*give or take a zillion

Aside from the fact that it was just a lame attempt to try and elevate Microsoft’s ‘cool’ factor, it immediately struck me the same way that the ‘Pepsi Challenge’ did way back when.  Pepsi was never content with their share of market, always trying to compete with Coke with a series of elaborately overproduced commercials like the one where Michael Jackson’s head went up in flames.  From their ‘blind’ taste tests to their MTV video-inspired spots, their efforts were misplaced on making their marketing sexy instead of focusing on the product attributes themselves, and delivering on that.

The bottom line is that Apple is cooler.  There’s no question about that.

Macs are slicker, sleekier, sexier and just ‘ier’ all around than PCs in almost every way.

And the multimedia capabilities, fuhgeddaboudit.

But, to me, it’s never really been a contest.  So why is to Microsoft? And to such a degree that they are desperately clinging to a syndicated pop television icon hasbeen to re-ignite their popuarity.

Macs have their place.  So do PCs.

Mac OS X has some key functionality. So does Windows.

Safari and Internet Explorer… OK, so that one gets a little dicey but the fact of the matter is that the entire planet is not ever going to completely switch to Apple no matter how impressive the apps unveiled at the developer’s conference are or how many kazillion Gigabytes the new iPhone has.  Short of teleporting you to another location Star Trek-style, mass conversion is not imminent.

What Microsoft should be doing is focusing on the people who are loyal users of their brand and reach out to them instead of trying to appeal a whole other segment of the population who is never going to convert to Microsoft even if they do develop the ‘moistest,’ ‘chewiest’ new products.

And while we’re on the subject……………… moist?

This is an adjective best reserved for those peddling lubricant or touting the right-out-of-the-oven moist and chewy goodness of a Tollhouse cookie.

But it should never be used to describe software.

Never.

I think that’s in the Ten Commandments actually.

Thou shalt not use the word ‘moist’  in vain.

Shame on you, Crispin Porter.

I wonder if they were motivated more by the media frenzy circus resulting from this spot or winning an Addy award than advising Microsoft effectively about their brand. Or maybe the Creative Director ‘lost’ the strategy brief because it certainly doesn’t seem to be meeting any sound communications objectives.

In my opinion, all Miscrosoft’s succeeded in doing is alienating their current customers while becoming the laughingstock of the diehard Apple disciples.

Bill, you’re not hip. But that’s OK.

You’re a trillionaire ten times over; isn’t that enough??! Just focus on what it is you do, and do it well.  Leave the glitz and glam to Apple and focus on your productivity suite. Quit spinning your wheels on ‘delicious’ concepts and sharpen your business game before the forbidden fruit takes a bite out of that too.

In the end, remember it was Coke who taught the world to sing and Pepsi who said, ‘we’re better than Coke,’ and Coke is still the market leader.

Social media is a tactic.  Not a strategy.

And contrary to popular belief, it is not the only way to build a community or strengthen relationships with your customers.

Whatever happened to selecting the right vehicles in support of marketing goals?

Or developing strategic objectives?

And then crafting a media plan in support of those objectives?

The fact is that social media is just one channel in a fully integrated marketing mix.  It’s not the only channel.  And it’s certainly not always the best channel.  Nor is it right for every company.  In every vertical.  In every campaign.

I’ll wait a moment to let that sink in.  Please re-read that last paragraph several times if necessary.

I know it’s a radical concept in this age of Stepford-like social media disciples, but social media is just MEDIA.

It’s not the holy grail.

Or the sword of Excalibur.

Or the one ring of power from Lord of the Rings.

Or any other mythical legend or fantastical folklore.

If you disagree, perhaps you, Santa Claus and the tooth fairy can discuss it further.

That said, I am a big proponent of the power of social media to produce results.  For the right client.  As part of a comprehensive marketing plan.  But if your definition of effectively deploying a social media ’strategy,’ is creating a profile on Twitter or setting up Facebook group, you might need to dust off your college marketing 101 textbooks.  Or simply read on as I attempt to demystify the successful utilization of this elusive tool.

When looking to incorporate social tools into your marketing program, make sure that you’ve selected the best vehicles based on the following key questions (WARNING: these questions may demonstrate that social vehicles are not the right option in all cases. Please do not panic.):

• What is my overall marketing objective? This is a very important tenet of marketing and yet one that seems to be overlooked more and more.  If your objective is general brand awareness/exposure, you should select different media vehicles than if you’re trying to stimulate trial and usage of a new product or service.  It’s critical to identify what it is you’re trying to accomplish before blanketing the market.  If data capture is your main goal, for example, tweeting at your customers is not the answer.  Not as a primary tool anyway.  It may be better employed as a supplement to your other efforts.
• What is my communications objective? As in, what key messaging do you want to impart to your end user?  Just because you have something to say doesn’t mean you need to say it everywhere (or to everyone).  Some messages resonate better using media where there is less ‘noise’ or where users are pre-disposed to your message, such as at a topic-specific site vs. a multi-user type/broad content network like Twitter.
• Where is my audience? This assumes you know whoyour audience is, and basic demographic and psychographic information to determine where the best places are to reach them — on- oroffline.  It might seem unheard of these days, but the Internet is not always most effective channel.  <pause for gasps of disbelief>  When you break out of the tunnel vision that is the social web, you open yourself up to a world of possibilities and can develop more targeted plans with a mix of vehicles that work synergistically in driving results.  Is your audience surfing the net on a mobile device or are they sitting in a waiting room leafing through a magazine?  If you reach your audience through their primary points of interaction — wherever or whateverthat may be, you will be more successful in sparking your desired behavior.  If a Facebook group is deleted and there were no members, does it make a sound?  More accurately, did it have any impact?
• Is my audience primed for my message? The common misconception is that social media cuts through the clutter, but there can actually be more waste using those tools if you don’t target effectively.  If you want your message to resonate with users, choose a vehicle where they are in a relevant mindset.  If you’re Home Depot, tweeting about your summer sale won’t matter to me unless I’m in the market for a garden hoe; which parrots my previous point about delivering the right message using the right vehicle.

These questions will definitely aid in thinking more targetedly about your campaigns, planning more efficiently, and marketing more effectively but if you remember (or don’t care about) anything else from this post, at least memorize this phrase: MAKE IT ACTIONABLE.

Essentially, don’t just hop on the Twitter bandwagon because everyone else is doing it, or try to create a social network for actuaries if that’s not what drives that particular audience.  Pinpoint the action you seek to spark through your marketing (community-building or whatever you want to call it) and choose your vehicles accordingly.

@firefox_answers does this expertly by providing a forum on Twitter through which users can post issues or questions and get immediate answers.  It’s service-oriented, relationship-building, and actionable.  Dell also does this well with a healthy balance of promotion and service, strengthening their brand — and their user base — by bringing a real time, personal touch to the experience.

The bottom line is that no matter what your product or service or whether your company has a Chief Marketing Officer or a Chief Community Officer there is always some desired action you’re intending to drive.  So, just go where you have the greatest chance of producing (and reproducing) that action, which may or may not include social media.

For my next trick, I will make a positive, quantifiable return on my marketing investment.

Ah-mazing.