If Exchange 2007 email archiving isn’t your cup of tea, then Microsoft’s Office 365 should set your heart aflutter. Cited as the the place where ‘office meets the cloud‘ Microsoft’s new offering is set to revolutionize the ways companies communicate internally as well as externally. While primarily targeted at small and medium sized business, ($72/user annually it pays for itself) this strategy certainly pushes larger enterprises to step up their communications strategy, and takes aim at Gmail.
This new ad for Office 365 certainly proves that Microsoft is taking a fresh approach to tackling the competition, even though their ‘Really’ set of Windows 7 Phone commercials didn’t perform as expected according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. I think they’re pretty brilliant, but I can’t say I’ve actually ever seen one until right now. The full length one is funny, but so is the Skydiver, the Witch, the Airport, the Nightclub, the Bathroom, the Bedroom, the White Soccer-Dad, the Black Soccer-Dad, Jogging and Baseball. As a branding aficionado myself, I think Microsoft is going in the right direction, focused on steady growth and intelligent optimization. Their branding is cleaner and more distinct than it’s ever been, which is important even though some may ask, “What’s Branding Got To Do With It?“In the article over at Business Insider we find out that it’s got everything to do with it. The author ends with:
A final, personal note to Steve Ballmer – should you be reading (hey, stranger things have happened): I’ll bet you $1000 that if you spend a paltry $100m on a corporate brand campaign, and
It looks like news travels fast, with
winrumours releasing this new logo for the next generation of Microsoft devices to debut in September:
Original credits go over to Shinobu Takahashi. Comparing it to the old logo points out how much of an improvement was made:
We can also take a look at the progression of Hotmail’s branding courtesy of Dick Craddock @ The Windows Team Blog
Or even the history of Windows Wallpapers to get a sense of the direction Microsoft is going. For a company as large as them, it takes time to get streamlined and I believe we can them beginning to do just that.