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.

Week 7- Retailing

Now since my company is Microsoft, I couldn't just waltz into Steve Ballmer's office and demand that he give me a tour, but i did the next best thing. I traveled to one of their most prominent distributors, Gamestop.Before i get started on the details of my visit I'm going to tell you alittle bit about Gamestop. Gamestop started in 1984 as a software company known as Babbage's. They then merged with a company known as Software etc, which was another software company, in 1994. Shortly after in '96 Leonardo Riggio, head of Barnes & Noble,  bought the company and renamed it Gamestop and finally in 2004, Gamestop separated from Barnes & Noble becoming independent. Now in Gamestop, they have great customer service because they always greet you when you enter and within 2 minutes they are already asking you if you need any help. Also they are very knowledgeable about the upcoming releases, current hits and they are generally avid gamers themselves. Now during my visit I asked about things that i should get for my Xbox 360. They suggested I buy the Kinect peripheral, which enables gameplay while using your full body as the controller.(The Kinect was also named fastest selling consumer electronic device in 2011 by the gamer's edition of the Guinness book of World Records!) They also recommended that i purchase the three hot games for the Xbox 360 right now and to their surprise I already have them. Also while in the store they constantly play trailers of upcoming games to build anticipation in customers. After leaving empty handed, I headed home. This concludes my visit to Gamestop.

Week 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Consumer decision making happens all the time. when you go out to the grocery store for milk and other necessities, when you go to gamestop to purchase that new release or when you go to Buy clothes at the mall. In the world of marketing, generating the desire to buy a new product in consumers is very important to create revenue and make the product successful. Microsoft achieved this with the Xbox 360 by first getting the masses excited for it before the release and by continuing to evolve the platform itself to stay in line with the wants of the consumer. 

Week 5 - Global Marketing

The Xbox 360 is a console that holds no boarders. It was simple for Microsoft to make this decision because with more consumers they can make more of a profit. This has caused the Xbox 360 to sell approximately 21.2 million consoles worldwide (that's more than the population of New York!). Since Microsoft is also the leader of online gaming, all of those players, regardless of country, can play together through Xbox live.

Week 4- The Marketing Environment

Now in earlier posts i stated that the Xbox 360 targeted the more frequent gamer. Now while that is true the Xbox 360 is an evolving platform and because of this it is starting to target a larger market. This is seen when they release a Netflix app on the marketplace and when they introduced the Kinect accessory that allows use of your full body to play games. This shows how much thought Microsoft puts into their products.

Week 3- Ethics and social responsibility

Since Microsoft is such a large corporation, it must ensure that everything it does is in the best interest of everyone. This is shown when millions of xbox consoles became inoperable because of overheating.This caused the consoles to flash 3 red lights around the console's circular power button (this is more popularly known as the red rings of death). Microsoft quickly reacted by allowing everyone to send their consoles in for free repairs. While Microsoft did lose an estimated 1.4 Billion dollars, it strengthened the loyalty of it's customers.

Strategic Planning

Microsoft's strategic planning for the Xbox 360 includes it's widespread advertising and the way that it markets the console to the more frequent gamer.This gives them the edge on companies who try to market to everyone by channeling their resources in a single area.

Mission Statement and Brief History

Mission Statement 

To be put very simply Microsoft stated that their mission is to " to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential."

Brief History

The Xbox 360, successor to the original Xbox, came out in 2005 making it the oldest of the next generation consoles. However today it is still the console of choice for most gamers. This is because of the exclusive titles, Xbox live (which is the online service of the Xbox 360) and the many different types of Xboxes that are available for purchase such as the Xbox 360 Elite and the Xbox 360 Slim.