Zune Cartoon

A few months back, Microsoft announced that they were going to be providing some exclusive content for their Zune device.  In a time of poor brand loyalty, this is an attempt to revitalize the brand, and get people talking about it.  Apparently, we now know that this is going to take the form of a cartoon show- "City Council 3050 AD."

"City Council 3050 AD," an original comedy conceived by Worktank, is based on local government C-SPAN channels that broadcast the mundane proceedings of city business. The show, set in the future, uses this dry backdrop to offer humor and absurdity, taking modern local and national political issues and recasting them in the future.

It will be a whole series, and available at the Zune Marketplace later this month.  From the clip that I just saw, I'm looking forward to it.  I think that this will be an added value to the Zune line, and will be advertisement supported.  Should be intriguing to see if ad sponsored internet TV can find a home in the Zune Marketplace.  I'm just pleased to see the Zune team doing something original.

Zune Searches For New Canadian Music Talent

One thing that the Zune has tried to foster is the social experience of music.  After all, much of our musical taste is based upon what others around us listen to.  This is the so called "social" aspect of the music experience.

Along that vein, Zune Canada is sponsoring a concert to discover a new Canadian band.  To do that, they are sponsoring the Zune Concert Series.  Here are some details:

We’re scouring the country in search of Canada’s best, undiscovered band. When found, we will offer them a once in a lifetime opportunity – the chance to play live in front of 10,000 people during the Zune Concert Series in Whistler, BC. They will also receive a unique mentorship with influential Canadian music industry representatives such as A&R reps, producers and agents through Zune.  The grand prize winner will receive a trip for up to five band members to the Zune Concert Series at the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival in Whistler, BC.

Along with that, the fortunate winning group will get a Zune mentorship.  This provides them with some valuable "face time" with influential Canadian music industry represntatives. 

Those that play the radio better than a musical instrument also have the opportunity to win a trip for two to the festival.  along with the prize, the lucky winners will get VIP passes, overnight accommodations, and keeping with the theme, a pair of Zunes.  Let the squirting begin...

Zune Kiosk

Seems like these kisoks are popping up everywhere.  You know, those "stores within a store" that highlight one product or product line from a manufacturer?  Looks like the latest marketing effort for the Zune involves them putting their products into a kiosk.  While this concept may appear at one of those new Microsoft stores, it also could easily fit in at the local big block retailer.  I think it does a good job of highlighting and displaying the Zune line.  Also note the laptops to show that the Zune can update wirelessly.

Family Guy No Zune Fan?

Seems like everyone is taking pot shots at the Zune lately. Even the prime time cartoon Family Guy wants to point out that even Bill Gates himself can't help program a Zune.  It also continues that "Everyone has an iPod."  While it is a good clip for a chuckle, I think the Microsoft Zune team should realize that their PR is gonna have an uphill battle as the Zune gets attention for the wrong reasons all too often.  Even with a good product, it's the perception that counts.

The Guild Comes To Zune

Microsoft is focusing on wider distribution of their content across multiple partners.  Today we're learning one example of this: The Guild.  This is an online video series that focuses on the real lives of virtual players of a fantasy MMO.  It is coming to both the XBox Live Marketplace, and Zune platforms.  The jury is out if this will buy them more cool, or just more geek, but I think they'll take the sales either way.

New Zune Advertising Campaign

No sooner does Crispin get the go ahead to remake the Zune ads to try and ratchet up the cool factor (not to mention the Zune price cuts), but we're already seeing the theme of the new advertising.  Hey, around here we all knew that the Zune is the way to go, however, I have to say that the marketing was underselling the product IMHO.  This new ad campaign is showing off the Zune as a "Music Discovery Machine," and invite folks to download the new 3rd gen software (which I have installing as I type this, gotta love dual core processors)!  With the social aspect of the Zune one of the main selling point, I'm glad to see that they are finally doing a better job of getting the message out.

Can Microsoft Buy Cool For Zune?

As much as I like the Zune player, I can fully admit that they've done a lousy job marketing it.  While Apple incessantly advertises on television shows that younger folks flock to, like "Gossip Girl" and "90210" currently, I have yet to see an ad for any Zune player on TV- ever.  Clearly this is a missed opportunity because without the right marketing campaign, the Zune product line will never succeed in gaining market share.

At any rate, my personal opinion aside, apparently Microsoft has come to a similar conclusion, and has hired a new advertising company for the Zune line.  Taking the responsibility of getting the word out will be Crispin Porter & Bogusky.  These folks will take on managing the $41 million of marketing media that Microsoft threw into Zune last year.  Hopefully, Microsoft's music player, a worthy competitor to any other music player on the market, will finally get a piece of the elusive "cool factor" that has eluded them thus far.  Can I recommend some product placement among the elite NYC teens on "Gossip Girl?"

Zune.net gets a 184% increase in web traffic over a year

While a lot of people are still seeing the Zune as the little guy, or a less than popular portable media player, according to Nielsen Online the web traffic is telling us otherwise.

While its not an argument that the traffic to Zune.net is quite a bit less than their major competitor Apple.com they did rank higher than some other big names such as Nintendo and Xbox.

Traffic to Zune.net saw a 184% increase in traffic from stats during May 2008 as compared to one year earlier in May 2007. The numbers (in millions) were .72 for May 2007 and 2.04 for May 2008. This places Zune.net in sixth place with Apple, HP, Dell, Sun Microsystems and Gateway taking the top five spots.

In addition to the traffic, which was based on unique visitors, Zune.net was able to take the second position when it comes to how much time the visitors spend on the site with an average of 35:26 per visit. Taking the top spot was Apple at 66:02 and rounding out the top five was Dell, International Business Machines Corp and Nintendo.

[InternetRetailer]

The latest unofficial Zune commercial: "Music is Life"

The latest in unofficial, but yet entertaining commercials for the Zune comes in the form of "Music is Life" and offers up a unique 'feature' that, had it been real, I would imagine it would be able to sell many more Zune players. The commercial has been deemed unofficial as it comes not from the official Zune marketing team, but a fan. Something tells me that this is more memorable than anything official I have seen come from the Zune team, maybe they should make a purchase and license this. Check out the commercial below.

[Zune Insider]

Get Zune Discounts and Freebies From Major Retailers

The Zune retail team has been cooking special holiday and January offers for future Zune owners. A new page on Zune.net has links to special deal from Amazon , BestBuy, Circuit City and Walmart. According to the ZuneInsider, the page will be updated weekly and the campaign will run through January.

What's in it for you? Well, what about free music from Amazon, or free shipping from BestBuy? Ok, I know, these offers are nowhere close to the brown Zune special we've seen a few weeks ago...

The site "officially" goes live tomorrow.

Enjoy your Holiday Shopping!