Back in 2002 (see video below) Verizon launched one of the most brilliant advertising campaigns ever thought up by a marketing department. They had a guy walking around the most remote parts of America with a phone glued to his head asking the other person on the line if they could hear him talking. It got Verizon’s point across beautifully, that their network works damn near everywhere. Thom Gruhler and his team came up with that campaign, and as of yesterday his new title is “Corporate Vice President of Windows Phone Marketing”. Mandatory puff piece quote:
“I’m excited to be joining an outstanding team at Windows Phone that has built an amazing product, which is starting to turn heads in a very competitive market. When you put a Windows Phone into someone’s hands they love it, which is the ideal place to start as a marketer. I’m looking forward to working with the team to build consumer awareness and excitement for Windows Phone products and the overall brand.”
That last sentence, that’s the bigger question really: Where the hell are all the neat and interesting Windows Phones ads? People share Volkswagen commercials, Gordon Fish Stick commercials, yet when was the last time you had a friend of yours tell you to sit down and watch a Windows Phone advert?
We’re kind of worried that Microsoft decided to put Gruhler in place less three weeks before the Nokia Lumia 900 is rumored to launch on AT&T, but hey, better late than never. Will Gruhler create a Windows Phone marketing blitz that’ll be as memorable as the “Can you hear me now?” campaign? Time will tell.
Do Microsoft and Nokia have time though? Microsoft, yes, they’re the slow and steady innovator that throws money at a market until it wins. Nokia on the other hand … that’s a tough call. Right now the company is depending on their feature phone division to turn a profit.
[Photo above is of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer]