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Monday, June 2, 2008

How to "Save" the Zune or: Why Marketers are Idiots

Posted by Adam Krebs in "Zune Talk" @ 08:00 PM

http://www.last100.com/2008/05/28/h...-save-the-zune/

Last100.com recently featured an article on "how to save the Zune" written by the Creative Director of a design firm "that specializes in youth market and interactive media." At first glance, it would appear that the author, Michael Pinto, would have the requisite experience and ideas needed to boost Zune sales, or at least create an interesting read. But as the article progressed, it was clear that Pinto has no concept of the Zune (he's never owned one) or what its marketing team has tried to accomplish (most of his ideas about "the youth" and MP3 players come from an anecdotal trip to K-Mart.)

I don't think it's worth the effort to rebut each of his half-baked ideas (though some of them aren't bad) since anyone with half an brain and a cursory knowledge of the Zune will know this guy is full of it. Instead, I'd like to focus more on the big picture, though I may slip up and name-call a little bit. ;)

Pinto suggests Microsoft become the Pepsi to Apple's Coke, and I think the comparison is reasonable. Much in the same way Pepsi targeted a "niche" audience and expanded their demographic by ostensibly targeting the cool people ("the choice of a new generation!"), Microsoft is aiming for a hipper, younger audience that most people aspire to to become part of. By promoting artists (both musical and visual) that may be lesser-known but popular in their respective areas the consumer will latch on, because after all, no one wants to look dumb. Read more...


Thursday, August 24, 2006

The Zune Thoughts Layout

Posted by Jason Dunn in "Zune Thoughts Site Updates" @ 09:34 AM

A few words about the layout of Zune Thoughts: as you can tell, it's far from finished. We have placeholders everywhere, and the front page is missing many of the "hooks" into the forums such as recent posts, top stories, etc. The biggest change is the site layout: you'll notice we shifted the columns around and now have a more content-focused layout where the new posts are right at the top left part of the main body of the page. We're seeing how this "feels", and if we (and you) like it, that layout will be replicated one by one to the other Thoughts Media sites.

You'll notice we went with a fixed-width option for the site, which some people love and some people...don't. Wink We've yet to add two things to the layout: one, a CSS-based "switch" that will allow you to toggle between fixed width (what it is now) and relative width (meaning it will fill up the width of your screen). We're also going to add something I think is really slick: a fourth column on the right that will have more site functionality and info. The cool part is that this column will simply pop into existence when the browser width is wider than 1000 pixels. So depending on your browser width, you'll get more or less info on your screen. Coming soon and all that jazz...


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