The Marketing Genius of Microsoft

I recently ordered a new Dell desktop because my laptop seems to have a head injury of some sort. (If it goes to sleep, it won't wake up.)

I didn't want the RAM-hogging, system-slowing Windows Vista operating system, so I went with the option of having XP pre-installed. That's where the genius comes in. For the privilege of downgrading to Windows XP, I paid an extra $150 ... yes, a 25% premium NOT to have the new operating system. And it was worth it to me.

Can you name another product for which people are willing to pay extra NOT to have the newest version? Probably not. (Of course, a Vista machine with 2 GB of RAM is bare-bones, while 2 GB is a high-end XP machine, so it may be a wash.)

But the real stroke of genius is in how Microsoft counts the sales of Windows Vista. When you order a machine with XP, it is actually the high-end version of Vista which allows you to downgrade. Thus, not only does it still count as a sale for Vista, but also increases the revenue for the OS! So the more people like me who want XP, the higher the sales for Vista. Genius! Simply genius.

What Are 'Marketeers' And Why Do They Hate Real Marketing?

I have been having an interesting series of exchanges with BNET blogger Geoffrey James. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on business for national publications, in spite of writing claptrap like this:

Real marketing consists of two functions: generating quality leads and reducing sales costs. Every traditional marketing activity, if effective, does one of those two things.

Apparently, in Mr. James' world, marketers -- excuse me, "marketeers" -- are obsessed with burning money on expensive videos while ogling "hottie interns" and forcing employees to use tag lines, and are unrestrained by any accountability or performance measures. (Mr. James' post, by the way, spawned his fellow blogger's excellent posting "How Is Marketing Like Sex?" I referenced below.)

The entire posting is worth a read, as are the comments. My exchange begins with Comment #27.

How Is Marketing Like Sex?

The answer, according to the blog The Corner Office, is that marketing is like sex because everyone thinks they're good at it.

It's true. As marketing educators, we put a great deal of effort into training marketing professionals. A bachelor's degree in marketing requires courses in marketing research, logistics, brand management, product planning and more ... in addition to the core business requirements (accounting, finance, etc.). Notice what isn't required? A course in advertising, which is what most non-marketers equate with marketing.

And yet, anyone and everyone thinks they not only know marketing, but know more about it than the head of marketing -- despite literally not knowing the meaning of the word.

Introducing My New Site!

Welcome to my redesigned site. I decided to use Google's Blogger.com as the platform for my site. It's easier to maintain (important for someone with no free time) and allows for more interactivity. Visitors can comment on my postings. (Be nice ... I can also delete them.)

It's also much easier to update with news. For example, my old site had under "Latest News" that two journal articles were under review. Those were both accepted eons ago, or so it seems.

“The Roles of Self-Discrepancy and Social Support in Young Females’ Decisions to Undergo Cosmetic Procedures” (with Iryna Pentina and Troy Voelker) will appear in the June/July issue of Journal of Consumer Behaviour.

“Has E-Marketing Come of Age? Modeling Historical Influences on Post-Adoption Era Internet Consumer Behaviors” (with David Strutton) will be published in an upcoming special issue of Journal of Business Research (an A-level journal here at UNT, by the way).