BizBash
  • Production & Strategy
  • Catering & Design
  • Event Tech & Virtual
  • Venues & Destinations
  • Meetings & Trade Shows
  • Sports
  • Advertise
  • Events
Topics
  • Production & Strategy
  • Catering & Design
  • Event Tech & Virtual
  • Venues & Destinations
  • Meetings & Trade Shows
  • Sports
  • Advertise
  • Events
  • Industry Buzz
  • BizBash Lists
Resources
  • On-Demand
  • White Papers & E-Books
  • Podcast
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Subscribe
User Tools
Follow BizBash
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconFacebook iconTwitter X icon Pinterest iconYouTube iconTikTok
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Get Featured
  • Press Releases
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Subscribe to Magazine
Follow BizBash
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconFacebook iconTwitter X icon Pinterest iconYouTube iconTikTok
  • Production & Strategy
  • Catering & Design
  • Event Tech & Virtual
  • Venues & Destinations
  • Meetings & Trade Shows
  • Sports
  • Advertise
  • Events
  • On-Demand
  • White Papers & E-Books
  • Podcast
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Awards
  • Subscribe
  1. Production & Strategy
  2. Event Management

Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes

Anna Sekula
October 30, 2009

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.

Key to the launch was integrating recent marketing campaigns, including bringing out 5-year-old Kylie, the precocious star of the "I'm a P.C." TV commercials, and creating an art gallery from the new operating system's custom artwork.

"Part of the launch event was designed to circle back and connect the pieces—you saw that with the Windows custom wallpaper used as art on the walls of the event. We also got to tie in elements of the marketing that we've done for Windows 7," Chase said.

To incorporate a series of ads in which people proclaim "Windows 7 was my idea" and highlight how many of the product's features were a result of user input, Microsoft also invited software testers to the event. "It was our way of celebrating the customers who provided input that lead to Windows 7," Chase said. It also added a populist, grassroots element to the launch of a pervasive, often-derided product.

To emphasize the product and add to the clean aesthetic, the production team divided the venue into several different areas, revealing only a few at a time. The long corridor on the east side of the building was the first stop for guests, its entrance marked with a backlit Windows logo and its walls hung with large-format canvas prints of the Windows wallpaper. In the main gallery, Microsoft used drapes to create an intimate dinner-theater-style space, which was dominated by a stage outfitted with 12 LCD monitors mounted to a trellis-like backdrop.

The most pivotal element, however, was a reveal, which followed the keynote presentation from Ballmer and an on-stage demonstration of the software. Behind a curtain opposite the stage, Chase and his production team built five individual environments designed to speak to five different types of Windows users. These vignettes—showcasing how to use Windows to organize your life, to play games, as a media center, for business, or to work on the go—surrounded a display of hardware from Microsoft's original equipment manufacturers such as Dell and Samsung.

With guests on site for six hours, the technology brand had to offer sustenance. Shiraz Events provided an array of passed hors d'oeuvres and stationed nibbles that included trays of mini mac and cheese bites, a dessert bar with red velvet cupcakes, mini tartlets, chocolate cardamom cake, and pear and dark chocolate bread pudding, and one area where attendees could add their own sauce to cones of shrimp, chicken kebabs, or veggie skewers.

TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
Photo: Richard Koek
A backlit Windows logo marked the entrance to the event and played up the production team's simple approach to the decor.
A backlit Windows logo marked the entrance to the event and played up the production team's simple approach to the decor.
Photo: Richard Koek
Before the presentation, guests mingled in a hallway that exhibited artwork commissioned by Microsoft for Windows 7.
Before the presentation, guests mingled in a hallway that exhibited artwork commissioned by Microsoft for Windows 7.
Photo: Richard Koek
Simple, but focused explicitly on technology, the stage held 12 monitors for the demonstrations. Two 14-foot screens on either side allowed for better visibility.
Simple, but focused explicitly on technology, the stage held 12 monitors for the demonstrations. Two 14-foot screens on either side allowed for better visibility.
Photo: Richard Koek
Kylie, the 5-year-old star of some Windows 7 commercials, introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer.
Kylie, the 5-year-old star of some Windows 7 commercials, introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer.
Photo: Richard Koek
Following the presentation, Ballmer revealed vignettes previously concealed behind a curtain.
Following the presentation, Ballmer revealed vignettes previously concealed behind a curtain.
Photo: Richard Koek
Each of the five vignettes showcased how certain demographics could use the new operating system's features for activities like gaming (pictured), playing music, or working out of the office.
Each of the five vignettes showcased how certain demographics could use the new operating system's features for activities like gaming (pictured), playing music, or working out of the office.
Photo: Richard Koek
Devised as a simple and approachable launch, the Windows 7 event allowed attendees to test products in environments styled after living and work spaces.
Devised as a simple and approachable launch, the Windows 7 event allowed attendees to test products in environments styled after living and work spaces.
Photo: Richard Koek
To showcase products from key manufacturing partners, the production crew built a display in the middle of the room.
To showcase products from key manufacturing partners, the production crew built a display in the middle of the room.
Photo: Richard Koek
Echoing the low-key look of the event, catering staff and bartenders sported minimally branded shirts.
Echoing the low-key look of the event, catering staff and bartenders sported minimally branded shirts.
Photo: Richard Koek
At one station, Shiraz Events invited guests to choose their own topping for bites served in Windows 7 branded cones.
At one station, Shiraz Events invited guests to choose their own topping for bites served in Windows 7 branded cones.
Photo: Richard Koek
Latest in Event Management
6connex, event technology, event tech, event marketing
Industry Insiders
First Step of Event Planning: Understand Your Event Target Audience
PRG Production Resource Group
Industry Insiders
Best Practices for Working With a Technical Production Partner
Event planner works with her setup crew.
Industry Insiders
4 Ways a Payroll App Can Make Your Life Easier
Biz Bash Lwa Article Cover 700x467
Industry Insiders
Less Planning, More Party With Lightwave Event Artists
Related Stories
912cee20 454a 4616 83d2 2305737b6ffb Copy 2
Event/Meeting Planning & Marketing/PR
Shiraz Creative
Spy in the City tours
Event Management
An Outing That Turns Guests Into Undercover Agents
Ubisoft's exhibit at E3
Event Management
Sensory Experience
The Capital Connection Restaurant and Lounge at the Sheraton Herndon Dulles Airport Hotel
Event Management
Sheraton Opens Dulles Airport Boutique Hotel With Meeting Space
More in Event Management
Sponsored
First Step of Event Planning: Understand Your Event Target Audience
6connex
Building a solid sales and marketing pipeline through events means first finding your target audience.
6connex, event technology, event tech, event marketing
Sponsored
Best Practices for Working With a Technical Production Partner
Production Resource Group (PRG)
Here’s how to minimize risks and turn creative possibility into production reality.
PRG Production Resource Group
Industry Insiders
4 Ways a Payroll App Can Make Your Life Easier
You have enough on your plate already. Here’s how running payroll can be as simple as sending a text.
Event planner works with her setup crew.
Sponsored
Less Planning, More Party With Lightwave Event Artists
Here's how to achieve "less planning, more party!" with Lightwave Event Artists.
Biz Bash Lwa Article Cover 700x467
Sponsored
Partnerships in the New Event World of 2022: How to Make Them Successful
VDA
Creating high-profile partnerships can help you acquire a new audience, add credibility to your event, and increase revenue. Choosing the right partner makes all the difference. Follow these simple principles to find your optimal strategic partner.
VDA, BizBash
Industry Insiders
How to Put On A Hosted Buyer Event Attendees Will Love
Grip shares how to connect buyers and suppliers effectively at your next event
MIP Cancun
Most Popular
Experiential Marketing, Activations & Sponsorships
See Inside This High-Tech, Multisensory Experience from Don Julio
Strategy
How U.S. Event Planners Can Navigate Global Attendance Challenges
Meetings
C2 Montreal 2025: How the Business Conference Puts Creativity in 'Motion'
Experiential Marketing, Activations & Sponsorships
This Event Turned Home Decor Into a Celebration of Latinas' Life Moments
Event Design & Decor
How BET’s Stylish Anniversary Dinner Honored the Past—and Embraced the Future
Trends
What's New in Meetings and Trade Shows: MPI WEC Heads to St. Louis, New Trends Report Shows Corporate Events on the Rise, and More
Sponsored
Spice Up Your Event Registration
PC/NAMETAG
Make your registration process more efficient and an overall better experience with these best practices.
23914771 Pcnametag Event Registration Ideas (1)
Sponsored
Gamification: The Future of Corporate Event Engagement
Interactive Entertainment Group
Looking to increase event engagement, but don’t know where to start? Gamification—a concept that’s expected to grow by 30.1% by 2024—may be the missing piece of your events strategy.
1 Main Image April Content Activation
Sponsored
6 Ways to Host a More Sustainable Event
PC/NAMETAG
Discover ideas for making your event more sustainable this year and beyond
23914771 Pcnametag Green Event Products (1)
Sponsored
How Cop26's Hygiene Protocols Can Help Keep Businesses Safe
Lysol Pro Solutions can help protect against the spread of germs in the workplace
23914771 Rb221 0913 Lysol Pro Web Mockups Image 2 V07b (1)
Sponsored
Understanding the Benefits of Event Cancellation Insurance
eve has transitioned the entire insurance journey to digital, making the application simple and painless while providing a policy specific to your event’s risk.
Event Insurance Made Easier
Event Management
15 New Event Industry Job Roles That Emerged During the Pandemic
From technical production managers to hygiene experts to reunion designers, here are some new positions that event companies and venues have been hiring.
Marvin Meyer Syto3xs06f U Unsplash
Page 1 of 33
Next Page
BizBash
Follow BizBash
Instagram iconLinkedIn iconFacebook iconTwitter X icon Pinterest iconYouTube iconTikTok
  1. Privacy Policy
  2. CCPA: Do Not Sell My Personal Info
  3. Contact Us
  4. Site Map
© 2025 Connect Biz, LLC. All rights reserved.