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Microsoft launches $80 million Office 2010 ad campaign

By | June 15, 2010, 6:09am PDT

Today, June 15, is the day Office 2010 goes on sale at retail. Microsoft is marking the occasion by launching an $80 million ad campaign.

The “Make it Great” campaign is focused on “real people” who were among the 9 million beta testers. Microsoft officials told News.com that about 70 percent of that ad push will be via online channels, with the rest spent on print ads and billboards.

The main Office 2010 “Make it Great” site also features links to buy the product, as well as for free limited-edition trials of various SKUs of Office 2010. Microsoft is highlighting examples of school, home and work users and uses for its latest Office suite there.

Earlier this year, Microsoft began preparing its retail and reseller partners for its Office 2010 onslaught, suggesting the top 10 features they should plug when selling the product. Here’s that list of the 10 top ways Microsoft planned to hawk Office 2010 via its channel partners.

Today, Microsoft is circulating a different list: The Top 7 Reasons to Try Office 2010. There’s some overlap with the previous top 10. But here’s what’s on its latest, more consumer-focused list:

1. Outlook Social Connector, providing a “people-centric view of e-mail”
2. Linked Notes in the OneNote note-taking program (enabling users to “dock” OneNote to the side of the screen, take notes and map those notes in the presentation.
3. Sparklines in Excel which are charts that fit into a single cell to show a trend at a glance
4. Photo editing in Word
5. Video and broadcast capabilities in PowerPoint
6. Office Web Apps, which are the Webified versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Microsoft is beginning to roll out a new version of Hotmail today (Windows Live Wave 4 Hotmail) that allows users to share these Office Web Apps documents via Hotmail
7. A Ribbon you can personalize by adding often-used commands (or by collapsing it to take up less space)

Microsoft’s biggest competitor to Office 2010 is Office itself. Its biggest challenge is getting users of Office XP, Office 2003 — and to a lesser extent, Office 2007 — to upgrade.

Here are a few other things to know about the new Office 2010:

More about Office Starter 2010 (and how Microsoft is telling its retail partners to position it)
Why you should read the fine print about Office Web Apps
Details on Office 2010 versions and pricing
On to Office 15

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Topics

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Disclosure

Mary-Jo Foley

Freelance journalist/blogger Mary Jo Foley has nothing to disclose. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). I do not own Microsoft stock or stock in any of its partners or competitors. I have no business ventures that are sponsored by/funded by Microsoft or any of its partners or competitors.

Biography

Mary-Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 25 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She has kept close tabs on Microsoft strategy, products and technologies for the past 10 years. In the late 1990s, she penned the award-winning "At The Evil Empire" column for ZDNet, and more recently the Microsoft Watch blog for Ziff Davis.

Got a tip? Send her an email with your rants, rumors, tips and tattles. Confidentiality guaranteed.

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RE: Microsoft launches $80 million Office 2010 ad campaign
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Not enough compelling features to upgrade from 2007. Plus mandatory activation and no free copy for beta testers. 2007 looks better.
Agreed re mandatory activation, but Outlook 2010 is pretty compelling, especially for enterprise shops trying to get rid of PSTs (the archive mailbox feature in Exch 2010 is only accessible from OWA or Outlook 2010). It's also (supposedly - I haven't tested yet) a *lot* faster.
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Absolutely useless product
Dr_Zinj 15th Jun 2010
You can probably count on two hands the total people in the U.S. who absolutely have a need for the changes in this product. Everyone else can get along just fine with the existing versions of Office.
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@Dr_Zinj
Yep, I think the days when people get wildly excited about the next version of what is basically a piece of office (ie workplace) equipment are coming to an end. It's like my six function 'pocket' calculator, it's nearly twenty years old, I could upgrade it to something new with fifty functions I'll never use, but I wont. Same with Office.
Eighty million dollars to convince people that they should pay for something they can get for free from OpenOffice.

Barnum would be proud!
Office 2010 is the best Office ever, by far. Integrated with SkyDrive, and with the free MS Office web apps available online, this truly is a next-generation product.

http://www.timacheson.com/Tags/Tag?tag=office
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How Many Users...
fasthair 15th Jun 2010
Mary Jo do you know if Home and Business has the three machine option like Home and Student or is each copy just good for one machine?

