Advertising Campaign Focuses on Enterprise Software

The three-year-old People-Ready advertising campaign has been refocused on Microsoft’s server-based enterprise software and will let partners use testimonials, graphics, and animations from the campaign in their local advertising. The campaign emphasizes how customers can save money by using Microsoft software and uses design elements with a low-budget motif.

Little Resemblance to Earlier Campaign

The latest phase of the campaign, which kicked off on Jan. 12, 2009, is quite different from the earlier People-Ready campaign, which began in Mar. 2006 and ran through the end of 2008. While both campaigns are targeted at business decision-makers and appear on TV, online, and in print, the earlier campaign was focused on Microsoft’s desktop software (Windows and Office) and featured individuals in various work settings, such as offices and factory floors. The tagline, “Software for the People-Ready Business,” was meant to emphasize how Microsoft’s desktop software helps individuals contribute to the success of a business. Microsoft focused on the desktop, where it dominates, in an effort to dilute marketing from companies like IBM that typically emphasize servers and Web-based technology.