Microsoft to waste 100 million with JWT for search
April 2, 2009
Microsoft is about to spend $100 million with advertising agency JWT to make another attack into search, this is on top of the quarter billion dollars they spent on Microsoft Live back in 2003… The new search engine is to be called “Kumo”
See here’s the problem Microsoft, stop spending money on Advertising, and start developing a product that works. Yes it’s a new search engine called “Kumo” but looking at the results from your last attempt, MSN live, we have to conclude that you are totally blowing $100 million.
When Microsoft live launched, the company allocated a quarter billion dollars on it’s advertising and promotion, the rumors quickly spread that this was larger than the development costs of the search engine. In other words, they spent more on TV ads than they did on developing the search engine.
The results showed the same, Microsoft live was quickly lambasted by the critics as irrelevant, and within years they were under 5% market share. Just as I told them when they tried to hire me to fix it. They didn’t want to hear the truth, but it appears that JWT is willing not to tell the truth.
Advertising isn’t your problem, the product you are delivering is.
Here’s a secret, you’re going to get free press on it just for launching… if it sinks or swims will be based on how the return rate of visitors are. You don’t need an advertising campaign, you need a product that will work. Spend that $100 million on R&D.
Edit: Jim Edwards at B|Net agrees
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