Microsoft is taking a decidedly muted marketing approach with Zune, their potential iPod competitor. We’ve been inundated with ads for the incrementally improved iPod Nano and Shuffle, but there doesn’t seem to be an equivalent Zune campaign, despite the imminent November 14 release. Zune Insider offers a peek at some TV ads, and my opinion is mixed.

Apple’s stylish product-focused iPod ads have transformed their white earbuds into an iconic, self-propelling fashion statement. The initial batch of Zune ads try to pose an organic contrast to Apple’s polished ads, replete with deep earth tones, dancing crowds, and possibly more dogs than is healthy. While I recognize they are trying to establish the product’s “Welcome to the social” tagline, these high-concept ads are easy to mistake for a Levi’s commercial. Or worse — an iPod® commercial, since the iPod® is now the Kleenex® of MP3 player brands.

Of the inital bunch, I think the Lion vs. Gazelle is the best. Product-centric, and featuring a catchy tune and a memorable concept:

The rest of the ads feel left field. Take a look at Picnic. It’s basically a 20-something Sesame Street cast dancing and hugging to a folk song. And dogs. Lots of dogs:

IMHO

While technology doesn’t tend to win markets, Zune features compete favorably with the iPod. The 3″ screen is .5″ larger than the iPod, and the ability to wirelessly share audio/video is exciting. It will play nicely with an X-Box 360, and I expect it to interact with Microsoft’s Soapbox video sharing site when it’s out of beta. But if Microsoft is to compete with the Apple juggernaut, they’ll need to ramp up their branding. Thanks to Zune Insider for sharing the TV spots.

Tangent: New XP “Zune” Theme

After several months with the Energy Blue theme (aka Royale) for Windows XP, I was interested in a replacement for this bright blue theme. I came across Royale Noir on Istartedsomething (via John’s blog), which includes the original blue as well as a black iteration. The latter is nice, but inactive Windows are a bit too dark on my LCD. A comment on Istartedsomething referred me to my new theme on Zune.net (lower right image), which is basically an updated version of Royale Noir.

Today Microsoft released a major update to the X-Box 360 dashboard as well as Windows Media Player 11. In concert, these upgrades allow you to stream video to your X-Box 360 from your PC, flash drive, CD/DVD, or soon-to-be Zune! The 360 dashboard upgrade is rather exhaustive, but the video sharing features are the most compelling.

The 3DO, and the CD-i before it dreamt of transcending label of “game console” and providing multimedia entertainment beyond the traditional video game. Enter 2006, and Microsoft is among the companies best poised to finally package gaming, video, music, and communication in a convenient set-top package. Microsoft’s in-house audio/video formats and DRM standards will become more formidable when joined with partnerships, the 360, and the Zune.

Windows Media Center edition was previously necessary to stream video to the 360, but the new dashboard and the sharing features of Windows Media Player 11 obviate the need for MCE. Now WMP11 can stream Microsoft’s video formats as old as WMV7 and as new as VC-1. Just go to the Media tab in the dashboard to browse videos a flat list of videos on your computer. This would quickly become unwieldy with enough videos, but it’s functional. Strike two is that non-Microsoft formats are not supported, but it’s easy enough to convert to WMV9 using Windows Media Encoder.

My first attempt at a WMV9 720p conversion worked flawlessly. For another WMV quick fix, I tried some content from Microsoft’s old WMV HD Content Showcase, and a couple of trailers from gametrailers.com — aside from occasional studders, all of the content I tried worked flawlessly. On a side-note, I’m curious if the short-lived WMV HD DVD “standard” will work on the 360.

Microsoft’s media arsenal offers a potential alternative to the next-generation DVD formats. While HD-DVD and Blu-Ray basically upgrade the existing DVD sales/rental model, Microsoft’s hardware/software is a candidate for a successful next-generation approach that is more portable, and more convenient for both content consumers and providers.

When perusing Microsoft’s Coding4Fun community site I came across a blog entry from the VS Express Lead Project Manager describing the Made in [SQL Server] Express contest: “like American Idol, *you* get to choose who wins the Community Award! See below for more information on these fun, cool, and useful applications!”. Pop culture references? Contests? Get your XXTreme flair today, dude! Microsoft is clearly making an all-fronts Web2.0-enabled marketing push. Even the Word Team just started a blog!

How do you compete with “free”?

The open source movement has proven that a critical mass of enthusiasts can not only constitute an agile workforce, but can also create a feedback loop that attracts more talent and mindshare. Corporation and community are strange bedfellows, but it behooves Microsoft to foster such enthusiasm. Were it not for the numerous open source development tools, we wouldn’t see the free Visual Studio Express. And without the availability of open source databases, we would have neither the free SQL Server 2005 Express nor the $50 SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition.

3000 names you can trust

Church of the Customer blog suggests that Microsoft is capitalizing on the trend that consumers are shifting their trust from experts and towards people they can relate to, as measured by the Edelman Trust Barometer. The president and COE of PR firm Edelman says:

“Companies need to move away from sole reliance on top-down messages delivered to elites toward fostering peer-to-peer dialogue among consumers and employees, activating a company’s most credible advocates.”

Microsoft’s army of bloggers is a testament to this marketing approach. With so many of them I have to wonder whether blogging is simply strongly encouraged or is actually compulsory.

Win-Win

Hard to say how successful these new marketing efforts will be, but if the submissions to the Made in Express contest are any indication, Microsoft’s early efforts are attracting talent that might have otherwise sought open-source solutions. And this, despite the awkward corporatized graffiti-laden “flair”. The consumer benefits from grassroots development, regardless of whether it begins organically.

Update: The Made in Express winners were announced, with the grand prize going to Ernie Hall’s All-terrain self-maneuverable robot. Some cry foul, but the bigger picture remains that such projects might have chosen another robust, free platform were it not for that offered by Microsoft.