The more I hear about Windows 7, the curiouser it gets. In this interview, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is unable to articulate a “major feature” that would entice people to buy it. He alludes to better performance, “cleanup” of the user interface, multi-touch technology, and better information management tools—summing it all up as, “Windows Vista, a lot better.”
Cripes.
So here we have Microsoft planning a “major release” in Windows 7, which is essentially a new and improved Vista. But because Vista was such a dud, Microsoft ran away from the Vista brand name and into the safe, nearly generic confines of “Windows 7.”
This is more than a naming issue. This is a product development problem combined with an unfocused competitive brand positioning.
Tellingly, Ballmer states in the interview that “no Windows release has to have people want(ing) to use it right away.”
There seems to be an assumption (which is likely true) that anyone using the Windows platform will upgrade to a newer release eventually. I suppose if you own 90% of the market share, with a customer base locked into your products by virtue of your technology platform, then you can release major products without a clear brand positioning and a corresponding benefit-driven brand name.
Still. Just seems to me that Microsoft could speed up adoption of Windows 7 if it had a focused brand positioning so that customers can quickly understand what the product offers.
And yes, actually want to use it right away.
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The tech blogs may be praising Microsoft’s name for its new operating system, but here in branding land we’re underwhelmed.
“Windows 7″ is a retreat into safe, bland territory a la “Windows 2″ and “Windows 3.1.” And while Microsoft claims “Windows 7″ reflects a return to “simplicity” and is not a version number, you can bet most casual users will think it is (and may wonder what happened to Windows 4-6).
The name is so weak that it’s almost as if Microsoft doesn’t want anyone to notice it—as if they can slip a new operating system into the market that sorta kinda reminds you of their pre-Vista versions but is really better, because hey, it’s a higher number than we’ve had before.
As an operating system, Vista has been universally panned. So certainly Microsoft was right to dump the Vista brand name for its next major release. But instead of regressing into a been-there, done-that naming style, they should have given their next product such a kick-ass name that the passive-sounding Vista would be a distant memory.
More importantly, they should have tied the name to a differentiating brand promise, such as, oh, I don’t know, maybe the transformative user experience made possible through its multitouch technology?
Recently, Microsoft has shown some branding moxie with its “I’m a PC” campaign, which hits back effectively (albeit belatedly) at Apple’s long-running “Mac vs. PC” commercials. So it’s disappointing to see such reticence on the naming side of their branding initiatives.
As a PC user, I can only hope that Windows 7, the operating system, will far outshine its uninspired brand name.
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