The Microsoft Example

While the last blog came from Amsterdam, this blog comes from the tiny island of Astypalea, Greece. Things are definitely changing and the world is wired. It's amazing that there is connectivity in such a remote location. There are actually three open wireless networks to choose from.

Anyhow, with all of this flying I've made it through a good bit of the book but I'll go back and pick up where we left off - the Microsoft and Citigroup examples. Today I'll look at Microsoft.

We all know of Microsoft. Back in 1981 Microsoft struck the deal that built the company - a nonexclusive agreement with computer leader, IBM, to build its operating system. MS-DOS, the text only interface, grew into Windows and by the Windows 3.0 release in 1990 Microsoft had become the dominant operating system for non Apple computers. While Mircosoft is the parent brand, Windows is a dominant key brand. It is also a brand that has been constantly updated with releases like Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP and expanded with entries like the networking enabled operating system Windows NT.

Microsoft has also extended its presence with applications. For instance, Microsoft has captured the spreadsheet computing market with Excel and the word processing market with Word. Microsoft also produces Powerpoint, Outlook, Frontpage, etc. With all of these stand alone application brands in the market, in 2003 Microsoft felt it was best served by creating an umbrella brand for consumer simplicity. Microsoft Office was created and it bundled together each of these applications as subbrands.

In addition to Microsoft's applications, its presence is also significant on the web with the email giant, Hotmail, and top portal and search site, MSN. Microsoft also has its Microsoft Business Solutions, Xbox, Zune, etc.

As Microsoft continues to grow and spread its wings, the relationship between Microsoft, Windows or any of Microsoft's subbrands is a delicate one and one that is constantly managed. Microsoft and its subbrands have incredible brand penetration but each carry their own unique attributes. The Microsoft brand is often used as an endorser and there is distance between Microsoft and its subbrands. This distance has served Microsoft well. For instance, Microsoft has been publicly portrayed as a bully by competitors and it has been attacked by governments for anti-trust violations. But, because of Microsoft's portfolio management, they have been able to use their portfolio to minimize the negative feelings toward the subbrands. Microsoft's portfolio management lets it maximize the positive benefits of its many brands and defray much of the negativity emanating from any one brand.