Advertising Coming To A Windows 7 Desktop Near You

In an interesting move, Microsoft has announced the launch of a pilot program that involves selling advertising space on Windows 7 desktops.

A number of high profile brands, including Coca-Cola and Porsche, are participating in the pilot scheme.  Advertising will appear in the Windows 7 interface itself as well as add-ons to the Internet Explorer browser, according to Microsoft.  There will also be downloadable Windows 7 Themes designed by the brands.

Why are Microsoft making such a move, and will it be effective?

There are two main reasons behind the move, according to industry analysts.  Firstly, Microsoft has been hit by the decline in PC sales worldwide and the increase in netbook sales, which provide a lower profit margin.  In the latest quarterly results Microsoft’s revenue was down 14%.  The second reason is that the success of Windows 7 is crucial for Microsoft, given the marketing disaster that was Vista, and as such they need to squeeze every last drop of revenue out of the Windows 7 operating system.

How are consumer’s likely to react to this news.  Many are likely to be unimpressed.  One blog entry has already said what many will be thinking:  “If I pay for a product I expect it to be advert free. I will be putting of Windows 7 for as long as I can and hopefully this will meet with such a negative response, Microsoft will be forced to drop it.”

On the other hand, Microsoft is keen to stress that this is an “opt-in” process.  Users will choose to download the themes from the Windows 7 Personalisation Gallery.  That being the case, though, questions have to be raised about how cost-effective it will be in terms of advertising reach.  The answer to that lies in how much Microsoft charge - something that they are not keen to disclose.

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