I was vacationing last week, so I missed my chance to comment on the Zune HD rumors. Microsoft had already told me that it is planning one more iteration of the Zune hardware, and given the iPhone's success, it wouldn't surprise me if it has a touch screen (though I was hoping for something more cutting-edge, like a projector).
Now it appears that Microsoft's getting ready to launch Zune for mobile phones around the same time.
According to AdWeek, Microsoft is currently staging a run-off between three advertising agencies--its longstanding advertising partner, McCann Erickson, Crispin Porter + Bogusky (which is overseeing the Windows brand campaign that's making lots of news), and JWT (which recently took over Microsoft's People Ready campaign)--for a product referred to as "Pink."
The article says only that Pink is a mobile service. But according to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley and other sources, Pink is a code name for the Zune software and services running on mobile phones.
Microsoft is due to pick an agency for the campaign by the end of May, which could mean we'll start seeing ads for Zune on mobile phones by the middle of the summer.
Follow Matt on Twitter
Microsoft is trying to push Zune sales along with a price cut, as CNET's Ina Fried already reported Tuesday, and Donald Bell has the scoop on the firmware update that will deliver bug fixes, three new games, and head-to-head Texas Hold 'Em via the Zune's Wi-Fi transceiver.
But the most interesting part of the announcement was the advertising campaign. Not the advertisements themselves, although I'll be interested to see what the oddballs at Crispin Porter + Bogusky (who did the Gates-Seinfeld and "I'm a PC" ads) come up with. The fascinating part is that the campaign will focus on convincing users to download the free Zune software. Microsoft will still be doing other forms of advertising for the Zune players, but this TV campaign is all about promoting a product from which Microsoft earns no direct revenue.
The new Zune advertising campaign focuses on the brand and the software, not the devices.
(Credit: Microsoft)Why? Because music players were never the endgame. The company has always said that Zune is meant to be a broader entertainment brand that will find its way into other products. As I've posted before, a Zune interface for Windows Mobile 7 is a near-certainty, but I also would expect the Zune Marketplace to find its way into Xbox Live in short order--in fact, the new Xbox Live Experience gives Microsoft a much smoother way to introduce new features than the old "blades." I could also see Microsoft adding a Zune Marketplace page to the Media Center interface in Windows 7.
Of course, this (once again) raises the question of the future of the Windows Media Player. So far, Microsoft is committed to releasing a new version of the Media Player with Windows 7, in part for corporate customers who would never allow consumer software like Zune anywhere near their employees' PCs, but who still need media playback for corporate videos--training, presentations, and the like. But as long as Microsoft has three teams working on three digital media interfaces for Windows--the Zune software, the Media Player, and the Media Center software--there's room for consolidation, and my guess is that the Media Player will eventually get no further updates.
Update, 5/21: I talked to Microsoft's Mark Kroese this afternoon about this program, and he reassured me that Microsoft understands the potential for angering customers by delivering unsolicited ads, especially to a portable device where none have appeared before. He promised that any such advertising would be opt-in--the scenario he demonstrated yesterday would require users to choose to become friends with the musician, then choose again to have that musician's Doritos-sponsored playlist synced to their device. He also pointed out that only the musician's social card would contain the Doritos branding--when you played those songs within your own library, they'd be brand-free. Finally, he said that Microsoft understands the importance of appropriate branding, and would look for advertisers who music listeners would actively want to associate themselves with--I thought of Gibson or Fender, for example. So I'm not as uncomfortable with the concept as I was. And judging from the comments below, some of you are happy to accept some limited advertising in exchange for free music.
Original post starts here:
For the last several years, I've attended Microsoft's conference for advertisers--this year, it's called Advance '08--and it's always a bit like walking through a portal to an alternate universe.
Maybe it's because I grew up watching TV, but I've always looked at advertising like homework or lima beans--you have to accept it to get the stuff you really want. But whenever I attend this conference, I'm struck by how advertisers are big on the idea that end-users will not only accept, but gleefully embrace advertising if it's relevant, entertaining, and sufficiently subtle. There's certainly evidence to support this, like all those TV commercials posted on YouTube.
Part of Microsoft's pitch to advertisers is the ability to reach end-users on a wide variety of applications and devices.
(Credit: Microsoft)Anyway, part of Microsoft's pitch to advertisers is that because the company has so many different products and services for consumers--MSN, Windows Live, Live Search, Xbox, Xbox Live, the Mediaroom IPTV system, Windows Mobile, and so on--it can help advertisers reach end-users in more places with commercial messages they'll actually embrace rather than ignore.
On stage Tuesday, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, and one of his reports, Mark Kroese, demonstrated how a single advertising campaign could cross several different types of screens, including PC, TV, mobile phone and--gasp--Zune.
The demonstration involved a music festival sponsored by Doritos. A musician participating in that festival might create a Zune Social profile containing a small advertisement for Doritos. Users could then become "friends" with this musician, allowing them to see his playlist and perhaps even download free songs on that list (paid for by Doritos). They'd also see a little Doritos logo embedded in the musician's profile, which would appear not only in the Zune software, but also on the actual Zune device whenever they visited that profile.
Microsoft also demonstrated users e-mailing a link to this musician's profile to other friends, who'd then retrieve it via Hotmail or their mobile phone, and perhaps play a Doritos-sponsored Asteroids-type game linked from within the e-mail. Pretty whizzy.
This was just a demonstration. It's not a real offering today, although the Seattle P-I's Todd Bishop is reporting it will soon be launched as a pilot program. Today, Microsoft does show advertisements in some Xbox games (provided by technology gained in their 2006 acquisition of Massive), but only where it makes sense--billboards on a race track, for example, which mimic real life. But mixed in with my music? Advertising is one of the reasons I seldom listen to the radio anymore. To me, it'd be a shame if advertising appeared on my MP3 player as well.
I'm curious about what you think. Am I being needlessly grumpy? Would you accept commercial messages on your Zune (or iPod) in exchange for free content? Or is your personal music collection somehow sacred?
- prev
- 1
- next
