I’m always struck, when writing about Windows Vista, by how many PC users there are out there who immediately feel compelled to write in with their own strong feelings on the subject.
These generally fall into two categories: the XP die-hards who view Vista as an enhancement of dubious value they would happily do without, and the Windows detractors who have experienced all the circles of PC hell (it usually starts with a virus and ends in a decision to wipe the harddrive and start again, or a trip to the Apple store.)
It’s always a good reminder of the strong passions technology arouses - or to be more precise, the passions imperfectly functioning technology arouses.
Needless to say, these people turned out in force today when I wrote about Microsoft’s forthcoming Windows advertising campaign and compared the current brand image to a bowl of cold porridge (by coincidence, the Wall Street Journal also reported today that Microsoft had signed up comedian Jerry Seinfeld for the campaign.)
To be fair, my own experience with Vista has been passably good: no driver glitches or speed problems. I’ve also had a good experience with Windows Live OneCare.
But the general tenor of the correspondence I got today was summed up by one writer: spending more to market Vista is like putting lipstick on a pig.
Up to a point. While I understand the sentiment and sympathise with the experiences (yes, I’ve been to PC hell and back), I actually think Microsoft has plenty to gain from overhauling its Windows brand marketing (and to be clear, the forthcoming blitz will be all about the Windows name, not an attempt to boost Vista per se.)
This feels like a case where the perception of the brand is worse than the actual experience. The marketing geniuses at Apple have done a great job of exploiting Microsoft’s recent failure to reinforce the brand, stepping into the vacuum to shape perceptions in their own favour. It makes sense to combat this.
There’s a second sound reason to spend more money on a brand-building campaign. Windows could increasingly come to feel like a burdensome tax on new PC purchases: as hardware costs continue to fall and the perceived value of computing shifts more towards internet-based services, the cost of the PC operating system will loom larger.
Microsoft has to counter that - which is why the forthcoming campaign will play on Windows as a Web and mobile computing brand as well. It’s a valid defence, as long as users can be persuaded that all these Windows environments fit together in some way that is worth more than the sum of the parts.
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