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Microsoft, Apple Use Different Marketing Approaches With Zune, iPod

Posted on: Tuesday, 18 November 2008, 14:29 CST

When Microsoft Corp. unveiled the Zune media player two years ago, it quickly became the butt of many jokes, because it paled in comparison to Apple Inc’s ever-popular iPod.

However, the Zune is getting some key endorsements from pop culture that may help the digital media player gain traction.

Last summer, hip-hop veteran Common performed a set at a Microsoft-organized concert in Los Angeles. After that, Zune sponsored Common’s recent tour and the gadget even got a cameo on a video for the title track of his forthcoming album, "Universal Mind Control.”

The Chicago rapper on Monday became the latest face in Zune's national TV ad campaign. Neither side disclosed financial terms.

Common described Zune as "progressive, fresh, innovative," referring to the way the Zune's software makes connections between artists, turning up new sounds for him to explore.

With a feature called “mixview” Zune users can find musicians or bands that are somehow related to ones they already enjoy listening to.

To illustrate the feature in a recent TV ad, Zune pairs Common with one of his biggest influences, Afrika Bambaataa. The two men trade lines about music and personal style from their places in a moving collage much like the "mixview" screen.

"It is digging in the crates the way we used to do as musicians and DJs," Common said in an interview. "Being music lovers, we would go to music lovers to try to discover music."

Chris Stephenson, a marketing general manager for the company, stresses that "mixview" is designed to be "a reason to download the software." It is meant to induce users to subscribe to other related services such as the ZunePass all-you-can-listen music service.

Apple still holds to most popular title. The firm snagged 71 percent of MP3 player sales from January to September of this year, to Microsoft's 3 percent, according to market researcher NPD Group. Apple says 160 million iPods have sold since their 2001 launch, while Microsoft reports 2.5 million Zune sales since the 2006 debut.

Stephenson said the Zune has found better-than-average success among blacks, Hispanics and 18-to-24-year-olds, though he wouldn't go into specifics. Encouraged, the Zune team has sharpened its marketing to those constituencies.

Despite their differing marketing approaches, Microsoft and Apple are, in the end, after the same thing: getting consumers hooked on the one-two punch of software and hardware. Apple seems just as busy keeping its iTunes software fresh, including the recent addition of a "genius" feature that builds music playlists on the fly, filled with songs related to one that's currently playing.

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On the Net:

• Zune
• iPod

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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