Ch. 7 - Business Marketing

"Business Marketing is the marketing of goods and services to individuals and organizations for purposes other than personal consumption." Microsoft took the gaming experience to a whole new level. By using the internet Microsoft made a world where gamers of the same platform can interact via microphones and cameras. While playing "online" you can also interact with your foes and or allies depending on the game your playing. Strategic alliance is a cooperative agreement between business firms. Microsoft have plenty of strategic alliances. For example they have strategic alliances with the creators of the Halo and Gears of War saga. Halo and Gears of War are games exclusively for the Xbox 360. This gives Xbox a big advantage over Sony's Playstation 3 because not only are these games are exclusively for the Xbox 360 but they are also competitive games. Competitive gamers tend to buy more and more quantities then casual gamers. I myself am a competitive player and i have 3 copies of the Halo game.

Ch 8- Segmenting and Targeting Markets

“Marketers use segmentation bases, or variables, which are characteristics of individuals, groups, or organizations, to divide a total market into segments.” When it comes to Geographic segmentation Microsoft Focuses more on the United States then in Japan. The reason for this is that the Japanese people are loyal to their beloved Sony PlayStation 3. They are loyal to Sony because, the PlayStation 3 has many role playing games that are specifically for the PlayStation 3. The Japanese gamers love role playing games that is why Microsoft released Tales of Vesperia, which was a role playing game made for the Xbox 360 to try to win over the Japanese. When it comes to demographic segmentation, age, gender and income are taken into consideration. Age is used on the games created for the Xbox. For example most first person shooter games are rated M for mature which means that u have to be 17+ to even buy the games in store. Other games are labeled E for everyone, T for teen, and E+10 for everybody over 10 years old. Gender comes in play when new applications are added to the Xbox 360 dashboard. Applications like Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Zune, etc are all targeted at the females who live with the male gamers.

Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

Microsoft starting the Kinect is a perfect example of new product development. The Kinect is Microsoft's response to Nintendo's Nintendo Wii. The Nintendo Wii replaced the traditional gamepad or controller with a motion sensing controller. Microsoft's Kinect eliminated the controller altogether. The Kinect is a add on for the Xbox 360 that uses a sensor.a microphone and a camera that allows to interact with the system through gestures spoken commands and movements. By starting the Kinect Microsoft is offering new a whole new way of gaming  and a new way of communication. For example, busy mothers that don't have time to go to the gym, can workout in the comfort of their own living room with the game Your shape: Fitness evolved. The Kinect can also be used to video chat with your love ones due to the camera that it has.

Microsoft wants to the Kinect to make their way into the lives of the gamer. They are doing this by bundling up the Kinect with the console. If the Kinect is bundled with the Xbox 360 then this forces the buyer to use it at some point. Microsoft is not giving up on the Kinect, And if all goes well then the Kinect will be very succesful

Ch. 16 -Integrated Marketing Communications

Promotional strategy are all of the promotion elements in one: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. Microsoft does not use interpersonal communication. Interpersona communication is direct faee-to-face communication between two or more people. The reason Microsoft doesnt use interpersonal communication is because they dont sell the produts themselves. They sell there product through retailers like Target, Bestbuy, Gamestop, ect. Microsoft uses mass communication to reach out to their target market. Mass communication is the communication of a concept or message to a large audience. Microsoft uses mass communication using devices like televesionand radio and even the newspaper.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

When it comes to packaging, Microsoft creates different colors for the different versions of the Xbox 360 consoles. The Arcade edition Xbox 360 comes in a green box, the Pro edition Xbox 360 comes in a white box and the Elite edition Xbox 360 comes in a grey box. What all of these packages have in common is the green and yellow spiral which is used to represent the Xbox 360. These boxes are made to withstand most situations because if not then Microsoft would not be able to ship them across the world.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 has one flaw and one flaw only. It is called the rings of death. Microsoft covers 1 year of warranty from the day you originally buy the console. At first the y repair whatever problem the system may have. After a few times of repair if the problem continues they will give you a new console.

Ch. 18 - Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Sales promotion is a short term incentive that motivates consumers or members of the distribution channel to purchase a good or service immediately, either by lowering the price or by adding value. One way that Microsoft uses sales promotion is by selling xbox 360 bundles. The bundles can include anything from a T-shirt to a game to a limited edition style Xbox 360. For example when a new game comes out, depending on the popularity of the game, limited edition style Xbox 360s are made using designs that represent the game. The following two images are limited edition consoles. The first one is the Modern Warfare 2 style Xbox and the Grey one is the Halo Reach edition.

Another way that Microsoft uses Sales promotion is by offering discount that are only available for gold subscribers. The Xbox live 1 year membership as of November 1 2010, increased from 50$ to 60$. While being a subscriber you will be able to renew your membership for a low price of 45$ for a 1 year memberhsip.

Ch. 17 - Advertising and Public Relations

Microsoft uses institutional and product advertising. I found three commercials that were focused more on product advertisement. All three commercials are targeted at different parts of the world. All of these commercials are unique in its own way and some address problems going on in society.

The first commercial ad i found was made for gamers in Asia. At the end of the video one of the guys get shot while imitating a deer in hunting season. Then it reads "It's safer on the sofa". This ad is basically saying that staying home and playing can be safer then playing in the outdoors.

The second commercial ad i found was made for gamers in Asia. The commercial is trying to explain that not only is the Xbox 360 a game console but it is a new way of life. They describe the Xbox 360 using the words "world and amazing". "welcome to the amazing world of Xbox 360"

The final video i chose was actually a series of commercial starring Jane Lynch. I chose the video that describes some of the features of the Xbox 360 like online communications with other subscribers and social networks like twitter.