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Brand Name Challenged Microsoft Cries ‘It’s Not a Netbook”

Brand Name Challenged Microsoft Cries ‘It’s Not a Netbook”

netbookWindows 7, Windows 8 — Microsoft is known for branding its products with nondescript, meaningless names.  Now, Microsoft is rebranding the netbook computer using it’s oh so boring brand naming strategy.  Ready for this one?  Here goes:

At the Computex event in Taipei, Microsoft announced that netbooks will now be called “low cost small notebook PCs”.  I’m reminded of Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Kindergarten Cop” when he cries, “It’s not a tumor,” but in Microsoft’s case, the mantra is, “it’s not a netbook!”

Why is Microsoft renaming netbooks?  Because segmenting the market will differentiate machines that offer so much more than Internet access!  Although rumor has it Microsoft’s intentions have less to do with enhancing the features of netbooks to create something better than ever that consumers have been clamoring for as it does with trimming down the existing netbook by removing Windows Starter Edition from them.  Either way, it’s one more notch on the belt of confusion for Microsoft and its brand strategy.

Here’s an idea for Microsoft — how about focusing on making the products they already have actually work the way they’re supposed to?  I’m just saying.

How do the new “low cost small notebook PCs” fit into the existing marketplace, and how do you know exactly what you’re buying or what you already have in your hands?  Check out the hilarious netbook lexicon flow chart courtesy of The Register.  

If that isn’t evidence of consumer confusion, I don’t know what is.  There is something to be said for simple branding strategies.

Your thoughts?  If it looks like a netbook and smells like a netbook, is it a netbook?

Image: Flickr

Is Your Media Relations Campaigns Making Mass Appeal? Rethink and Retool Your Plan

A thriving corporate entity online should have an effective media relations presence in place in order to stand out and get traffic. If they have to click around or dig too long, they will invariably click away, thus a potential lost sale.

Often what will happen when a corporation is compiling their media kit or media relations pages, they will fail to consider the average, everyday “Joe” who will be visiting their site and not have any technical inclinations at all. Since highly technical gurus typically design and write site outlines, they write the site based on what works (for them) or what they feel is currently necessary. All that’s fine too…just make sure the audience understands it as well.

When I visit sites looking for their media relations efforts, I click on the links as if I know NOTHING about their custom deep links, SEO strategy or popular keywords. As a blogger, I know about these things of course, but I want to see what approach the company offers to the person who doesn’t have the benefit of this experience. And this would be accurate since the typical online trafficker really doesn’t concern themselves with these things. It’s important to have these things in place and available, but often companies will put too much time and focus on one area and neglect another component that is equally important.

For instance, I may perhaps as a blogger seek the link to their media press releases to get information about the company’s activities and future goals. But as a manager or administrator, I technically may not be familiar with where to find press cuttings, releases or news about the company. Should I be?

Does the responsibility fall on the company to provide a more clear cut direction to these things (in terms of very, very basic navigation), or does the responsibility fall on the person who is perusing the site, demanding that they hone their online technical skills, web grammar and understanding and be able to navigate the site without aid because they “understand it.”

Which do you think should prevail and why?

No matter how many people and businesses come online every day and no matter how “common” online communications, presence and activities may become, there will always, always be newbies to your site. Whether they are experienced or novices is not so important as how well they can navigate and maneuver themselves around your website. Therefore, it would stand that your site should be easy to read, easy to navigate, have common sense links and leave the reader with a feeling that he’d like to visit your site again. But by the same token…

Online businesses are changing daily at phenomenal rates. In order for corporate businesses to remain competitive and cutting-edge, they must change as the times change. This means new developments, new software

Companies, Candidates, and . . . Cookies


black-hole-2

In a New York Times piece titled Be Nice to Job Seekers. (They’re Shoppers, Too.), consultant Jon Picoult shares this anecdote:

I recently heard a story about a manager from Nabisco who was attending a human-resources industry conference. When he declared that his company responded to every résumé it received – solicited and unsolicited – he was met with incredulous stares from his peers.

“Why respond to every résumé when that’s clearly not necessary?” someone asked.

The Nabisco manager smiled and replied, “Because – everyone eats cookies.”

Picoult makes so many good points in the column that I hope everyone will take the time to read it.  In the meantime, I’ll recap some highlights:

  • Most job candidates (not just the unqualified) are treated poorly by most companies (not just the inept).  Calls are seldom returned, messages rarely answered, statuses never communicated, et cetera.
  • After receiving this type of treatment, even those who are hired will have a negative feeling about the company-and no amount of jolly onboarding will completely mend that.  As for those whose applications were never even acknowledged, or who actually interviewed and then never heard another word . . . they are bound to have a poor impression of the employer brand.  And that impression will transfer to the company and its products or services.
  • The typical explanation for discourteous treatment of candidates is that HR staff just doesn’t have time to do better.  But Picoult observes that “with most job applications now submitted or recorded electronically, companies can and should be more communicative using automated means.”

This last point contains a key insight concerning the corporate Careers site:  Creating a state-of-the-art website designed to impress job candidates is pointless if a company then fails to reinforce its positive message with courteous, timely treatment.  It’s also pointless to invest in automated application processes, but never bother to establish procedures for managing applicant communications.

A 2008 Gallup survey showed that 70% of job seekers had a frustrating experience while applying for a job, and half of that group said their experiences made them reconsider working for the company.  Today, as Picoult points out, the high volume of job applicants created by current unemployment levels is making that situation even worse.  (But on the flip side, a lot of managers and executives are now job-hunting, so they get to experience this treatment from the candidate side.)

