Microsoft is about to have its biggest product release in nearly 20 years. Before the end of the month, Windows 8, Windows RT, Surface RT, and Windows Phone 8 will all launch. While you can already pre-order some of these products right now, the party's really just getting started.
And Microsoft is already screwing it up.
On Oct. 16, in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft announced pricing and availability of its new Surface. On Oct. 26, in New York City, it will roll out its new operating system, Windows 8, and highly anticipated laplet, the Surface RT (which you can already pre-order). On Oct. 29, it will host an event in San Francisco to formally launch Windows Phone 8. Finally, on Oct. 30, back in Redmond, there's Microsoft's giant developer conference, Build, where it will announce who-knows-what during a major keynote address.
Four days. Three cities. Two coasts. One giant disaster.
To be fair, the Fall is jam packed with new product releases anyway, because people tend to buy them for the holidays. And of course there is some logic in not releasing everything all at once. By spacing out releases, you can get more of a news bump. It’s a combination of blows with multiple media hits, as publications talk about Thing A in one issue, and then Thing B in another. Potential customers get brand reinforcements. But the key is to actually, you know, space them out.
By hosting events just a few days apart, especially when we’re talking about products with very similar names but with significant differences, Microsoft is as likely to create confusion as curiosity. And confusion is already a tremendous problem. Quick question: What is the difference between Windows 8 and Windows RT? Even the workers at the Microsoft Stores themselves can’t tell you.
But maybe Microsoft doesn’t need stores, or distinct launches. Maybe the advertising dollars the company plans to spend will let everyone know what Surface is, how Windows RT is different from Windows 8, and why you might want to buy one.
Or it could just show a bunch of damn people dancing. Oh. Turns out, that's just what it did.
There is another problem, as well. The company showed its hand too soon. The media (and Microsoft's competitors) know what’s coming, but there hasn’t been a ton of ink slung at it yet because they're either under embargo or they haven't actually seen anything. They have to wait a few more weeks before they can start writing. But what else is going on in the coming weeks? Well, on the 16th -- the same day Microsoft announced Surface RT pricing, availability, and pre-orders -- Apple sent out an invitation to an iPad mini event on Oct. 23, just days before Microsoft’s big show in New York. On Wednesday, Google announced its own Android event on Oct. 29, which will take place just three hours before Microsoft's launch in San Francisco, and a day before Build in Redmond. Oh, and can you guess when Apple -- now the world’s biggest company -- announces its first earnings post-iPhone 5? Oct. 24.
Bottom line: Microsoft’s big launches are about to be buried in a deluge of news from other companies.
The thing is, Microsoft should know what to do. The company did a great job keeping its June 18 event in Los Angeles a secret. And then when it did its big reveal (Surprise! Surface!) it had a huge news bump and generated a ton of interest in its new device. And although it was similarly obscure in terms of what the device might do, the first Surface ad -- little more than a teaser set to a dubstep track -- was tremendously effective.
Or take Metro. You know what was a great brand? Metro. It debuted on Windows Phone 7 as Microsoft’s “design language” and represented a complete rethinking of interface elements based on a design-forward philosophy. It bore a striking resemblance to Seattle’s public transit Metro signage. All of which meant it was a great story, with a great name.
And then this past summer, Microsoft killed it. Apparently failed to secure the trademark, so it scrapped the name when lawyers from a German firm came calling. Now that design language is "Modern UI," or "Windows 8 style UI," or something. I’m not sure. Metro was a name worth fighting for, and certainly worth paying for. It was a stunning retreat by a company formerly known for playing hardball.
Metro had a story and an identity, it was catchy, and iconic. Windows 8-style UI, on the other hand, sounds like a parody of something you’d see on the side of a Zune box.
And then there’s the crapware. Ed Bott had a story pointing out that manufacturers like Gateway are already advertising Windows 8 machines with exactly the kind of pre-installed software that just slows it down and junks it up. It’s the kind of thing that makes people want to get Macs. It doesn’t matter if Microsoft creates the greatest operating system in the world if it then allows others to junk it up. And, ultimately, it means that Microsoft isn’t in control of its brand.
The Metro name, the crapware, and the horrible release dates all point to the same problem: Even when Microsoft has a great product on its hands, even when its product, engineering and design teams manage to hit one out of the park, it won’t matter once the business team comes in and ruins it for everyone. Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Windows Surface -- these are all potentially great products. But if past is prologue, that may not matter.