Thanks,
fasthair
For what I need to do with an office suite, OpenOffice.org works perfectly, so I won't be giving Mr. Gates any of my money for his expensive software.
@colinmeister
I use Openoffice and Ms Office, not really much difference for the average user, except the price.
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@colinmeister

Come out of your time warp, Bill Gates hasn't had anything to do with it for years.
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OOXML ??
ghooton Updated - 15th Jun 2010
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Contributr
office 15, not 2010, to be fully ooxml-compliant
Mary Jo Foley Updated - 15th Jun 2010
Yes... For anyone who cares, full OOXML compliance isn't coming till Office 15 (rumored to be 2013)... I say "anyone who cares" because I haven't encountered users who actually care. Just other vendors/competitors of MS... MJ

More info: http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2010/04/microsoft-office-15not-2010to-be-fully-ooxml-compliant.ars
$499.99 for professional edition, what planet are these guys on?
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It's a matter of perspective...
Wolfie2K3 Updated - 15th Jun 2010
@AndyPagin
For the average bear, it doesn't make too much sense. But for someone who uses Office and can turn around and make big money with what they use it for, it's totally worth it. If all you're doing is writing letters to your Aunty Gertrude, it's overkill. But if you're writing the next best seller, or you're writing proposals that can net your company millions, it's not. If you're doing more complex documents, full of tables, charts, graphics, it's MUCH better at handling that than OOo.
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@Wolfie2K3
Yeah, and how many people do that at home? This is more an enterprise item that employers can pay for.

Try not include Auntie Gertrude in this, k? wink
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Plenty...
Wolfie2K3 16th Jun 2010
@ubiquitous one
I create complex documents all the time. My work orders and invoices are all based on complex tables, graphics and text. Most of the people I know who work from home likewise use similar forms for what they do.

I'm going to guess that there are LOTS of people at home who have need for more powerful features. Especially those who have lost jobs and are striking out on their own.
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RE: Microsoft launches $80 million Office 2010 ad campaign
ubiquitous one Updated - 16th Jun 2010
I create complex documents all the time. My work orders and invoices are all based on complex tables, graphics and text. Most of the people I know who work from home likewise use similar forms for what they do.

Well that's you and a few other power users. How typical is that supposed to be? In raw numbers?

I'm going to guess that there are LOTS of people at home who have need for more powerful features. Especially those who have lost jobs and are striking out on their own.

Uh...if people lost their jobs, then they're gonna need that $500 for other things besides filling Ballmer's & the stockholders pockets some more. Like food, rent, utilities, bills, Cobra payments, etc...
Unless they put the menu bar back the way it was in all the prior versions, its totaly junk
@bonga1td@...
I prefer the ribbon. However, You can minimize the ribbon. Also, If you hold down alt, it gives you hints for all the keyboard-short cuts.
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Give me $1 million at least!
Gradius2 15th Jun 2010
They should give me $1 million instead.

It would be a lot more efficient.
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What a waste...
fm-usa Updated - 15th Jun 2010
What a waste.
2003 was near perfect. EZ to load, update, view, change content, search, it's toolbars are compact, etc.
After a 1/2 year, I'm STILL trying to use 2007. HUGE ICONS taking up realestate, it's not EZ to find toolbar items.
What a waste.
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Did you bother reading the article?
Wolfie2K3 15th Jun 2010
@fvm
For what it's worth, point 7 above says:
7. A Ribbon you can personalize by adding often-used commands (or by collapsing it to take up less space)

Waste...? I suppose you've given it a full test drive already.
@fvm,
You can minimize the ribbon. If you hold down 'alt' you get keyboard shortcuts for everything.
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What reasons?
kikl 15th Jun 2010
1. Outlook Social Connector? Facebook, Twitter, ... I use the ubuntu memenu, combines empathy (chat), evolution (outlook) and gwibber (broadcasting) .

