Apple plans Mac marketing blitz around Windows 7 launch

[AppleInsider]

Apple plans to counter the upcoming release of Windows 7 with advertisements that will lambaste the upgrade process from Windows XP, and portray Macs as more secure.

According to BusinessWeek, Apple will launch ads in response to the debut of Microsoft's latest operating system, due on Oct 22. The spots are expected to criticize Windows and portray the Mac as a superior platform. Apple views the launch as an opportunity to lure Windows users to the Mac.

"It will likely make the case that Macs are less susceptible to viruses and are best suited to its popular iPods and and iPhones," the report said. "And look for it to poke fun at Microsoft for making XP owners go through an arduous process to upgrade to Windows 7 -- one that includes backing up all their files to an external drive, reformatting their PC, and then reinstalling all of their old programs, assuming they still have the CDs."

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president for Worldwide Product Marketing, said the impending launch of Windows 7 presents a "good opportunity" for the Mac maker to make market share gains. He said the upgrade process from Windows XP to Windows 7 in particular is one that consumers will likely find unpleasant.

"Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out," Schiller said. "If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"

Analysts have predicted that the launch of Windows 7 will not have a major impact on Mac sales. In fact, history would suggest that the debut of a new Microsoft operating system has a positive effect on Apple's computer sales. Over the last 10 years, Mac sales have spiked following the debut of Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal. The technology columnist said that the latest operating system from Apple's rival to the north has narrowed the gap between Windows and Mac OS X.

But Apple also recently launched its own operating system upgrade in the form of Mac OS X 10.6. The $29 Snow Leopard debuted on Aug. 28 and got off to a swift sales start doubling that of its predecessor, Leopard, and performing four times better than Tiger. Apple's new operating system was also met positively by reviewers.

Schiller said the adoption of new versions of Mac OS X shows Apple's momentum in the PC market. Both Windows Vista and Leopard were released at the same time, and more than 70 percent of Mac users made the upgrade, while less than 20 percent of those on Windows made the jump to Vista.

"I expect Snow Leopard will have an amazing upgrade rate," he told BusinessWeek, "and Windows 7 won't."

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[souliisoul]

People who are still using XP because Vista did not meet expectations, seem to be hindered and process for upgrade reads very long and tedious, unless their plan to pay a new system. I am so glad I use a Mac.

[VinitaBoy]

"Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal."

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

[monstrosity]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

"Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal."

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

hehe, i didn't know this.

[Quadra 610]

Apple plans Mac marketing blitz around Windows 7 launch

Well good. I should hope so. That would be the thing to do if you had a marketing dept.

[Roc Ingersol]

Originally Posted by souliisoul

People who are still using XP because Vista did not meet expectations, seem to be hindered and process for upgrade reads very long and tedious, unless their plan to pay a new system.

Almost no Windows user upgrades. They buy hardware based on price and use whatever version of Windows that it comes with, until it's time to buy a new computer. The upgrade process is irrelevant.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

Please provide a link for this.

[Hattig]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Apple plans Mac marketing blitz around Windows 7 launch

Well good. I should hope so. That would be the thing to do if you had a marketing dept.

and new iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and MacBooks on the market.

Or are they never going to release them?

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol

Almost no Windows user upgrades. They buy hardware based on price and use whatever version of Windows that it comes with, until it's time to buy a new computer. The upgrade process is irrelevant.

True that.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Hattig

and new iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and MacBooks on the market.

Or are they never going to release them?

Probably on Oct 20 to steal Microsoft's THUNDER!

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Apple plans Mac marketing blitz around Windows 7 launch

Well good. I should hope so. That would be the thing to do if you had a marketing dept.

Why - is it that good?

[steviet02]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Please provide a link for this.

http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070118...hy-unexciting/

And to boot, you only need to read the sub headline.

[teckstud]

Meanwhile I still can't print since installing SL.
I know , I know it's Epson's fault.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by steviet02

http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20070118...hy-unexciting/

And to boot, you only need to read the first paragraph.

And the title of the article reads:

XP Successor Doesn’t Break New Ground on Ease of Use, But It’s Best Windows Yet

followed by:

what’s left is a worthy, but largely unexciting, product.

And that's a rave? AS Billl Clinton said- GIVE ME A BREAK!

Good try- but FAIL!

[teckstud]

Where's my new iMac?

