Windows 7 Marketing: Microsoft’s Next Moves

When Microsoft delivered record quarterly results last week, at least some of the credit belonged to Jane Boulware, general manager of Microsoft’s Windows Client business. Boulware (pictured) previously held top marketing posts for MSN and Kimberly-Clark Corp., the consumer goods giant. Now, she drives Windows marketing. So where is Boulware taking Windows marketing next? She offers some perspectives in this FastChat video.

No doubt, Microsoft’s marketing messages face plenty of competition and industry noise. From the Apple iPad to Google Android to mobile Linux devices, it’s getting more and more difficult for Microsoft to maintain mind share among IT journalists… and anonymous bloggers.

Still, the early word on Windows 7 remains positive. And the new operating system drove “record revenue and profit” in Microsoft’s second quarter. To maintain that momentum, Boulware plans to reinforce key market segment messaging — from consumers up to CIOs. Here are her thoughts.

FastChat Video

The discussion covers:

0:00 Introduction
0:10 Will Microsoft maintain the Windows 7 marketing strategy?
0:37 Will Microsoft segment Windows 7 marketing messages to consumers, small businesses, enterprises and other key audiences?
1:45 What’s the key message to managed services providers?
2:55 How Boulware’s backfround at MSN and Kimberly-Clark influenced Windows 7 marketing
3:30 More information
3:52 Conclusion

Pain Points

Admittedly, the video doesn’t cover what Microsoft learned from the Windows Vista debacle. Boulware covered the Windows Vista learnings quite a bit during the conversation. But for the sake of brevity, those thoughts hith the cutting room floor.

Also, there wasn’t a chance to discuss competition with Apple Mac OS X and Linux. No doubt, The VAR Guy’s team hopes to cover those bases the next time around.