2. Linked Notes? What about tomboy notes? But then, I don't use notes anyhow...

3. Sparklines in Excel? Well that sure sounds sparkling to me;-)

4. Photo editing in Word? Wow, that's really useless. Use a photo editing tool instead. That should get the job done.

5. Video and broadcast capabilities in PowerPoint. What for? If you want to show a video, then click on it.

6. Office Web Apps? I've been using this in openoffice for a while now, an openoffice extension. You can connect to googledocs as well as zoho, well well...

7. A Ribbon you can personalize... You can personalize your toolbars in openoffice....

I am thinking? Why should I "upgrade" microsoft?
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Why do you bother posting FUD...?
Wolfie2K3 15th Jun 2010
@kikl
Seriously... It's quite obvious you're not even a Windows user. So you're not likely upgrading anything Microsoft.

You're quite obviouly also quite happy doing things the hard way.

2.) What about tomboy notes? Can they link directly into a powerpoint or other presentation app and link relative notes to the slide being shown? Didn't see that on the feature list.

3.) Sparklines do not sparkle. They're mini charts that can sit inside a single cell. Kinda cool if you need to look at a trend quickly without having to make a full blown chart.

4.) Yes... Photo editing directly in Word. Currently, you'd have to do a LOT more work to edit said picture. You'd either have to copy the picture out of the document and paste it into Photoshop (or whatever photo software you like) or load the source file in Photoshop and edit. Then you've got to copy it back into the document OR you'd have to reinsert the source file into your document. When all you may need to do is a quick fix you can save yourself a few minutes of time by just doing it inside the program.

7.) Big deal. You could customize the toolbars in earlier versions of Office as well. With Office 2010, you can create custom tabs and keep your frequently used command set handy in one place.
@Wolfie2K3

I am not posting FUD. I am asking an honest question.

2) Why should I use an external app to post comments in my slideshow? You can add notes to your presentation in openoffice. No problem. It's all there. What's hard about that?

3) Minicharts? You can choose the size of your charts any way you want in openoffice. What's hard about that?

4) Photo editing in word? Word is a text editor. I prefer using a professional photo editing tool for photo editing. The results should be far superior. Why is that harder?

7) You can create custom toolbars for frequently used commands in openoffice. So what's the big deal?

I still don't get it!
@kikl
1. Have you used Outlook Social Connector and made a real comparison to memenu? Because from what I had used, Outlook is far ahead than Evolution (at least for my type of work).

2. I you are comparing Tomboy to OneNote, it's obvious that you haven't used it. You have to use an application before make a comparison. Try that...

3. I don't have a use for Sparklines, but I know an accountant that saw it, and that's one of the reasons he will upgrade to Office 2010. So there is a real use to that? BTW, do you know that Sparklines is?

4. If you are going to edit a photo in Word, is obvious that is for basic retouching. If I had the option to do it directly in Word, don't you think is a nice option?

5. Based in your answer, is clear that you don't use PowerPoint as a presentation tool.

6. With OWA you have the option to sync with Office 2010 desktop applications. How is that working in Google Apps?

7. The point of personalizing the ribbon is for Office 2007 users, not for users of applications that don't use the ribbon.

Maybe Office 2010 is not for you, but still far better than any other office suite in the market, don't you agree?
@dvm

Please note that I was asking a question! You may simply answer them:

"1. Have you used Outlook Social Connector and made a real comparison to memenu? Because from what I had used, Outlook is far ahead than Evolution (at least for my type of work)." No I haven't used social connector. Why is it any better? I have used outlook for years and years. How is it any better than evolution?

"2. I you are comparing Tomboy to OneNote, it's obvious that you haven't used it. You have to use an application before make a comparison. Try that"... I didn't make a comparison. I asked why I should use it? Why?

"3. I don't have a use for Sparklines, but I know an accountant that saw it, and that's one of the reasons he will upgrade to Office 2010. So there is a real use to that? BTW, do you know that Sparklines is?" I asked about the advantage! What is the advantage of sparklines? What?

"4. If you are going to edit a photo in Word, is obvious that is for basic retouching. If I had the option to do it directly in Word, don't you think is a nice option?" No, I don't think it is a good option. Importing an image is fine. But, retouching the image should be done with a dedicated professional program, which should render far superior results.