[steviet02]

Originally Posted by teckstud

And the title of the article reads:



followed by:

And that's a rave? AS Billl Clinton said- GIVE ME A BREAK!

Good try- but FAIL!

The sub headline says it's the best Windows version yet. Do you agree with that rave?

[anonymouse]

Originally Posted by Hattig

and new iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and MacBooks on the market.

Or are they never going to release them?

Well, if the rumors about these are at all true, it's hard to imagine them not having a media event to introduce them, which would mean they are probably still at least a week out.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by steviet02

The sub headline says it's the best Windows version yet. Do you agree with that rave?

That's not a rave.
This is:

http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20091007...lp-you-forget/

Don't forget to watch the video.

[Shintocam]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

"Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal."

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

Stop dragging this out as it is NOT true. He said it was the best windows product yet - but he did not rave about it. Far from it. He called it uninteresting - not quite a rave.

Now the Windows 7 review is actually quite different. He actually says it has caught up in many ways with OSX and indeed in some cases (not all) surpasses it.

This is good news people - Apple needs to be pushed.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Shintocam

Stop dragging this out as it is NOT true. He said it was the best windows product yet - but he did not rave about it. Far from it. He called it uninteresting - not quite a rave.

Now the Windows 7 review is actually quite different. He actually says it has caught up in many ways with OSX and indeed in some cases (not all) surpasses it.

This is good news people - Apple needs to be pushed.

I agree- this instant MS bashing and spining on here is annoying. I want to see Apple pushed as well now that there appears to be real competition.

[ghostface147]

I have been using Windows 7 for over a year since the early 6801 builds up to the current 7600 build and it is by far the best Windows version yet. Of course once 8 comes out, some will say the same thing, and so on and so on up until Windows Whatever. It runs very well and rock solid. Snow Leopard on the other hand has it's fair share of problems. Apple will easily correct these problems and get it right on track in a few short weeks with .2 hopefully. They both are good, powerful operating systems and can co-exist together. I use them both and I wish they each had some things that the other offers. One glaring example is the ability to use different backgrounds on each monitor in Windows. Why is that not possible Micro$oft?

[Quadra 610]

Originally Posted by Shintocam

Stop dragging this out as it is NOT true. He said it was the best windows product yet - but he did not rave about it. Far from it. He called it uninteresting - not quite a rave.

Now the Windows 7 review is actually quite different. He actually says it has caught up in many ways with OSX and indeed in some cases (not all) surpasses it.

This is good news people - Apple needs to be pushed.

Judging by what we've seen, "the best Windows yet" isn't saying a whole lot.

Anyway, pre-release raves when it comes to MS products don't mean much.

[Postulant]

Originally Posted by teckstud

I agree- this instant MS bashing and spining on here is annoying. I want to see Apple pushed as well now that there appears to be real competition.

Yep. I don't mind the ads as long as Apple continues to differentiate its OS through innovative technologies rather than through catchy commercials that play on perceived differences.

Hopefully Windows 7 lives up to the hype.

[MacTripper]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"Any user that reads all those steps is probably going to freak out," Schiller said. "If you have to go through all that, why not just buy a Mac?"

This is basically irrelevant, as most PC buyers buy the computer with the operating system already installed. Also PC users tend to like to do more work if it saves them money.

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Analysts have predicted that the launch of Windows 7 will not have a major impact on Mac sales. In fact, history would suggest that the debut of a new Microsoft operating system has a positive effect on Apple's computer sales. Over the last 10 years, Mac sales have spiked following the debut of Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

It's because these Windows versions sucked. Mac sales increased because Microsoft announced their new OS's and forced people to compare and found that Mac's were better, thus the sales increase.

But the way the economy is now, the trend is "just good enough" and according to the critics, Windows 7 is going to do just that and very well. Combined with cheap netbooks and companies upgrading their hardware (as they put off going to Vista) Microsoft is again going to leverage their Windows/Office advantage to regain the consumer and education market lost to Apple recently. Especially since they are good at scaring the public that Mac's are expensive and Apple ignores telling people the cost saving advantage of better hardware and software.

Again we will hear something like this: "Your kid won't be able to get a job unless they know Windows. Jobs are scarce, all businesses use Windows. Your kids will living at home in your basement with soon to be obsolete Mac's unless you buy them a Windows 7 PC now"

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal. The technology columnist said that the latest operating system from Apple's rival to the north has narrowed the gap between Windows and Mac OS X.

See, I told you.

