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10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey

Check out our video highlighting 10 Consumer Behavior Trends from the Most Memorable New Product Launch Survey.

Microsoft Advances Gaming Technology with the Amazing Kinect for Xbox 360

With Kinect, consumers can get in the game like never before. The first controller-free gaming device, Kinect is similar to the Wii in that it detects movement, but unlike the Wii, it is completely hands-free. With multiple sensors that “read” a players’ body shape, movements, voices and faces, people not only play the game, but become a part of it as well.

Microsoft launched Kinect for Xbox 360 on November 4, 2010 to an audience of thousands of eager gamers in Times Square. The event featured product demonstrations and dancers, as well as performances by Ne-Yo and Lady Sovereign. Actor/producer Mark Wahlberg also appeared to support Xbox and Boys & Girls Clubs in a program to get children “off the couch” and moving with Kinect’s active gaming. The actor was on hand to help announce Microsoft’s decision to donate Kinect to Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide.

A $500-million marketing and advertising campaign helped to introduce the Kinect experience to consumers prior to the launch.  Microsoft’s heavy social media push included efforts on Facebook, Hulu, YouTube and a microsite, www.kinect.me, where consumers could share videos and experiences. The buzz continued in October, when Oprah distributed free Kinects to her studio audience. Television commercials rounded out the campaign, depicting parents spending quality time with their children while moving with the Kinect.

Kinect’s launch in early November positioned it for success on Black Friday, when it sold over 2.5 million devices and was one of 2010’s holiday hit products. There is also speculation that Microsoft may expand Kinect’s availability to PCs in the future.

Since the launch of this revolutionary device, techies have been exploring the product’s features and revealing its capabilities. MIT Media Lab researchers created a holographic video using a Kinect and streamed it over the Internet, while the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group hacked a Kinect and used it to navigate the Web on a PC by simply waving their hands. To further explore the possibilities of the Kinect, hackers have formed a community on the Internet featuring a blog, KinectHacks, which follows the latest news on Kinect applications.

With a masterfully executed launch that included activating influencers, recruiting celebrity spokespeople, and establishing a charitable partnership, Microsoft brought the future of gaming and a new user interface to consumers’ living rooms. And it all happens with just the wave of your hand.

 

Update: March 17, 2010

The Madness-of-March Marketing Ensues

It’s one of the biggest sporting events of the year — with more eligible teams than there are countries in the Olympics, more minutes played than the World Series, and more beer and chips consumed than the Super Bowl.  March Madness has become a huge marketing event for manufacturers looking to launch new products. The men’s college basketball tournament ranks behind only the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl in TV ad spending on postseason sports, according to New York-based TNS Media Intelligence.  The 63-game event consists of 64 teams, millions of fans and hours and hours of television coverage, with accompanying Facebook fan pages and Twitter feeds. For three weeks in March, the NCAA tournament gets the undivided focus of sports fans everywhere, a rarity in this day and age when there are so many diversions and competition for attention. 

 

 

With a down economy, one might expect marketers to stay on the bench. But given the opportunity to reach a huge, young, well-educated, mostly male audience (that is also slightly above average in income), product promos and advertising campaigns abound.  Four years ago, Coca Cola chose March Madness to launch My Coke Rewards, a multi-year, online driven, mega-rewards program across all Coca-Cola brands, the largest program ever launched for the Coca-Cola franchise.  This year, Infiniti, the luxury car brand, is using the tournament to launch its new M line of sports sedans after launching the G line during the Super Bowl. Infiniti is sponsoring a pre-game Tip-Off show, and Madness enthusiasts who fill out a tournament bracket online have the option of entering their picks into a contest to win a sleek, new Infiniti M sports car.

 

Kraft Foods will be conducting sampling for two of its newest products – Ritz Munchables pretzel crisps and Planters Flavor Grove almonds and cashews. In addition, Wheat Thins will get brand exposure on the trays used at concession stands. A Ritz Munchables commercial with a basketball theme will also begin airing this week. And you can add Dove to the list of companies cashing in on March Madness – since they will be promoting their new Men+Care line with an advertising buy during the tournament. Of course, where would this March Madness marketing blitz be without a kickass iPhone app introduced by CBS and AT&T. The apps will run on the 3G network so fans can get live streaming coverage as well as Westwood One radio broadcasts.

 

 

Interestingly, the Urology Institute in Springfield, Oregon has taken March Madness to a new level by reminding all men that the tournament is an excellent time to consider their, ahem, maleness. They have launched their "Snip City" campaign, figuring there couldn’t be a better time to schedule a vasectomy, and of course, miss work. The Snip City promotional copy states: “You get a recovery kit - and most importantly - a doctor's note stating you need to sit on the couch and watch basketball!” Is this March madness or brazenly brilliant marketing? You be the judge.