Microsoft targets rival Google with Outlook marketing blitz
Feb 19, 2013, 10:23 AM | Updated: 10:53 am
Just as Gmail is a hook to Google Docs, Outlook is a way to access Microsoft's SkyDrive, "sort of a front door to everything else," said Bishop. (Image courtesy Microsoft/Outlook)
(Image courtesy Microsoft/Outlook)
Microsoft is rolling out a new e-mail service with a three-month marketing blitz going after rival Google and its popular Gmail.
Outlook.com replaces the sagging Hotmail, which has lost it’s luster.
“Just think about putting out a resume,” said Todd Bishop at Geekwire. “Would you rather have it say ‘Linda@Outlook.com’ or ‘Linda@Hotmail.com.’ “It’s pretty clear that Outlook just has a little bit more authority when you’re in that kind of situation.”
Bishop has been testing Outlook for the last several months and calls the new e-mail program a “necessary upgrade.” He feels it operates more like a piece of software than a website, which he says is desirable.
The new e-mail program is important to Microsoft because it acts as a portal to other company services. Just as Gmail is a hook to Google Docs, Outlook is a way to access Microsoft’s SkyDrive, “sort of a front door to everything else,” said Bishop.
Microsoft plans to spend between $30 million and $90 million on the Outlook.com campaign. It could be the largest marketing campaign ever for e-mail with ads running in primetime TV, radio, websites, billboards and buses.
