The MS ads are really working

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I guess the plunge must be due to the stars not being aligned correctly.



Garbage in, garbage out, people . . .





http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...-revenues-down



http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419...-drop-in-revs/

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    I'll bet those ads helped HP more than MS.
  • Reply 2 of 19
    jazzgurujazzguru Posts: 6,435member
    Probably helping Apple more than MS, too.
  • Reply 3 of 19
    Haven't the ads only been out a relatively short time and therefore probably won't impact sales figures much until the next quarter is reported?
  • Reply 4 of 19
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Trajectory View Post


    I'll bet those ads helped HP more than MS.



    Why? They just paint HP as a maker of cheap, ugly laptops for people who can't afford macs...
  • Reply 5 of 19
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978 View Post


    Why? They just paint HP as a maker of cheap, ugly laptops for people who can't afford macs...



    ...or the maker of laptops that do all of the things listed for the price listed. The vast vast majority of consumers are only interested in getting a laptop that does what they want to do for the price they want to pay. As Apple only caters to a very narrow segment of that market, that leaves the remaining 'cheap' and 'ugly' laptops for everyone else. Microsoft are simply highlighting the huge range of specifications and options available for different budgets, which is of course one of the large benefits of a PC, and one of the things Apple doesn't cater for.
  • Reply 6 of 19
    jazzgurujazzguru Posts: 6,435member
    I don't understand why MS is going out of their way to tell people what they already know.



    What they neglect to mention is anything about their own product (Windows) and what sets it apart from the competition.
  • Reply 7 of 19
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jazzguru View Post


    I don't understand why MS is going out of their way to tell people what they already know.



    What they neglect to mention is anything about their own product (Windows) and what sets it apart from the competition.



    Now there you go being all logical and making sense. This "does not compute" for some here.
  • Reply 8 of 19
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jazzguru View Post


    I don't understand why MS is going out of their way to tell people what they already know.



    What they neglect to mention is anything about their own product (Windows) and what sets it apart from the competition.



    I think the message from the advert is that a Windows based computer allows you to get the right product for the right price, and that's what sets it apart from the competition.
  • Reply 9 of 19
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jazzguru View Post


    I don't understand why MS is going out of their way to tell people what they already know.



    What they neglect to mention is anything about their own product (Windows) and what sets it apart from the competition.



    It's the inevitable logic of commodity pricing. The thing about commodities, pretty much by definition, is that they compete solely on price.



    Sure, you can spend more and get nicer stuff, but then the "Apple tax" doesn't look so impressive, and where's the fun in that?



    I mean, it's reached the point that price pressures have created an entire class of machine, netbooks, that can't run Microsoft's current OS.



    So if the "cool" hardware that runs your software doesn't actually cost much less than the competitor, if it costs less at all, and the super cheap stuff actually can't run your software, what's left to brag about?



    You contrive the biggest differential you can, within that narrower band of cheap, but not so cheap as to be a different class of machine altogether.



    How long before a netbook manufacturer runs basically the same ad, but has their "real person" realize they can't get a machine that runs Vista for the small amount of money they've been given, decide they're "not cool enough" to use MS products, and walk out smiling with their Asus netbook running Ubuntu in tow?



    Live by price, die by price.
  • Reply 10 of 19
    They fail to mention the headaches that come with PC's. My friend bought a new one last week and, just two days after setting it up, got a major virus infestation (didn't know to prepare for it) and had to spend an entire day setting up again.



    He asked me if I had ever had a virus or spent money on virus protection software or spent time worrying about them. I almost laughed, but just said I hadn't and that the CEO of Norton actually once said if you wanted to avoid viruses (and by doing so save time, money and stress), get a Mac.
  • Reply 11 of 19
    e1618978e1618978 Posts: 6,075member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrochester View Post


    ...or the maker of laptops that do all of the things listed for the price listed.



    The one ad I saw had "Lauren" looking for a 17" - and she got one with very low resolution. IMHO, the real market for that kind of laptop is very small, mainly old people who need big letters on the screen due to failing vision.



    They don't really "do all of the things listed", because most people who buy 17" screens want a better 17" screen than she bought.
  • Reply 12 of 19
    jazzgurujazzguru Posts: 6,435member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrochester View Post


    I think the message from the advert is that a Windows based computer allows you to get the right product for the right price, and that's what sets it apart from the competition.



    It's amazing to me that MS thinks it has any competition to set itself apart from. Granted, millions of people around the world have found the "right product for the right price" in Macs.



    But MS is trying to set their product (Windows) apart from the competition by not even talking about it and telling people that many Windows based machines are cheaper than Macs (which anyone in the market for a computer would already know).



    Tell me how that's effective?
  • Reply 13 of 19
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Bergermeister View Post


    They fail to mention the headaches that come with PC's. My friend bought a new one last week and, just two days after setting it up, got a major virus infestation (didn't know to prepare for it) and had to spend an entire day setting up again.