"5. Based in your answer, is clear that you don't use PowerPoint as a presentation tool." You are wrong. I have used powerpoint as a presentation tool. Now, I am using impress and it is just fine.

"6. With OWA you have the option to sync with Office 2010 desktop applications. How is that working in Google Apps?" You can synch openoffice documents with google docs and zoho. It works well. Additionally you can use dropbox or ubuntuone for synchronization... There are many good options.

"7. The point of personalizing the ribbon is for Office 2007 users, not for users of applications that don't use the ribbon. " Well, I can personalize the GUI of my office sweet. This MS feature has no apparent advantage. If it does, please tell me!

Regards,

kikl
@kikl
1. "No I haven't used social connector. Why is it any better? I have used outlook for years and years. How is it any better than evolution?"
For my use, Outlook has excellent SharePoint connectivity and synchronization, something (from what I know) don't have.

2. "I didn't make a comparison. I asked why I should use it? Why?"
If you do research on the internet, with a click you send the data to Onenote. Plus you have many notebooks with different tabs, so they are organized. And that notebook can be shared via Office Live or Sharepoint for brainstorming. But maybe you don't have a need for Onenote as I do.

3. "I asked about the advantage! What is the advantage of sparklines? What?"
From what an accountant explain to me, yo can have graphics on each row of data instead of creating a full graphic, making data visualization more easy. It looks like for financials environments, it's an advantage.

4. "No, I don't think it is a good option. Importing an image is fine. But, retouching the image should be done with a dedicated professional program, which should render far superior results."
So if I only need to make a simple crop or retouching, is easier for you to export it to a full professional program, make the changes and importing again? If that's they way you works, it's ok, but I prefer a more simple method, as editing it directly in Word.

6. "You are wrong. I have used powerpoint as a presentation tool. Now, I am using impress and it is just fine."
With PowerPoint I can publish the presentation on the internet so users with a browser and mobile phones can see the presentations. I even can change the slides during the presentation and the mobile and browser user see the changes automatically. Can I do that with Impress?

"You can synch openoffice documents with google docs and zoho. It works well. Additionally you can use dropbox or ubuntuone for synchronization... There are many good options."
Of course the are many good options. And Office Web Apps is another one.

7. "Well, I can personalize the GUI of my office sweet. This MS feature has no apparent advantage. If it does, please tell me!"
Is an advantage for Office 2007 users.

Again, maybe Office 2010 is not for you, but still far better than any other office suite in the market, don't you agree?


3.
@kikl
1. It's easier to create projessional documents in Word.
2. You can't connect to an OLAP db using other spreadsheets.
3. Power Pivot in excel is amazing.
@bmonster

"1. It's easier to create projessional documents in Word." I don't think so, but if so, then please explain how it is easier! Easier compared to which program?

"2. You can't connect to an OLAP db using other spreadsheets." I presume you are talking about a database server (db). You can connect all openoffice documents to a range of different database servers. How is this different?

"3. Power Pivot in excel is amazing. " What is power pivot and what is it good for?

Regards

kikl
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Here is how MS should spend $80M
josmyth 15th Jun 2010
Start with free software - word will quickly get around. Then 90% off, 80% off, 50% off, etc. That would quickly build the user base (win for MS) and reward early adopters (win for consumers). Might also tell them, when sales drop off, how much people think their software is really worth.
@josmyth
That WAS the whole point of the beta/RC cycles. Test drive Office 2010 for free, help get the bugs out, etc... The reviews for Office 2010 have been pretty good thus far.
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Great Alternatives
IndianArt 15th Jun 2010
OpenOffice, Google Docs and Zoho are great alternatives that are free!

Ubuntu 10.04 is an excellent free alternative for Windows 7.

I think the boxed version of Office 2010 Professional is $499, while the download is $349. I could get a decent computer with a great free OS like Ubuntu WITH OpenOffice (also free) bundled with it for that price!

