14 DAY TRIAL // Falling in line with the 2006 person of the year according to Times Magazine, Microsoft is now trying to put "you" into Zune. The fact of the matter is that your welcome to the Social has officially worn out as of the wee hours of November. The Redmond company set its first foot into the digital media player market almost a year back with the launch of Zune and by welcoming users to the Social. One year later, Microsoft has completely abandoned the Social approach and is changing the tune to... well, you.
Signaling the transition from Zune 1.0 to Zune 2.0, the slogan associated with the marketing campaign has also evolved, and is now "you make it you". The emphasis is certainly not misplaced, as Microsoft needs "fresh meat" if it is going to dislodge market share from under Apple and conquer iPod territory. At the beginning of October, one month following Apple's release of its new lineup of iPods, Microsoft also grew Zune.
While Apple introduced a new iPod nano, iPod classic, the iPod touch and the the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, Zune's upgrading was less spectacular, but nonetheless consistent, and more focused on users' preferences, namely you. The new 80 GB hard-drive Zune and the flash-based digital media players are getting Microsoft closer to Apple. But the sad truth is that it has nothing to do with the device.
Superior digital media players to the iPod have already been around, but without the marketing value and the added Apple brand, they only managed to remain obscure. If the new Zune is to have a fighting chance against the iPod, then it needs a hell of a marketing campaign. The video fragment embedded at the bottom of this article is the first Zune 2.0 commercial. A tad too artistic or just the right thing? What do YOU think?