    He asked me if I had ever had a virus or spent money on virus protection software or spent time worrying about them. I almost laughed, but just said I hadn't and that the CEO of Norton actually once said if you wanted to avoid viruses (and by doing so save time, money and stress), get a Mac.



    I think it's fair to say that Microsoft should start telling us about the problems with their products just as soon as Apple starts telling us about theres
  • Reply 14 of 19
    Quote:

    But MS is trying to set their product (Windows) apart from the competition by not even talking about it and telling people that many Windows based machines are cheaper than Macs (which anyone in the market for a computer would already know).



    Tell me how that's effective?



    People are probably well aware that there are cheaper alternatives to a Mac, but are probably much less aware of what they are capable of doing. I think that's why Microsoft have come up with these different scenarios, so that people can see that if they want to do X with their computer, they can get it for Y price, which is cheaper than Z (Apple price). Really, those are the 2 most important factors when considering a computer, and are the 2 things I always ask someone when they are looking for a computer. What do you want to do with it, and how much do you want to spend?
  • Reply 15 of 19
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by e1618978 View Post


    The one ad I saw had "Lauren" looking for a 17" - and she got one with very low resolution. IMHO, the real market for that kind of laptop is very small, mainly old people who need big letters on the screen due to failing vision.



    They don't really "do all of the things listed", because most people who buy 17" screens want a better 17" screen than she bought.



    I wouldn't agree there, I think the market for large, low resolution displays is enormous as evidenced by the multitude of 720p 30"+ TVs.



    The majority of computer use is for all round tasks including entertainment and watching a DVD resolution movie on a 17" display is more satisfying than on a 13" one.



    I also think that price is a bigger factor than Mac users tend to believe. I would say that over 70% of my family qualify as being better off with a PC simply because of price and the options available.



    This is why Microsoft still make so much money. Despite the news of a revenue drop, they still made $3 billion profit vs Apple's $1.2 billion. For a company primarily selling software, that's pretty good revenue.



    The flaw with software though is piracy and I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason for the drop is stores offering netbooks with Linux and people installing a copy of XP on it that they already own. That's what I would do.



    Another reason for a drop will simply be to do with them hitting saturation point and ipods will be the same. When everyone who want an ipod has one, the sales will tank.



    Overall, the revenue drop is quite large but I don't see it being significant when they are still making so much profit. When they begin to make a loss or drop below $1 billion revenue then there's a major change happening.
  • Reply 16 of 19
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Apple has to out earn Microsoft by 20% for you to acknowledge a "major change"?



    Damn, dude, that's a pretty high bar.
  • Reply 17 of 19
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,309moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Apple has to out earn Microsoft by 20% for you to acknowledge a "major change"?



    Damn, dude, that's a pretty high bar.



    Maybe but the current economy can cause a 30% drop and Apple's current success is mainly due to the iphone so doesn't for example indicate a shift from PC to Mac. The negative effects of the Microsoft advertising and netbooks play a part but I think that until Apple are significantly outperforming Microsoft in revenue, there is no indication that Microsoft are going anywhere.



    If there are successively lowered revenues as time goes on then it's interesting to note but if it's the same or higher, this blip will be almost meaningless. The news IMO is not so much that there was a drop in revenue this quarter but that it's the first drop in 23 years. That's not something Apple have managed to do.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Marvin View Post


    Maybe but the current economy can cause a 30% drop and Apple's current success is mainly due to the iphone so doesn't for example indicate a shift from PC to Mac. The negative effects of the Microsoft advertising and netbooks play a part but I think that until Apple are significantly outperforming Microsoft in revenue, there is no indication that Microsoft are going anywhere.



    If there are successively lowered revenues as time goes on then it's interesting to note but if it's the same or higher, this blip will be almost meaningless. The news IMO is not so much that there was a drop in revenue this quarter but that it's the first drop in 23 years. That's not something Apple have managed to do.



    I don't think Apple has to overtake MS or MS has to die or be on oxygen to count as a major change, though.



    There have already been huge changes from the days of Apple being "beleaguered" and IE enjoying 90% market share, and Apple doesn't have to be driving the trends that are going against MS for them to start to take a toll.



    The coming shift to handheld computers, for which, at the moment, MS doesn't have a credible answer, the rise of Linux netbooks, the continuing erosion of IE's marketshare (and with it, Microsoft's ability to drive net technologies in ways that leverage their desktop marketshare), Vista, of course.....



    Except for threatening to make real headway towards dominating the handheld space, Apple isn't doing any of that. MS is doing it to themselves, and I don't see any signs that they've learned any kind of lesson or that the technology landscape is trending their way.



    That doesn't mean they "go away", but the fact that we're having this conversation at all suggests change is afoot.
  • Reply 19 of 19
    I have a question: When was the last time a Microsoft ad was actually effective? In recent history (post Windows 2000), their ads have always bombed.
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