14 DAY TRIAL // The success of a product depends on many factors, and in many cases the retail clerks' opinion is the final one. The reason I am saying that the war between iPod and Zune hasn't really started yet is simple: despite Microsoft's efforts to promote this product, many of the people that should know everything about it continue to ignore this gadget or have some wrong ideas about it.
It happened to me so many times so far, and I know it's going to keep happening forever, so, before moving on further with the subject, here's a piece of advice: if a friend or one member of your family asks your opinion about a gadget or computer hardware that he wants to buy, go with him to the store and make sure he or she follows your advice. Some of the sales people can be really convincing, but they can also be wrong, and here you have some opinions about the iPod...
"I've never heard of the Zune." "Zunes are good, but you can't play games on them like you can on the iPod." "Who makes that?" "I don't suggest the Zune, because it is really heavy." "The Zune is the same price as the iPod, but it has WiFi and a built-in FM tuner."
The really funny part is that the Zune didn't make it higher than the 7th position on Amazon's top 10 best-selling MP3 players, and that happened only during the week of its launch, and Microsoft shapes much of the publicity as comparisons between its product and iPod. For me, best way to advertise is to think about your campaign like you're the only producer in the world, and you're trying to sell to yourself, and not to say "look, they don't have that, but I got it". As long as salesmen are not going to be fully aware what they're selling, Microsoft will throw money on low-impact advertising campaigns and the iPod will keep the crown without any worries.