| EVENT REPORT 10.30.09 12:42 PM |
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Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes
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 | TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
Photo: Richard Koek |
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FROM NEW YORK
Given Microsoft's enormous customer base—a January 2009 report put the technology giant's market share at 88 percent—when it launches a product, there's always a certain amount of buzz surrounding it. But rather than replicate the elaborate marketing stunt it produced for the debut of the Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft took a simpler approach to the press event introducing Windows 7. Inside Skylight Thursday, October 22, some 340 journalists, software testers, and executives from hardware manufacturing partners gathered for a six-hour launch that combined art gallery-style exhibits with live demonstrations and product vignettes.
"We wanted to create an event that represented the product and be mindful of the current state of the economy and the broad consumer mindset. So we set a tone that was simple, approachable, and authentic while demonstrating the excitement we all feel for Windows 7," said Windows group marketing manager Ed Chase, who led the planning of the project. To pull it off, Chase collaborated with Pinnacle Exhibits and a crew of other local and West Coast companies.
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Microsoft, Windows, Dell, Samsung |
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| NEWS 10.07.09 2:06 PM |
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In the News: Live 8 Producer Joins World Cup, Microsoft Previews Products With First Open House
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Live 8 Producer Works on World Cup: Since the International Olympic Committee's decision on Friday, talk over the past week has been all about looking to Rio 2016, but the fact remains that 2010, only three months away, has a full schedule of world-stage events. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is one of the biggest, and this week it was announced that world soccer organization FIFA has tapped Kevin Wall to produce the three-hour kickoff concert in Soweto on June 11. An Emmy winner and producer of the Live 8 concerts, Wall and his production firm Control Room will also fund the event privately by securing broadcast rights and other sponsorships. [Bloomberg]
Microsoft Builds Forest for Product Showcase: Microsoft apparently didn't feel that any big announcement was necessary to make its first annual Open House press conference a production-heavy affair. The event, held in New York yesterday, turned the Armory into a surreal, futuristic forest, complete with a tree house, wooden docking stations for new products, and brand ambassadors dressed in elaborate bird costumes. [CNET]
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2016 Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Live 8, Microsoft, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Prince, Rihanna, Lily Allen, Paris Fashion Week, Disney, The Princess and the Frog |
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| Q & A 07.16.09 9:00 AM |
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Microsoft's Rosalind Murphy Targets New Clients With Female-Focused Events
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 | | Rosalind Murphy |
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FROM NEW YORK
As executive engagement manager at Microsoft’s New York office, Rosalind Murphy is something of a social liaison between her account managers and the Fortune 500 clientele they serve. She produces activities and meetings to develop brand relationships, with guest lists often limited to C.I.O.s and other I.T. executives—not surprising in the tech sector. But Microsoft desires to deepen its business ties, and part of Murphy’s job is to increase her company’s contacts within its client base.
Used to working with male-dominated technology departments, Murphy expanded her brand’s network with a series of quarterly events just for women. In the two years since she introduced the Women’s Executive Forum, she has already established it as a popular event series, buoyed diversity at other Microsoft functions, and increased contacts within clients such as Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Sony.
What sparked Microsoft’s push to seek out more female clients?
We just wanted to reach out to women. The staff at Microsoft is about 75 percent male, and one of the things we found in our accounts was that when you get to the customer base, the chief information officers are also typically men. We wanted to develop other executives, so we made this a push to find people beyond the normal I.T. roles in different areas like marketing and finance. We wanted to seek out the developing female executives, women who might be in director or vice president roles now but are up-and-coming in our client base.
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Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Sony |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.29.09 4:04 PM |
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Microsoft Saves on Ad Presentation by Inviting Media Buyers to Its Offices
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 | Inside the Microsoft offices at the Aon Center
Photo: MariahD Photo |
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On Thursday afternoon, Microsoft Advertising hosted a so-called digital showcase in its new Aon Center offices, which the company has occupied since late January. Aimed at showcasing branding opportunities in online video to a group of 150 local media buyers, the event included a 90-minute presentation and an ensuing cocktail reception. According to Scott Navarro, market relations manager for Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group, the event employed mostly in-house resources, and consequently he estimated it cost about 15 percent of the budget for similar happenings in New York and Los Angeles this month.
As his title would suggest, "I'm not an event planner," Navarro said. "But I create content that is often distributed through events like this. Because of that, I need to either work closely with event planners or take [the planning] on myself, depending on what kind of resources we have." And when it came to Thursday's program, "we didn't have a lot," Navarro said. "But we did have one resource: our brand new offices."
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Microsoft |
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| NEWS 10.24.08 12:46 PM |
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Perez Hilton Continues to Expand his Brand at CMJ Music Marathon
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 | N.E.R.D. at "One Night in Austin" in March
Photo: Rahar/Photopass |
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FROM NEW YORK
The 2008 CMJ Music Marathon—a music industry staple that claims responsibility for launching the careers of artists as diverse as Eminem, Green Day, and Arcade Fire—concludes its five-day run this Saturday. Now in its 28th year, CMJ has grown from its under-the-radar roots to draw increasing attention from the public and marketers. More high-profile parties are popping up, including one hosted by blogger Perez Hilton tonight at the HighLine Ballroom.
“One Night in New York City” features performances by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Semi Precious Weapons, and Lady Gaga, but it’s not the first concert thrown by Perez Hilton. With the help of producers at BMF Media Group, Hilton took the event template to a showcase at Austin’s South by Southwest in March and an after-party for Toronto’s Much Music Awards in June.
“This is a passion project for me,” Hilton told us via e-mail. “I love music and it’s definitely a thrill to be able to organize these very special events and share some of my favorite artists with my readers. I’ve recently been getting involved in many aspects of the music industry and hope to continue that in a bigger way next year. It’s a perfect fit for my brand.”
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CMJ Music Marathon, Perez Hilton, One Night in New York, Microsoft, Zune, South by Southwest |
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