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Susan Gunelius

Susan Gunelius

Will $100 Million Give Microsoft the Ba-Da-BING It Needs to Threaten Google

What do you think?  Will a $100 re-branding and advertising push turn Microsoft’s new incarnation of its Live Search product, named Bing, create more than a blip in the radar screen of Google’s online search monopoly? 

The short answer — it’s doubtful.

The long answer — it’s even more doubtful.

Let’s face it.  Google owns the online search market.  We live in a Google world.  A $100 investment by Microsoft to rebrand Live Search and attempt to steal market share from Google seems like a bizarre marketing strategy to me.  I don’t care how much money they throw at the Bing initiative, there are too many strikes against Microsoft to become a search powerhouse at this point.

I’m not saying Microsoft’s Bing won’t do well.  I’m sure it will survive just fine, but is this really the best Microsoft could come up with to save it’s flailing brand and business?  Once again, they’ve missed the boat.  Consumer’s haven’t been asking Microsoft for the next Google.  They’ve been asking Microsoft to fix what’s already wrong with the brand, the company, and its products.  In other words, trying to divert focus from Vista wrapped in Windows 7 clothing isn’t going to fix the core brand problems. 

I know Microsoft wants to gain a stronger foothold at the Google party, but the writing has been on the wall for a long time that they need to refocus the brand first.  Google wanna-be products aren’t the remedy to re-energizing the brand.

Oh Microsoft, why do you disappoint us again and again?  Can’t you just give us an operating system that works well?  How about spending $100 million on that?

microsoft-windows-vista-error-final

I guess that’s why I finally broke down and bought a Mac last year.  I still use my Windows-based PC, but I curse out Windows far more often than I curse out my Mac.  And don’t even get me started on Internet Explorer.

How about you?  Would you trust the Microsoft brand to give you a search engine that works well given their current brand image?  Would you choose Bing over Google?  What would make you switch?

Good luck climbing the Google brand mountain, Microsoft, but my money’s still on Google.

Image: Flickr

Apple Spreads Relationship Brand to Future Generations

apple_storeI’ve written many times on Corporate Eye about Apple as one of the best examples of a relationship brand around.  The brand started out as a cult brand, but today, is one of the strongest relationship brands with loyal brand advocate customers around the world. 

Apple knows its customers are loyal and hopes to ensure that loyalty is passed onto the next generation.  To do so, Apple has launched a series of Apple Camp workshops at its retail stores in the U.S.  The workshops are for children ages 8-12, and each 3-hour session will undoubtedly teach participants how to do some really cool stuff on their Macs.  The workshops will be held in all Apple retail stores, but kids can only participate in 2 classes each — ensuring the Apple brand can be experienced by the masses.

According to The Register, classes are filling up fast.  It seems Apple parents are thrilled to be given the chance to let their children become Apple brand advocates, too, and since parents have to attend classes with their children, the family’s relationship with the brand can also become a bonding experience.  Very clever, Apple. [Read more…] about Apple Spreads Relationship Brand to Future Generations

PETA Advertising Strikes Out Again

I’m not a fan of shock advertising (I think it’s a cop out most of the time).  I’m also not a fan of PETA advertising and marketing.  In fact, I’ve written about my opinion related to PETA advertising before.  There are so many examples of PETA’s misguided marketing strategy (remember sea kittens or the banned Super Bowl ad?  I could go on and on.), but an outdoor billboard that PETA recently resurrected in the U.K. is yet another reminder of a marketing strategy gone awry (and that still has no clue how to connect with a broad audience).  Check it out below.

peta_fat_kids_meat_ad

The PETA brand suffers from an exclusive message (and I don’t mean that in the “special” sense of the word — I mean the opposite of “inclusive”).  The PETA brand message is, “You’re either with us or against us.”  There is no half-way with PETA.  In the 21st century where relationship brands are becoming more and more important, this is the wrong strategy for PETA (or any other organization that wants to grow) to follow.

I also think that PETA suffers from delivering messages that aren’t believable.  One of the most important elements of marketing and copywriting is crafting messages that consumers will actually believe.  Gone are the days when consumers took words like “free” at face value.  The same can be said of extremist messages like PETA’s ‘meat makes kids fat’ message.  The masses don’t believe it.

I do believe there is merit to many of PETA’s fights, but extremist, exclusionary marketing is not helping the brand.  Check out the comments on this article from Brand Republic to see what people are saying about the billboard.

Your thoughts?

Intercontinental Hotels vs. Starwood Hotels Rewards Promotion Battle Begins

intercontinental_hotelWhen the economy is weak, keeping loyal customers happy becomes more important than ever.  For hotel brands, it’s the perfect time to launch a rewards program promotion, so I was particularly interested when I came across an article on SmarterTravel.com where writer Tim Winship compared current rewards program promotions from Intercontinental Hotels and Starwood Hotels side-by-side in order to determine a winner.  In the end, he gave the win to Intercontinental Hotels, but not by much.

Tim looked at both the Intercontinental Hotels and Starwood Hotels reward programs from the consumer’s perspective (as you’d expect for a travel site).  He looked at the type of rewards given, the flexibility in redeeming those rewards, the amount of time given to earn and use those rewards, and the alternative reward options.  Intercontinental Hotels took the win primarily because of its flexible alternative reward options.  However, those flexible alternatives are only included in the fine print of the promotion details.  In my opinion, that’s a missed opportunity.  Consumers don’t like to be tied down to a single choice.  They inherently like options.  It gives them a sense of control over their buying decisions.  A sense of control is even more important when the economy is weak and people feel uncertain and in a state of flux.  [Read more…] about Intercontinental Hotels vs. Starwood Hotels Rewards Promotion Battle Begins

Gateway Brand Reborn

gateway-cowBack in 2007, Acer bought Gateway and took ownership of a brand that had a deep value but had also lost much of its original strength after years of Gateway’s failure to live up to its brand promise.  A brand that once dominated the personal computer market became a victim of its own success by forgetting that consumers had expectations for the brand based on its brand promise.  As Gateway tried to reduce costs by offshoring customer service and forgetting why consumers chose to buy Gateway-branded products in the first place, the brand was tarnished and eventually lost its appeal. 

The question now is whether or not Acer can revive that original brand promise or create an entirely new brand promise for Gateway that consumers will believe and ultimately buy into.  We’ll find out soon as Acer prepares to launch its first Gateway-branded products in the coming months.  According to The Register, Acer plans to debut Gateway-branded notebook computers and servers before the end of 2009.  The Taiwanese company will unveil its first Gateway-branded products at the Channel Expo event this week in the U.K. [Read more…] about Gateway Brand Reborn

The Best and Worst Brands in Terms of Value Revealed

A new study by BrandIndex and YouGov ranks brands by consumers’ perceptions of the value those brands deliver from best value to least value as measured for the period between January-April 2009.  While the results aren’t completely shocking, there are some brands with rankings you might not expect.  Take a look at the best and worst rankings below.

10 Best Value Brands (the Best brand is ranked #1 in the list below)

  1. The History Channel
  2. The Discovery Channel
  3. Craftsman
  4. Google
  5. Rubbermaid
  6. Johnson & Johnson
  7. Subway
  8. Lowe’s
  9. Whirlpool
  10. Target

10 Least Value Brands (the Worst brand is ranked #1 below)

  1. Hummer
  2. MTV
  3. Starbucks
  4. Red Bull
  5. AIG
  6. Perrier
  7. Abercrombie & Fitch
  8. 7-Eleven
  9. Citibank
  10. Neiman Marcus