innovation

THE RETURN OF MICROSOFT

Posted on by brandsandculture

Microsoft is making a huge comeback. The software giant has been going through a rebranding effort of late; updating its logo for the first time in 25 years in an effort to streamline its brand experience, and attempting to challenge Apple even further with the continued expansion of its retail stores. Now Microsoft is unleashing an onslaught of ads to promote the release of its latest operating system, Windows 8.

Sure Microsoft always rolls out a robust marketing campaign to support the launch of each new operating system, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that there’s something quite different this time around. In particular, with this ad promoting the Windows 8 picture password feature, it’s obvious that Microsoft went back to the drawing board with a strong focus on reimagining its most popular products, and delivering fresh product marketing ideas to go along with them.

After some problematic product launches in the past, it appears the Microsoft team now recognizes that marketing is only truly successful when the brand and product experience is equally as innovative. Only time will tell if this wave of product launches and colorful advertising will translate into increased sales for Microsoft, but it’s certainly great to see the software giant taking a bold approach to its marketing communications efforts.

IS BRAND LOYALTY DEAD?

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Brand loyalty is dead, or at least that’s the conclusion Bobby “Hundreds” Kim, Co-Owner and Creative Director of LA-based streetwear brand The Hundreds, came to in a recent post on instagram. While Bobby Hundreds is a key influencer in the world of street culture and urban fashion, he switched focus to the consumer electronics industry and spoke candidly about his recent experience with one of the world’s most beloved brands, Apple.

In particular, after years of being accustomed to the “sensation of cool design, innovative features, and of course, progressive technology,” his disappointing product experience with both the latest iPad (with retina display) and iPhone 5 resulted in a brand switch to Samsung.

Bobby Hundreds’ experience mirrors that of many customers today (myself included) when brands fail to meet consumer expectations. After 4 years of being a proud BlackBerry brand loyalist, I recently made the switch to Apple due to a repeated decline in product quality standards in Blackberry smartphones.

Up until recently, if anyone told me I would leave BlackBerry for any other brand I would have been hard pressed to believe it, but when even the most beloved brands repeatedly fail to meet consumer expectations they leave us with no choice but to seek out competing brands that at the very least maintain, if not exceed, their promise to customers.

Brand loyalty assumes that people buy from the same company over and over because they believe that company makes superior products (Stuart et al 2006: 142). However, as evidenced by my experience with BlackBerry and that of Bobby Hundreds’ with Apple, once levels of consumer satisfaction fall below acclimated standards, there is very likely to be a change in brand preference.

Brands are facing a new age of fickle consumers who are constantly in search of the next best product or brand experience. As such, the traditional idea of wooing consumers as early as when they’re toddlers, and cementing brand loyalty for a lifetime is hardly an effective or sustainable brand strategy.

Brands owe it to their customers to keep pushing the envelope, always staying a step ahead of expectations, because as a recent Interbrand article on the future of brand building points out, “purchase decisions are becoming more fluid, better informed, and dynamic.” An internal failure to innovate, or simply poor product or brand experience, is a problem that even the best marketing won’t solve.

Brand loyalty isn’t dead, but it’s certainly a concept that needs some rethinking and rekindling. Brands need to give consumers a reason to believe in them; as with any relationship, trust must be earned and maintained. As Seth Godin plainly puts it, what’s needed today is brand humility:

“Brand humility is the only response to a fast-changing and competitive marketplace. The humble brand understands that it needs to re-earn attention, re-earn loyalty and reconnect with its audience as if every day is the first day.”

Despite his earlier remarks, Bobby Hundreds’ comment at the end of his post, particularly about missing his BlackBerry smartphone, actually reveals that brand loyalty can in fact be re-earned, and is quite frankly desired by consumers.

PREMIUM POSITIONING: NIKE+ FUELBAND

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Within the last decade, it has become widely recognized that up to 90 percent of new product and service introductions fail. These product failures can be attributed to a variety of reasons, ranging from a lack of proper target market definition to some products simply being too far ahead of the market.

However, one oft-disregarded cause of failure is that some of these new products tend to be poorly positioned. More often than not, the success (or failure) of a new product can largely be dependent on its positioning, and a perfect example can be seen with the recent launch of the Nike+ FuelBand.

On its own the FuelBand is an innovative product which, in addition to tracking your steps, time and calories on an LED display, essentially makes use of a new unit of measurement – NikeFuel. Input your daily goals and the FuelBand will measure your movement – the closer you get to your goal, the closer to green you get on the LED display. FuelBand is also equipped with USB and allows for wireless syncing with your iPhone (or iPod) for more detailed data, instantly making your information available to share through your social networks.

Nevertheless, Nike (or presumably the planners at its ad agency of record, Wieden+Kennedy) recognized that an innovative product such as the FuelBand needs to be backed by an equally innovative positioning. Hence, the development of the tagline, “Life Is a Sport. Make it count”, which successfully integrates Nike’s ongoing Make It Count campaign. Although the idea of life being a sport is well-known and even sometimes used in colloquial language, it wasn’t until now that the phrase has been successfully commercialized. More importantly, this clever move on the part of Nike also has important implications for the brand.

First, it elevates Nike’s brand value and perception in the minds of consumers. This idea of life as a sport creates a unique brand association because it essentially redefines the meaning of sports, and in turn serves as a key differentiator for the Nike brand.

Second, it establishes a competitive advantage in the minds of customers, particularly because it embodies the timeless value of life which other brands within the sportswear and equipment industry are yet to do.

Third, this positioning widens Nike’s target market – an already broad group to begin with (See: If You Have A Body, You Are An Athlete). In particular, non-traditional athletes (free runners, break dancers, etc) now have a stronger sense of connection to the brand because they can all relate to this universal idea of life.

Ultimately, introducing the FuelBand using this idea of life as a sport helps convey Nike’s unique value proposition and further emphasizes the brand’s superiority within the sportswear and equipment category. Although the FuelBand won’t be available worldwide until May, you can watch the spot below in the meantime to see which activities (including impersonating MC Hammer) count or don’t count towards NikeFuel.