "to live"?
- kelukelugames 12y ago
  Don't forget Metro and the trademark issues.
- sirkneeland 12y ago
  Or earlier this week when they suddently rebranded a lot of Bing things (back) to MSN things.
empirewindrush 12y ago
Hey now, Cortana is a really cool use of a property they had access to. One of the perks of being a huge, diverse (in the product / market sense) company.
- MBCook 12y ago
  I see that as a negative. They slapped one of their two popular characters on something as a desperate attempt to lure people in and be like Apple. Google didn't give their thing a personality. Having a personality may be better, but this just seemed kind of sad to me. It make me realize how little Microsoft has that people have positive associations with. "Come try our new plumbing business! You don't want to? What if we call it Mickey Mouse's Plumbing?" It's not a bad move. It may even turn out to be a smart one. But it just reminds me of their weak position. Why not just call it the Halo phone, or release the Master Chief edition.
theoutlander 12y ago
I agree. Their marketing is terrible. Problem is that they have too much money to throw around and hope something sticks. And then there was Balmer. Remember the early windows phone ads when they were trying build up hype?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55kOphD64r8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55kOphD64r8

vetinari 12y ago

Come on, do you really think that the marketing department at Microsoft (or other company of similar size) is in charge? Strategy is being decided by their higher-ups, only details of operations are on them.

seivan 12y ago
Same thing applies to most software I write. Strategy, ideas and decisions are from higher ups. Far away from implementation.
- vetinari 12y ago
  Thank you. That's exactly the point. Most people see something similar at their own job. Why is it a stretch of imagination to think, that other departments are in the same position as yours?

seivan 12y ago

I thought Cortana was a brilliant idea, and a nice touch. Halo has served Microsoft very well, it's an extension to that. Just my take on it.

IanDrake 12y ago

To riff off that: .net - A bad name and it was impossible to search for information in the early days. SkyDrive - Great name...but oops already trademarked. Live.com - Makes no sense. Bing.com - See Live.com.

eli 12y ago
Does "ebay" or "amazon" or "google" make sense?
- slouch 12y ago
  At least for ebay and google, these names held no previous definition. Live, bing and amazon are all words that meant something before they became brand names.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- astrodust 12y ago
  "ebay" and "google" are made-up words, very distinctive. "amazon" isn't unique, but it wasn't hard for them to wrestle to the top on that one, especially with the .com domain. "live" could've been a thing, but it's buried under layers of branding. Is it Microsoft Live? MSN Live? Is it "live" as in "alive" or "to live"?
kelukelugames 12y ago
Don't forget Metro and the trademark issues.
sirkneeland 12y ago
Or earlier this week when they suddently rebranded a lot of Bing things (back) to MSN things.

empirewindrush 12y ago

Hey now, Cortana is a really cool use of a property they had access to. One of the perks of being a huge, diverse (in the product / market sense) company.

MBCook 12y ago
I see that as a negative. They slapped one of their two popular characters on something as a desperate attempt to lure people in and be like Apple. Google didn't give their thing a personality. Having a personality may be better, but this just seemed kind of sad to me. It make me realize how little Microsoft has that people have positive associations with. "Come try our new plumbing business! You don't want to? What if we call it Mickey Mouse's Plumbing?" It's not a bad move. It may even turn out to be a smart one. But it just reminds me of their weak position. Why not just call it the Halo phone, or release the Master Chief edition.

theoutlander 12y ago

I agree. Their marketing is terrible. Problem is that they have too much money to throw around and hope something sticks. And then there was Balmer. Remember the early windows phone ads when they were trying build up hype?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55kOphD64r8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55kOphD64r8