Microsoft rolls out digital, events drive to back Windows 7

The product’s launch comes at a crucial time for Microsoft, which is trying to position itself as a leader in terms of products and search, the latter of which has gained momentum in the last year through the launch of Bing and a pending partnership with Yahoo.

Globally, Windows 7 is being marketed via a through-the-line campaign centred around the phrase 'I’m a PC and Windows 7 was my idea', US by American ad agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky.

This campaign is set to launch in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the US and the UK, coinciding with the programme’s worldwide launch yesterday, with other markets targeted in the upcoming weeks.

In Asia, Richard Francis, general manager of the Windows client business for Asia-Pacific, said Microsoft followed a “sun-launch” approach, meaning the programme first launched in New Zealand, followed by Australia, and so on through Asia.

In Asia, Windows 7 is being introduced to audiences through a series of roadshows, in which Microsoft offers a user-tutorial to large audiences and then makes the product available. Francis said Microsoft would be hosting shows in 11 Indonesian cities, five cities in Malaysia, in popular malls in Manila, the Paragon mall in Bangkok and two IT-dedicated malls in Singapore.

At a New Zealand event, Richie McCaw, star rugby player for the All Blacks – who also wears jersey number seven on the team – was the recipient of the first Windows 7 programme. In Singapore, the product was made available in retail stores at 12:07 at night, for which Francis said customers had lined up since 3:00 the previous afternoon. In Seoul, Microsoft held an event attended by 777 bloggers.

The roadshows are being coupled with the “launch of an aggressive online campaign” that ranges from Windows 7 microsites, social networks such as Facebook and on a product-dedicated website.

Microsoft’s 'I’m a PC' campaign will additionally be pushed via Youtube, although Australia is the only market in the region in which the TVC will be aired.

According to Richard Francis, general manager of the Windows client business for Asia-Pacific, Windows 7 aims to be different from its predecessors by simplifying computing processes for users. “We made a point of listening very aggressively to customers about what they want out of Windows, so we captured that,” Francis said. “Eight million users tested our beta programmes from 113 countries in different languages and usage habits, and different things came up."

He continued: “What we found from listening to them are three key pillars: they wanted everyday tasks to be made easier; they wanted a way to personalise Windows in terms of background and how to manage their operations; and third, they wanted easy way to set up networks.”