Jeff Skrzypczak
Marketing 301: Professor Weinberg
09/30/14
Blog Post Assignment: Simplicity is Still Reigning King
Links
Windows Tablet vs. IPad Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdRbYM4e7Ko
Cortana vs. Siri Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0pjD4qpIpg
Mac vs. PC Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpOvzGiheOM
Sales Data: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-10-31-more-than-46-million-halo-games-have-been-sold-worldwide
6 Business Trends(Trend #6 Keep Marketing Simple): http://masterful-marketing.com/2014-small-business-marketing-trends/
Ouch Apple, Ouch. The truth hurts and the truth is that Microsoft has caught up to Apple’s marketing game. In a simple, elegant, 30 second advertisement Microsoft displayed its brand. That whatever Apple can do, Microsoft can do better, and most likely at lower cost. All while using Apple’s famous “Mac vs PC” ad.
Shakespeare said that “Brevity is the soul of wit”, and Microsoft demonstrated this perfectly. Microsoft could have done a two minute long Superbowl ad with a black and white artsy commercial, celebrity endorsements, with some expensive pop song royalties being paid on top of that. However they did a better job with this 30 second ad that eloquently and most importantly demonstrated before I lost my attention; that Microsoft offers a superior product.
Find an Audience with Money
Microsoft has also drawn attraction to fans of their Halo series by naming their voice software Cortana, after a main character in their series. With Halo selling more than 46 million copies worldwide, Microsoft has created an advertisement which has an attraction to more than 46 million people with disposable income. It’s ingenious really.
Keep it Simple Stupid
It’s surprising how fast companies lose track of the KISS principle. The best most memorable advertisements are never long or overly expensive and keep the message clear, concise, and ideally under ten words. Examples are included below
Examples
“Just do it”
“Think Different”
“Where’s the Beef?”
“I’m Loving it”
“Live in your world, play in ours”
Concluding Thoughts
These words resonate more with target audiences more than any visual of a car driving on an ambiguous closed course ever will. I hope to see Apple’s advertising team comes up with an equally clever, simple, and aggressive campaign. However Apple should maintain a good defense as well, and focus on delivering a better product for the premium its charging. With more companies with strong brand entering the marketplace of smart phones such as Amazon & Google, Apple’s IPhone is no longer the “king of phones” it was several years ago.
However I am just an Intro to Marketing student(And an accounting major at that!) with no real expertise in marketing. However it doesn’t take an expert to realize that Apple’s brand is not as strong as it once was, and that simplicity remains king.
Isenberg Marketing 