A step worth taking:  Check to see if your Career site makes promises about candidate communications.

  • If so, find out whether those promises are being kept.
  • If not–reconsider.  Is there a company policy about candidate communications?  There ought to be.  And it ought to be articulated on the Career site.


Thanks to NASA’s new Spitzer Space Telescope and NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle (SSC) for the conceptual image of “a growing black hole, called a quasar, at the center of a faraway galaxy.”  (Some job candidates believe the objects falling into a black hole are, in fact, resumes . . . )


Top 100 Global Brands of 2009 Ranked by Brand Z – Google Rules the World

google_logo_buildingEach year, WPP sponsors the annual ranking of the top 100 global brands through its report from Brand Z.  The results for 2009 are in, and the list isn’t that surprising. 

Google tops the list.  HSBC ranks 30th as the top international financial institution in terms of brand value — not surprising based on the financial meltdown in much of the world that affected most banks and finance companies.  Toyota ranks 14th and is the highest ranked auto brand (interestingly, Honda ranks a mere 50th).  Walmart comes in 3rd, and is the highest ranked retailer.

I find several things particularly interesting about this brand ranking report: [Read more…] about Top 100 Global Brands of 2009 Ranked by Brand Z – Google Rules the World

Got Stories? Lessons from the competition

cliburn


The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition–one of the most prestigious events in all of classical music–occurs every four years, just about twenty miles from my doorstep.  Full disclosure:  I am not a pianist, though I practice occasionally just for the adventure.  Nevertheless, I have always wanted to attend the Cliburn start to finish, from the perpetual motion preliminaries, in which thirty contests play for fifty minutes each, to the suspense-filled final round when six survivors play their hearts out, and someone wins heaps of future fame.  (Yes–it’s basically a reality show with fancy music.)  But every four years, like clockwork, something interferes and I never get there.

Now the spell has been broken.  Though I haven’t made it to the concert hall, I’ve actually had a much better view of the proceedings.  Live webcasting has given me a seat onstage, with perfect views of every note played and every expression of the pianists.  If I miss a performance or just want a rerun, I can watch the archived editions.  I can tune in for rehearsals, research the players, read live-blogging by music critics, and get Twitter updates on every aspect of the competition.  What a world we live in!

So am I happy?  Not exactly.  The new problem is:  I now know too much.  Having seen all the preliminary rounds, I have a more informed view regarding the twelve semi-finalists recently chosen to continue in the competition.  Setting aside that some of my personal favorites didn’t make the cut (that’s just subjective) and acknowledging that I’m not sufficiently expert to recognize subtleties considered by the judges–I’m still pretty sure that at least two of the candidates who moved into the second round have much less chance of winning than some who were left behind.

It’s not that these particular candidates are romantic “long shots” or feisty “under-dogs.”  It’s just that they don’t have quite the level of musicianship or performance excellence that could reasonably be expected to put them in the top spot.

So why were these probably-not-winners advanced?  My theory:  They will attract media attention to the Cliburn, because they have personal stories that can be easily dramatized and neatly fitted into a headline.  Their stories also engage the live audience and energize the hall, quite apart from the particulars of their performances.

Which brings me at last to the relationship between the Cliburn and the Careers website.  Actually there are several potential lines of thought that could be applied to any kind of competition, including the competition for jobs (from the applicant side) and the competition for talent (from the recruiting side).  But I have one particular point in mind, and that’s the importance of story.  So consider:

  • Does your company website tell its employer story effectively?
  • Are there compelling employee stories included in the Careers section?
  • Do applicants have an opportunity to tell their own stories as part of the application process?
  • How does a candidate’s personal story fit into the evaluation process--and how should it?


Google Cards for Your Business

Another social media platform? Yes, I’m afraid so. It’s such an appealing way for businesses to connect that Google wants to join in on the fun too. Now, your company’s executives and officers can establish themselves with a new social networking platform and position themselves to be found in the wonderful community of the World Wide Web.

I’m thinking that perhaps there may be an over-saturation of social media sites, so many that I can’t keep track of them all! I certainly have my favorites, but then again so does everyone else. Each of the sites serve a different and diverse audience and also serve different purposes. And, if many users are like me, they have accounts with more than one of them and utilize them for the some of the same functions on each of them.

While it may be just as effective to work two or three social networking platforms to get the desired results, users generally want to find that “one” site that serves most of their major goals.

Want to share music and the latest releases? Try MySpace.

Want to share what you did five minutes, ten minutes ago? Try Twitter.

What about photos, links and meatier posts? Facebook should do it.

The new social platform by Google should serve an even bigger, more diverse audience with their business card presentation and professional appearance. There really isn’t any new information shared there that you cannot find on any of the other sites. Perhaps only in layout and design will you find differences and nuances.

As for company executives and officers, I think the platform is going to really be an added bonus for company’s who are looking to gain more exposure. Perhaps when customers or clients can’t find a specific company, they will have more luck finding the people who work for the company. Therefore, instead of one shot at one hit in a search engine, there are chances of 10-15 shots in a search engine for one company. Sound plausible?

So, how do you think the new Google platform will measure up with the other heavy-hitters? Do you think it’s different or unique enough to last a while? I actually set up my page here and started playing around with it. One thing that I found that was really likable about it was the instant gratification of typing my name into the Google search engine and watching my information populate instantly. If nothing else, it certainly does wonders for the ego.

What do you think?