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

But Apple also recently launched its own operating system upgrade in the form of Mac OS X 10.6. The $29 Snow Leopard debuted on Aug. 28 and got off to a swift sales start doubling that of its predecessor, Leopard, and performing four times better than Tiger. Apple's new operating system was also met positively by reviewers.

But with the gap between the two OS's narrowed, people will buy their hardware based upon price. Netbooks are cannibalizing laptop sales, Apple has no answer so they are losing double.

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Schiller said the adoption of new versions of Mac OS X shows Apple's momentum in the PC market. Both Windows Vista and Leopard were released at the same time, and more than 70 percent of Mac users made the upgrade, while less than 20 percent of those on Windows made the jump to Vista.

I smell fear coming from Schiller, Microsoft touched a nerve with Apple hardware being expensive. Especially since Apple loves to price their $10-$15 power adapters in fancy little boxes and charge twice as much.

People notice these things, they notice the premium and the fluff associated with Apple gear. Right now with the economy the way it is, it's fashionable to be cost conscious.

Apple would be wise to renovate their stores and packaging to reflect this and appeal to the mass market better to increase market share.

All Microsoft had to do was to fix Windows, they did that and now they are poised to do a lot of damage.

Apple is still living in their dream world and will soon be back to single digit market share if they don't act to become more mainstream in a hurry. I expect their stock to decline based upon poor Mac sales and iPod/iPhone exhaustion in the coming years.


And before you flame the sh*t out of me, I'm a Machead from the very first Mac Plus days. I just see the danger ahead.

Perhaps it will do Apple a lot of good to lose for awhile. Get their focus off supporting the Washington socialists who one day will just decide to take over their business in the name of the people.

[johnmcboston]

Originally Posted by Hattig

and new iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and MacBooks on the market.

I was thinking the same thing - launch the new imacs on the same day. hmmmm

[doyourownthing]

Originally Posted by Postulant

Yep. I don't mind the ads as long as Apple continues to differentiate its OS through innovative technologies rather than through catchy commercials that play on perceived differences.

Hopefully Windows 7 lives up to the hype.

i don't get the comparisons, i mean windows 7 has a registry, that's barely acceptable for 2009. viruses? user account control? how many years has windows been around? they didn't have the money to fix that?

they have all the money in the world...if they don't spend it to completely rewrite their pos operating system, then all those that believe m$ are criminals are true

they're not in the business to produce the best software, that's for sure

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Quadra 610

Judging by what we've seen, "the best Windows yet" isn't saying a whole lot.

Anyway, pre-release raves when it comes to MS products don't mean much.

He used it for 9 months. A rave is a rave. The review of 7 says much much more than what you quote from Vista's. When was there a previous MS rave that you are making such fanbot statments and comparing this to?

[Zoolook]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

"And look for it to poke fun at Microsoft for making XP owners go through an arduous process to upgrade to Windows 7 -- one that includes backing up all their files to an external drive, reformatting their PC, and then reinstalling all of their old programs, assuming they still have the CDs."

This is recommended for any OS upgrade - going from Tiger to Snow Leopard, it is recommended to do the same thing.

[lorenz768]

and new iMacs, Mac Minis, Mac Pros and MacBooks on the market.

Or are they never going to release them?

Yeah Apple...it is about time you present those new iMacs that you are "ready and waiting" with... If you wait longer they will be old iMacs by the time they come out... plus I need a new Mac desktop... So Apple, pleeeaseeeee... present the new hardware next week!

[Maestro64]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

"Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal."

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

Problem is, I bet that Walt never actually did an upgrade, he was probably was handed a computer with it already installed and set up to allow him to play and use it.

I think if you were starting from new and looking at both Vista and Windows 7 they both probably look pretty good. It is not until you have have to upgrade and install applications does it become a nightmare.

Trust me Apple is not clean on the upgrade front, I have had issues with each upgrade from Panther to now Snow Leopard. They all had issue with some applications breaking and need to be updated themselves or fixing permission issue. But as usually with the Mac, it an much easier process to resolve.

However, I can tell you apple does make it easy to upgrade and restore you accounts and software. I have updated from computer to computer using firewire and had to do when a drive went bad and you just tell the OS when the old accounts are and let it do it stuff and an hour or so later you are up and running as like noting has changed, the user environment is set back to exactly as it was before.

The perfect ad will be a time laps of a person updating to Leopard and another doing Window 7 and show what each has to do, another one would be getting a new computer and show want is involved getting all your files and applications from one computer to the next.

