answer qestions #1 & 2 please

2015 are not that different from those of a 25-year-old in 1980. What brands and products do you fool successfully Others argue that cohort and generation effects are critical speak to you and effectively target your age group? Why and that marketing programs must therefore suit the times. Which ones do not? What could they do better? Marketing Excellence Microsoft Windows and Office the must-have software of its time. The 1998 slogan "Where Do You Want to Go Today?" promoted not individual Microsoft products like >> Microsoft Windows 98 but rather the company itself, communi- Microsoft is the world's most successful software com- cating that Microsoft could help empower companies pany. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded it in 1975 with and consumers alike. the original mission of having a computer on every desk During the mid-1990s, Microsoft entered the notor and in every home, running Microsoft software. Today, ous "browser wars" as companies struggled to find their Microsoft is the fifth most valuable company in the world place during the Internet boom. Realizing what a good and has a brand value of $61.2 bilion. product Netscape had in its 1995 Navigator browser, In the early 1980s. Microsoft developed the DOS Microsoft launched its own, Internet Explorer later the operating system for IBM computers. The company lev. same year. By 1997. Explorer had grabbed 18 percent of eraged this initial success to sell software to other manu- the market. facturers, quickly becoming a major player in the industry Over the next five years, Microsoft took three major Initial advertising efforts communicated the company's stops to overtake Netscape. First, it bundled Internet range of products, from DOS to Excel and Windows, and Explorer with its Office product, which included Excel unified them under the Microsoft brand Word, and PowerPoint. This meant that consumers Microsoft went public in 1986 and grew tromen who wanted MS Office automatically became internet dously over the next decade as the Windows operating Explorer users as well. Second, Microsoft partnered with system and Microsoft Office took off, In 1990, Microsoft AOL Which opened the doors to 5 million new consum- launched Windows 3.0, a completely revamped versioners almost overight. Third, Microsoft used its deep of its operating system, including applications like File pockets to ensure that Internet Explorer was available Manager and Program Manager that are still used today free. essentially "cutting off Netscape's air supply" By It was an instant success: Microsoft sold more than 10 2002, Netscape's market share had fallen to a meek milion copies of the software within two years, a phe 4 percent. nomenal accomplishment in those days. In addition, Microsoft's fight to become the browser leader Windows 3.0 became the first operating system to be was not without controversy: some perceived that the preinstalled on certain PCs, marking another major mile company was monopolizing the industry. As a result stone for the industry and for Microsoft Microsoft faced antitrust charges in 1998 and numerous Throughout the 1990s, Microsoft's communica lawsuits based on its marketing tactics argos aside tion efforts convinced businesses not only that its the company's stock took off, peaking in 1999 at $60 software was the best choice but also that it should per share. Microsoft continued to release new products be upgraded frequently. Microsoft spent millons in including Windows 2000 in 2000 and Windows XP in magazine advertising and received endorsements from 2001. It also launched Xbox in 2001, marking its entrance the top computer magazines in the industry, making into the multibilion dollargaming Industry MacBook Pro Over the next several years, Microsoft's stock price After the recession came to an end, Microsoft's image tumbled by more than $40 a share as consumers waited and stock started to recover, thanks to the success of its for the next operating system to be released. During this retail stores, effective marketing, and a wide range of new time, Apple made a strong comeback with consumer- product launches. Microsoft went after Google's domi- friendly products like Mac computers, iPods, iPhones.nant position in the search marketplace, for instance, with and iTunes. Apple also launched a successful market a search engine called Bing, and it entered the growing ing campaign titled "Get a Mac" that featured a smart, mobile industry with its Windows Phone mobile operat- creative, easygoing Mac character alongside a geeky, ing system. The company's 2011 expansion into smart virus-prone, uptight PC character. Apple's campaign phones surprised many analysts, but Microsoft hoped successfully converted many consumers and tarnished the smart phone and Windows Phone mobile OS would Microsoft's brand image. forge a strong connection with its consumers around In 2007, Microsoft launched the Vista operating sys- the world. It continued its innovation momentum in 2012 tem to great expectations; however, it was plagued by with the launch of Windows 8, Windows 8 Phone, and bugs and problems and the company's stock and image a computer called Surface Tablet. The tablet impressed continued to slide, helped by the worldwide recession of consumers with a detachable keyboard that also served 2008-2009. In response, Microsoft created a campaign as its protective cover. titled "Windows. Life Without Walls" to help tum its image Today, Microsoft offers a wide range of software, around. Its new message--that computers with Microsoft mobile, and home entertainment products. Its most prof- software were more cost-effective than the competition- itable products continue to be Microsoft Windows and resonated well in the recession Microsoft also launched Microsoft Office, which bring in approximately 80 percent a series of commercials that boasted, "I'm a PC" and fea of its $86 billion in annual revenue. tured a wide variety of individuals who prided themselves on being PC owners, hoping to improve employee morale Questions and customer loyalty 1. Evaluate Microsoft's product and marketing evolution In 2009, Microsoft launched Windows 7 an improved over the years. What has the company done well, operating system, with the campaign "Windows 7 was and where did it falter? my idea." Four years later it was operating more than 30 stores like Apple's across the United States and Canada 2. Evaluate Microsoft's recent expansions into areas Jonathan Adashek, general manager of Communications such as search engines and smart phones. Do you Strategy, explained, "We've welcomed more than 15 mil- think these are good areas of growth for Microsoft? lion customers and counting so far, and have learned a Why or why not? lot from them. Having this direct connection to our cus Sources Hot 2014 Best Goodiots. Shart, Mom tomers has really helped us better understand their tech her crocheting tingene w needs." Travis Walter, general manager of Microsoft's Bee Movence 11, 2004a 10 flest of the Me Sun Seite 23.2004 Down Low Who You W International and New Store Formats, agreed, in person, August 30, 2000, Serance and robot A Gun Microoney Se Adulte you get a very different experience and it's one we've Again Worlux Agust 21,2008 A Stutthong the Campionata been very delighted to provide. When you see our tech- Pval, Mon becere a Pavol 16, 2008. Bron From West Compuw Was-Morowa W 4.000 Merco nology in person-when you can touch and feel it-alight DMC Monghind the cover 2012 goes oft