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!

Multimillion Dollar Campaign Launched to support the Zune

Video: Zune TV Spot

Less than two weeks before Z-Day, Microsoft launched a multimillion dollar campaign to support the new Zune 80, Zune 4 and Zune 8. The new marketing campaign named “You Make it You”, will include print, TV, online banner ads, and a new teaser website called Zune Journey.

Basically, the new marketing tagline,”You Make it You”, means that the Zune is absolutely nothing without you, and it comes to life by what you put in it: your music, pictures, videos, etc.

Do you like the new concept?

When Zune was initially launched in November 2006, Microsoft had a $100 million budget for the marketing campaign. That means around $100 per Zune 30 sold. The exact budget for the new Zune marketing campaign has not been revealed, but we can probably expect something similar. Hopefully, the number of Zunes sold in the next 12 months will be much higher than a million. Any guess on that?

Enjoy the video!

New Zune Kiosk Found at Target

These are some photos of what the new Zune kiosk will look like for Target stores. It looks pretty good, the only downside is that the Zune models aren't actual Zunes, just models for them. It would have been cooler if they had the kiosks out with the new Zunes out and working so that you can play around with them.

Zune 8GB and 4GB Brochures

The folks over at ZuneScene got their hands on some Zune Brochures. Check the other picture after the brreak.

Do we say “Zune 80” or “Zune 80GB”?

It looks like there’s a bit of confusion on the web around the new Zune player names. Do we call them Zune 30, 80, 4 and 8 or Zune 30B, Zune 80GB, 4GB and 8GB?

If you read the official Microsoft press release, the official names seem to be the “GB” versions. But when we listen to interviews or read the Zuneinsider blog, for example, the “GB” is skipped.

Having to write for this blog, I wanted to know how I should write the product names! I contacted Kristin from the “Zune press team” and here’s the answer I had:

“Can totally understand the confusion, and actually, both are correct. In conversation, we only call the devices Zune 80, Zune 8 and Zune 4, but in print, you can choose to add the “GB” or not.”

Personally, I think that it sounds better without the “GB” and it gives the Zune more “personality”.  But from a mass market standpoint, adding the “GB” will help the customer to understand what he will get from a specific model.

Which one do you prefer? Do you like how they called the Zunes now?

Brand Your Zune!

Since the Zune came out a year ago, we’ve seen the device in many colors and limited editions. But now, the Zune team brings the concept of customizabled branding to a new and interesting level. According to Michael Greene from Off Campus, the Zune team will personalize the Zune for any school or university, as long as the quantities are interesting.

But that’s not all; they will even personalize the pre-loaded content for you as well.

Look at a few more examples after the jump.

Source

Ballmer: No Zune in Europe in 2007

Microsoft’s plan to release the Zune and the flash Zune in Europe before the year’s end has been cancelled because the Zune is apparently still losing money.

In a recent interview with a German website, Steve Ballmer said:  "so far we lose money in the business because we must invest. Therefore we decided not to go into new markets yet. When are we going to be ready? I cannot say for now". [Translated from German]

This is sad news for Zune fans in Europe. Zune has a growing community overseas, with Zune users, forums and blogs.

What surprises me the most is the fact that Zune being an investment project has been forecasted by Microsoft since the beginning. Microsoft always said that the Zune was at three year investment project. Are they going to wait three years to release the Zune in other countries? Probably not, but after last week announcement on Zune sales being near the million units sold, this means that Microsoft is on track with their original forecast. The Zune team simply changed their original plan. Microsoft is very secretive about the Zune road map and understanding where the Zune is heading is a hard job.

A Million Zune Sold!

Back in November 2006, when the Zune came out, there was a lot of skepticism on how many Zune could be sold before Microsoft’s year end in June 2007. At the time, Microsoft said they would break the 1 000 000 Zunes sold before that date.

Well, according to Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s entertainment division, they have done it! At least they will reach that point very shortly. Based on all the Zune bashing we have seen since the Zune came out, this is excellent news for the Zune team and for all Zune lovers as well.

“We're very pleased with the progress. We've sold a little over a million Zunes. In the category we're in, the hard-disk-based category, we've got about 10 percent market share. It's a good start. It's not an overwhelming start. I'm not going to pretend its some gigantic move” said Robbie Bach.

