Week 14-Business Marketing

Microsoft is a major business to business marketer because most computers around the world are running windows and without it computers and laptops from companies like dell, toshiba, hp, msi, acer, LG, and sony would be useless. The Xbox 360 can also be considered a business to business product because game developers need the console in order to create games for it. This shows that Microsoft is a major OEM in the market today.

Week 13- Segmenting and Target Markets

For the Xbox 360, there is a very large market that it is targeted towards. Microsoft targets people from the age of 13 to 25 who are avid gamers and play more than one day a week. However as time passes the console is constantly evolving and trying to widen and further its targeting range. For example, in the xbox marketplace they now have avatars. An avatar is basically an electronic representation of yourself and you can edit its facial appearance, skin tone, height, etc. It also has a store within Xbox live where you can Purchase clothing for it and accessories for it. This makes it helps gear it towards a younger audience. Second, the release of the Kinect, which is a 3d camera that allows you to play games by using your body, added a whole new way to play games on your Xbox. This made it more family friendly because anyone can jump in and play.

Week 12 - Developing and Managing Products

Now when it comes to new releases for the Xbox 360, there are two different levels. System & peripheral releases and game releases. When it comes to recent S & P releases, the most notable one would be the Kinect peripheral (which was released in November of 2010). However in the area of game releases there are many games that have arrived or are going to be released within the next week. This shows that with game releases, the strategy is to have a constant flow of revenue. While on the other hand with S & P releases, they aim to gain a massive increase in revenue within a small time period.

Week 11- Integrated Marketing Communication

When it comes to Microsoft, they use everything in the promotional mix with the Xbox 360. This allows them to hit every area of their target market. When it comes to promotion, they created scripts for cashiers at gamestop to help promote upcoming releases and other Xbox 360 related news. They also have many different priced consoles to make it more available to even low-income households. This shows that Microsoft is very skilled and understands the console market.

Week 10- Product Concepts

Microsoft Has shown that it has both consumer products and business products. Also some of it's products can be considered one or the other depending on the circumstances surrounding the purchase. The Xbox 360 can be considered one of these consumer/business products because while I can buy the system to suit all of my entertainment purposes making it a consumer product, game developers can buy it to test prototypes of their games which would make it a business product. However, the majority of Xbox 360's sold in the world are mainly for personal entertainment.

Week 9- Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Microsoft engages in consumer sales promotion with the Xbox 360 console by offering discounts on older versions, and by giving special features to dedicated subscribers of xbox live. When it comes to personal selling, gamestop does a great amount of it. Especially since the employees live in the community. This allows them to use friendly greetings and an understanding of the product to make people want it.

Week 8- Advertising and Public Relations

When it comes Microsoft and its marketing efforts with the Xbox 360, you can not overlook their advertising. For starters, Microsoft has a magazine specifically for the Xbox 360. OXM or official Xbox Magazine started in 2001 with the release of the original Xbox and since then it has kept people up-to-date on the latest game releases, DLC (down loadable content ) and news regarding the console. Also included is a disc containing multiple demos of various games. The Xbox 360 also advertises from within the console itself. For instance, if you have a subscription to Xbox Live, the menus contain tons of ads for DLC, demos, and recently they have added the ability to purchase or rent movies straight to your console.All of these advertisements generate excitement for the many products or paid features of the Xbox 360 and that, in turn, generates revenue.