Tag: Values

A New Microsoft Greets the World – How the Heart can Change the Mind

It was only a few years ago; I think probably 5 or 7 years, that the global giant Microsoft was ensconced in controversy over a large anti-trust legal battle. There were articles upon articles about Microsoft and Bill Gates and a lot of them shed a negative light on the company. As a result, Microsoft was seen by a large segment of the public, as bullies, monopolists, giants, software hogs and other similar attributes.

Fast forward 7 years and things have changed. A lot of these negative brand attributes today are probably applicable more to Microsoft’s chief competitor, Google. For example people have low trust about Google with their data, they see Google as too big a conglomerate, sometimes dictating terms and often refusing to refine some of their good products based on feedback (Google docs is a good example). And Microsoft – how are they seen?

Brand perceptions of Microsoft on a global basis (and even India) have undergone a sea change. First some generic global points and then followed by some India specific points.

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Creating a Brand, Is Like Raising a Child

NOTE: Published in the advertising and marketing trade journal ADGULLY here – Creating a Brand, Is Like Raising a Child – and reproduced below:

There is a huge misconception in the marketplace, with the word “brand”. What does it mean, how is it different from a product, does it have a monetary value, can it be measured, where does the brand live, can I feel it, touch it, know it; is a soap a brand, are shampoos brands and on and on it goes. And of course each product line in large companies having its own “Brand Manager”, complicates this. If we are fundamentally unclear about what a “brand” is, what happens to the “brand” manager and more so what is his or her role? 

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