Exclusive Ladytron's Remix EP on the Zune Marketplace

After partnering with Mims on their last tour, Zune is doing it again with Ladytron. They are sponsoring the tour of the Liverpool band.

But the Zune marketplace also has an exclusive Ladytron's Soft Power Remix EP for you to download now. Check it out!

I have to admit I had serious doubts about the marketing strategy behind the Zune, but things have been changing a lot lately. Do you see a trend coming from the Zune team as we speak? The pink Zune special edition, the Zune-Halo 3, Music exclusivities from famous artists and labels. The Zune wants to be cool and wants to do cool things too. And I seriously begin to think that there doing it right! It's like if suddenly they were doing the right moves one at the time.

Let's hope that the upcoming software upgrade, the second generation Zune and the flash Zune will continue in the same trend.

Are we beginning to feel the magic touch of J Allard?

via Zuneinsider

New Zune Spot Featuring the Pink Zune

There is a new ad running on TV right now. The ad features the Pink Zune, MIMS and all the other basic Zune colors. We were expecting an ad that would focus more on the features of the Zune but I guess this part is going to come with the Internet marketing campaign.

You can catch the ad on MTV, VHI, BET, and Adult Swim. The spot will also be broadcasted throughout the NBA playoffs and finals, and the season finales like Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, Lost, and Family Guy in top markets.

I do like the spot but I'm not amazed by it. Do you like it? Do you think it will convince more people to buy Zune players?

via ZuneInsider

Limited Edition Zune Player for AdultSwim

If you're a fan of Venture Brothers, Aqua Teen, Sea Lab, Harvey Birdman, and Robot Chicken, you will be interested to know that AdultSwim and Microsoft have partnered to create a limited edition of the Zune (500 units). The Zunes have been given away to 500 people present at a Turner promotional event for the launch of the new season of AdultSwim.

The Zune players were pre-loaded with a video presentation hosted by the dapper film aficionado and columnist from Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne, and also included full episodes from new and returning series, original music and still photos.

The Zunes themselves don't look very different from a regular Zune except maybe for a adultswim logo on the front of the Zune. Check eBay to see a few of those Zunes appear in the coming weeks!

Source

Microsoft Not Ready for Zune 2.0

The Zune team wants to know what you think about the Zune. For your opinion, they will give you a $10 gift certificate from Amazon.

What questions are they going to ask you? Well, apparently they want to know if we are satisfied with Zune (design, functionality, battery life, software). They want to know your preferences in colors, size, screen, video and audio quality. They will also ask you questions about features like clock, mass storage capability, support for different file formats and more.

It's good to see that the Zune team wants to know what you would like to see in a future Zune player. But this also means that if Microsoft is still seeking market information on what should be the next Zune player, they are certainly far from manufacturing the device or leaking information on what the final product will be.

What is a bit strange is that the URL of the survey includes a "euro", pointing to a European version of the survey site and our tipster is also located in Italy. But the email says that the survey is open to US residents only!?! Anyone else received this invitation in the US or in Europe?

The survey is by invitation only, check your emails! Thanks Milo for the tip.

New Zune Advertising Campaign

It looks like the new Zune advertising campaign promised by Microsoft for May is already surfacing on the Internet (or I just missed this one before!)

Microsoft said the new campaign would focus more on the strengths of the Zune and less on the "welcome to the social" tag line. In fact, the tag line is completely gone! The video presents the different aspect of the Zune like the big screen, the built-in radio receiver and the double shot effect.

Have you seen this ad before? Do you like it? Is this enough to boost Zune's sales?

A Fifth Color for the Zune is Coming in May! Orange Zune?

A new marketing campaign is coming next May with the release of the Pink Zune. But wait, that not all! Jason Reindorp, Zune’s Marketing Director, said Microsoft will release another vibrant color. Jason Reindorp did not say what color we should expect but my guess is an orange Zune. What do you think? It could also be a blue Zune or a green Zune. After the brown and the pink, any color is a good guess!

The new marketing campaign will be focus on strength and differentiators of the Zune like the large screen, the wireless sharing and the ability to customize the home screen.

Microsoft didn't disclose the cost of the campaign but says it will be enough to get the Zune noticed. "It is not as much as the launch spend, but it is still a good sum," says Reindorp.

This is an appetizer to new features and a flash Zune that will be available this fall.

Those good news is going to give the Zune hype a boost!

Source [via]