Zune: Was it launched correctly?

Zune. It’s supposed to be the iPod’s toughest competitor yet. It might actually be better than the iPod.  Hell, there are probably a few mp3 players out there that are better that the one that happened to change our culture.

If you, as a marketer,  had a device in your hand that could rival the best-in-its-class, would you release it to the market in a commercial like this:

 

or this…

 

 

?

 

I am not asking this to be critical. I am asking because I am not sure yet what to think about such casual advertising for what could be a very strong, and industry changing, product.

 

On one side, one could argue that the Zune will be one that will slowly gain market share via word-of-mouth and recommendations by those who purchase and enjoy the product. For one to move away from the iPod, or purchase something other than the iPod, they must be convinced that the product is absolutely better than Apple’s offering. The Zune, or any other mp3 device, simply cannot survive if its functionality and “cool” factor do not outweigh that of the iPod. So, I think it would follow that if a handful of people become fans of this player, they will help spread that to the others in the market. Since the Zune will have to gain market share through other channels than advertisements, one could conclude that subtle and casual advertising might be a good way to get people somewhat interested. By launching the product like this, Microsoft is depending on word-of-mouth and early adopters.

 

On the other hand, one could argue that Microsoft should take it’s television introduction more seriously. Can this product gain share during the holiday season? Sure. Can it become a formidable threat to the iPod? Possibly. Will it do either of these by showing a commercial of a dog scratching itself? Probably not. I think it can be argued that to create an initial buzz that revolutionizes the industry, a more mature and meaningful message needs to be delivered. Witness one of the most famous commercials ever:

 

 

This commercial, shown in the 1984 Super Bowl, announced the release of the original Macintosh computer. (Full story) In viewing this, and in viewing Zune’s initial campaign, some might wonder if Microsoft is doing enough to release a notable competitor to the iPod.

 

So, what is it? Is Microsoft being too casual about the release? Should they have taken this product to the next level by creating a commercial of “epic” proportions? Has advertising / marketing changed so much that commercials like the mac commercial can no longer be compared to campaigns of today? How much does tv advertising matter for a product like this?

 

My vote is that the game has changed. Microsoft is hoping it has a good product out there that people with disposable income enjoy. They are throwing conventional advertising out and just hoping that when they throw this player out there, it sticks to the wall.

Borat = Cash Cow

I was just reading an article about the new movie: Borat.  It turns out that Fox, who is releasing the film, is pulling back the amount of screens on which it is going to open. There was an original plan to open on 2,000 screens, but it was just cut down to 800. While the movie seems to be tracking well on the internet with a core fanbase, the worry is that there is still not enough knowledge about the movie to have it realeased on thousands of screens.

The story of this movie is an interesting one.  Borat is a fictional character created by Sacha Baron Cohen.  Baron Cohen is also known as Ali G, and there is a television show on HBO that shares the same name.  In the past three years, there have been two seasons of the show on the premium network with a grand total of 12 episodes.  I believe there was a sketch by Borat in each one of those episodes.  Unless one had seen the show, or heard about it from a friend, they wouldn’t know who Borat was before this movie was marketed.

Borat has been shown in various film festivals over the past few months and has received resounding reviews.  It continues to have a solid internet fanbase, if not a very vocal one about the excitement about its opening.  However, Fox has legitimate concerns about the movie and I believe they are taking the appropriate precautions.

Had we believed the pre-opening hype about Snakes on a Plane, the movie would have been one of the best grossing of all time.  Yet, there is only so much power bloggers and MySpace users have.  One must also remember that the Snakes on a Plane hype came as a result of the “screenplay by committee” approach the directors took to it.  The internet only carried that movie so far.  Borat does not share that characteristic.

With Borat, I believe we are going to have a mix of two strengths: 1. Internet hype and 2. High quality movie.   Of course, this is what every studio should shoot for, but if I am correct, this may be one of the first situations where both truly exist in a world of internet chatter preceeding the movie’s release.  The internet backbone on this one is noticably smaller than SOAP, but at the same time, Borat is not going to rely just on that hype.

The graph below illustrates the location I feel recent movies have fallen in regards to pre-opening internet buzz and ending revenues.  My prediction is that Borat will end up being the “cash cow” of the matrix below, even though it sounds as if Fox is a little nervous about that right now.

Where will Borat be positioned in comparison to other recent movies: borat.pdf