They haven't gotten their fair share of advertising punch because their efforts were split up among a number of different messages. Now, Microsoft is consolidating with one internal group most of the responsibilities for its ads. The resulting new campaign reflects Microsoft's realization how critical image, and image advertising, are in the booming tech sector. Advertise the features of your product in computer magazines to persuade technology managers to buy it. But as technology began to dominate the headlines and the stock market, several companies, notably IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc., began to invest heavily in glamorous TV commercials to cement perceptions of them as leaders of the future.
Technology is now mainstream.
Unless we're clear about our business proposition in marketing, we will fall behind in the space. The company has had a reputation within agency circles for being a difficult client. Microsoft and its new agency, McCann, also have had ups and downs. McCann, coping with changes brought on by its own restructuring, has lost a number of people to rival agencies in what has become a fiercely competitive labor market for ad agencies. McCann is hunting for his successor.