Dr. CK Lin | Productivity. Innovation. Entrepreneur Profiles

Failed Branding: Apple flourishes while Microsoft fades

When Apple announced it’s 1 billionth app download, Microsoft watched silently.

What’s going on with Microsoft’s branding? How much of Apple’s success can be attributed to their own successful advertising?

CNET’s article discusses that it seems that Apple was able to use advertising to enhance its brand, while Microsoft never found a good jumping off point.

Also, Apple’s products receive more everyday exposure than Microsoft’s do.

How often do you see iPods, Macbooks, and iPhones?

It seems to be that Apple’s successful branding is in part to consistency.

You KNOW when something is an Apple product, but when you see products like the Xbox 360, do you think Microsoft?

No. Exactly. Alas we have the crux of Microsoft’s dilemma. They are not consistently identifying themselves with their own products, their brand is not cohesive.

When we think Microsoft, we think Windows. That’s it.

When a company like Microsoft fails to reach out via advertising, it should act as a lesson for all aspiring advertisers.

People will not automatically make the branding connection between products… you must do it for them.

Money! by G.R.G.

Tech Companies Help the Movement of Stimulus Funds

So somewhere in the vast financial abyss, there are stimulus funds waiting to be awarded…

And the question many have been asking is how to get your hands on some of this money?

Now, multiple high tech powerhouses like Cisco Systems Inc, IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are offering the solution.

• Cisco has set up an informational website so that clients can learn how to apply for the funds that are available to them.
• IBM has created a software program that clients can use to monitor their spending of funds.
• Oracle will be scheduling an event that will dole out advice regarding how to win stimulus money.
• AND Microsoft has trained sales people to help customers apply for the funding.

By offering their customers this sort of valuable information, clients will not turn their backs on them.

Times are rough, and people want answers.

The CEO of National Strategies Al Gordon explains that “Even the most sophisticated organizations are still trying to get their arms around the stimulus funding because they realize this is an incredible business opportunity.”

Now that businesses like Cisco and Microsoft are actively providing their customers with valuable information through websites and salespeople, they will be able to maintain a solid reputation for the future.

Everyone is seeking to help each other in a time of economic confusion and helplessness, and it’s reassuring that large organizations want to help others succeed.

Collaboration? Always a good idea.