Microsoft Largest Marketing Campaign For Windows Phone 7

Microsoft is preparing a blitz, which may easily be one of the largest marketing campaigns of all time. And this campaign is meant to launch the Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s re-entry into the mobile arena.

Lets face it, the odds are stacked against Windows Phone 7 because it could very easily turn out to be a case of ‘too little, too late’. The iPhone has been here for four years and Android has been blazing away for two years. Can Windows Phone 7 stand up to the big boys? Well, that only time will tell.

But it is commendable that Microsoft is leaving no stone unturned in giving the best possible launch-ramp for the project. A launch campaign that could coat the company almost half a billion dollars! According to latest statements from a telecom expert at Deutsche Bank as reported by Techcrunch, Microsoft will spend $400 million on core marketing of the Windows Phone 7.

More money will be spent in making sure that project can thrive, post launch. You should also note that the company has already poured in millions to subsidize the cost incurred by manufacturers for building handsets and creating apps for the Windows Phone ecosystem.

So is it a big gamble or does Microsoft actually see profits in this high stakes game?

According to experts, it’s the latter. There is enough of space for Windows Phone 7 to survive and possibly flourish, without having to cut into the market shares of Android or Apple.

Microsoft identifies that though the mobile phone market apparently has come a long way, it is actually still growing by leaps and bounds. And this is why the company is willing to take a ‘long term perspective’ for their mobile project. And spending $500 million of future development costs is a part of that vision.

But a lot of that will depend on whether its three remaining handset partners LG, Samsung and HTC (out of 8 which were announced just 6 months ago) choose to stay the course or back out, like the 5 other companies which have already done the disappearing act.

However, Microsoft is well covered as far as apps for the Windows Phone 7 are concerned. The company has offered financial support to developers and so far there have been 300000 downloads of its dev tools for the Windows Phone platform.

Microsoft has shown that it can come from behind, with the Xbox console now outselling both Sony and Nintendo products in the US. Can it be done again? Let’s wait and watch!

Written by Jay Shah on August 28th, 2010

Nurturing a lifelong love affair with machines, Jay simply loves any tech that can make life easier, better, faster and more enjoyable. And with hundreds if not thousands of Gadgets, Apps, Games being launched everyday, there's more than enough out there to keep this hardcore techie occupied and obsessed!