Misleading Advertising
After hearing about the new Office Live product and adCenter that Microsoft is offering, I decided to check out their websites. I found that the advertising used is a slightly misleading. I compared it to the information posted in the article on the MSNBC site which I discussed in my previous post.
Do The Numbers Add Up?
I visited the Microsoft adCenter website and noticed some old facts. The site claims that MSN Search reaches over 40 million web customers a month. Their information came from Nielsen/NetRatings 2004. However, the article on MSNBC claims that Microsoft holds just 9.2 percent of the web search market. This information was from Nielsen/NetRatings from September.
A Little Discouraged
Although it is completely possible that 40 million customers make up just 9.2 percent of the total available customers on the web, I think the advertising is deceptive. First of all, Microsoft is attributing information from 2004. They should be using the most current stats possible to market their products. I was unable to look up individual companies' stats without paying a fee. Microsoft also uses the wording, "MSN reaches nearly 2 out of 3 web customers...". This is a little discouraging to me. I do not like the word "nearly" in this sentence. Nearly could mean 1 out of 3 in this instance! It seems like Microsoft is trying to trick their cutomers (small businesses), before even describing the product. If I were a small business owner, the advertising tactics alone would turn me off. Also, the fact is that even if they are Microsoft, in this instance they aren't the best. 40 million customers, or not.
Do The Numbers Add Up?
I visited the Microsoft adCenter website and noticed some old facts. The site claims that MSN Search reaches over 40 million web customers a month. Their information came from Nielsen/NetRatings 2004. However, the article on MSNBC claims that Microsoft holds just 9.2 percent of the web search market. This information was from Nielsen/NetRatings from September.
A Little Discouraged
Although it is completely possible that 40 million customers make up just 9.2 percent of the total available customers on the web, I think the advertising is deceptive. First of all, Microsoft is attributing information from 2004. They should be using the most current stats possible to market their products. I was unable to look up individual companies' stats without paying a fee. Microsoft also uses the wording, "MSN reaches nearly 2 out of 3 web customers...". This is a little discouraging to me. I do not like the word "nearly" in this sentence. Nearly could mean 1 out of 3 in this instance! It seems like Microsoft is trying to trick their cutomers (small businesses), before even describing the product. If I were a small business owner, the advertising tactics alone would turn me off. Also, the fact is that even if they are Microsoft, in this instance they aren't the best. 40 million customers, or not.
posted by Miss Mony Pony at 8:58 PM
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