[teckstud]

Originally Posted by Maestro64

Problem is, I bet that Walt never actually did an upgrade, he was probably hand a computer with it already installed and set up to allow him to play and use it.

If you'd read the review you'll see he did both and explains the pain of upgrading from XP as opposed to from Vista. Read the review.

[technohermit]

Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol

Almost no Windows user upgrades. They buy hardware based on price and use whatever version of Windows that it comes with, until it's time to buy a new computer. The upgrade process is irrelevant.

By the time Vista came to be, the hardware was so old, and Vista's requirements so high, you pretty much had to buy a new one (like SL from PPC, for instance. Not exactly but similar--flame on.)
If people bought their PC in the last 2 years or so, an upgrade is not so bad, other than the software hurdles you have to jump through if you bought it downgraded to XP. All in all, the world would be a better place computer wise if people adopted 7 from XP, due to the added security prompts and such.
Convincing corporate that they need 7, though, is not likely. That is where it matters for MS. You can add all of the functionality of OS X into 7, but it's only going to hit home with that market--the home consumer market. Not a single corporate IT department gives a damn about Aero or a shiny start button. They do care about their budget and upgrading thousands of PC hardware, though. Also,the list of client specific software that runs on XP and will break on 7 is unimaginable. Yeah XP emulator, blah blah. Convince IT they have to do it, otherwise 7 is another fail.

[Rot'nApple]

Originally Posted by teckstud

And the title of the article reads:



followed by:

And that's a rave? AS Billl Clinton said- GIVE ME A BREAK!

Good try- but FAIL!

If Bill Clinton is the "source of the day" for quotes...

Bill Clinton also said, "It all depends on what the meaning of "is" is."

Soooo... one man's "Rave" is another man's "FAIL!"?

[doyourownthing]

Originally Posted by Roc Ingersol

Almost no Windows user upgrades. They buy hardware based on price and use whatever version of Windows that it comes with, until it's time to buy a new computer. The upgrade process is irrelevant.

very true

[AeronPrometheus]

Originally Posted by teckstud

Probably on Oct 20 to steal Microsoft's THUNDER!

Microsoft: "'Thunder'? What's he talking about, 'Thunder'?"

[bongo]

No wonder Mac Os 10.6 was selling so cheap! Why upgrade and transfer your data? Not necessary OS 10.6 will delete your user data any ways

[doyourownthing]

Originally Posted by bongo

No wonder Mac Os 10.6 was selling so cheap! Why upgrade and transfer your data? Not necessary OS 10.6 will delete your user data any ways

trolls are working hard today

how much do they pay you?

[MacTel]

The only marketing blitz Apple needs is to release new iMacs, Mac Minis, and Macbooks at lower price points just before the Windows 7 grand release along with commercials saying so (i.e. "Now more affordable.").

[anantksundaram]

Originally Posted by VinitaBoy

"Windows 7 has earned rave reviews from some, including known Apple advocate Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal."

Uh, huh. Right. Let's all not forget that Uncle Walt ALSO--ALSO!--raved about Vista! And how did THAT work out for him and the Journal? Credibility gap, anyone?

Slam-dunk.

[Constable Odo]

As a Mac user I'm not too keen on Windows smear campaigns as I think they're underhanded, but I'll probably get a few laughs since it's not going to hurt Windows 7 at all. In other words, nobody will be harmed. I'd like Apple to tell how good Macs are and what they offer to buyers, rather than make fun of Windows 7 or XP users if that's what they intend to do.

Apple should just focus on their own merits and leave Microsoft and Windows out of it. I know it's going to be a bear for Windows users to upgrade their current computers from WinXP to Win7 and they probably shouldn't even bother. Just buy a new computer whether it be another Windows machine or a Mac. I think that Microsoft probably tried to make upgrading as difficult as possible for WinXP users to punish them for using it for such a long time and hurting their cash flow by not purchasing Vista. In some ways it's a good thing for Microsoft to do that because it might start money flowing into the PC industry again. The PC industry has been snoozing for a couple of years while the uninformed started buying netbooks that should never have been sold anywhere but third-world countries.

Windows 7 will have little or no negative impact on Mac sales. People buy Macs because they want Macs. They want the Apple brand, not just some PC.

Anyway. Go Mac and let's get that tablet on the market. I want that oversize Touch very badly.