Now, thats sweet especially in this tough economy!
I took a look at what's new with office 2010

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/office-
2010-features-and-benefits-HA101812297.aspx

Its worth reading the small print at the bottom, quite a few features require extra products such as SharePoint Foundation 2010, Office Mobile 2010, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.
bonga1td is right on track. I think some people out there must like the ribbon... well at least one or two people on the whole planet. Most people seem to feel it makes using familiar commands very frustrating. Even once you "get used to it", you fumble. If I hadn't gotten a copy for "free" with my TechNet subscription, I would continue to use OpenOffice. OpenOffice is definitely not in the same league as MSOffice, but it is good enough for most users and it has a real menu instead of the hated ribbon. Come on MS! At least give users the option of switching to the old familiar interface. Forcing the ribbon on us shows you don't care much about your installed base. There is no reason to upgrade from 2003 and there is minimal reason to use MS instead of Open. Not giving customers what they want is a sure way to keep them from upgrading.
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@JoeFoerster
You sure about that? Microsoft spent some pretty big bucks doing research on how to make Office features easier to find and use.

Seems to me that Microsoft put those ribbon bars in for a good reason. Namely people kept asking for features that were already baked into Office - but buried under some submenu under another submenu on some menu.

If it was such an epic fail on their part, then you'd think that Office 2010 would be back to the old style menu system. It would seem that's NOT the case. Lots of people probably started off, like you, not liking it much but got over their initial reaction and embraced it.
Please report on other excellent programs that are less expensive and often do better. Some are freeware, some not. Since 1999 I have used Page Plus from Serif which beats MS Project hollow.
Oh, and I am really ticked that Office made its .docx file the default save file. I teach and have to remind students to save as an .rtf file or a .doc file.....
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FLUNK! on the teacher...
Wolfie2K3 15th Jun 2010
@be!
You should, by now, be aware that you can set the default output format to .DOC instead of DOCX. Epic fail for a.) not setting it up or b.) teaching them they can do it as well as HOW to set that preference.
I have 2003 because of a simple photograph editor it has, I won't upgrade and lose that!!
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Why superior?
kikl 18th Jun 2010
"1. "No I haven't used social connector. Why is it any better? ..."
For my use, Outlook has excellent SharePoint connectivity and synchronization, something (from what I know) don't have."

I don't know anybody who uses microsoft sharepoint, whereas facebook seems ubiquitous. Therefore, this is of no use to me.

"2. "I didn't make a comparison. I asked why I should use it? Why?"
If you do research on the internet, with a click you send the data to Onenote. Plus you have many notebooks with different tabs, so they are organized. And that notebook can be shared via Office Live or Sharepoint for brainstorming. But maybe you don't have a need for Onenote as I do."

Sharing and Synchronizing notes is nothing new and can be done with a variety of different tools. Tomboy is just one example. This is nothing I would pay for.

"3. "I asked about the advantage! What is the advantage of sparklines? What?"
From what an accountant explain to me, yo can have graphics on each row of data instead of creating a full graphic, making data visualization more easy. It looks like for financials environments, it's an advantage."

You can choose the data set however you want for each graph in openoffice.

"4. "No, I don't think it is a good option. Importing an image is fine. But, retouching the image should be done with a dedicated professional program, which should render far superior results."
So if I only need to make a simple crop or retouching, is easier for you to export it to a full professional program, make the changes and importing again? If that's they way you works, it's ok, but I prefer a more simple method, as editing it directly in Word."

Well, you may want to do this. I prefer to edit my pictures prior to importing them into word. So there is no export required. I can choose among a multitude of programs, simple and complex, for performing the editing."

"6. "You are wrong. I have used powerpoint as a presentation tool. Now, I am using impress and it is just fine."
With PowerPoint I can publish the presentation on the internet so users with a browser and mobile phones can see the presentations. I even can change the slides during the presentation and the mobile and browser user see the changes automatically. Can I do that with Impress?"

Sure;-) You export them to google docs or zoho with a single click;-)

"You can synch openoffice documents with google docs and zoho. It works well. Additionally you can use dropbox or ubuntuone for synchronization... There are many good options."
Of course the are many good options. And Office Web Apps is another one.

I agree.

7. "Well, I can personalize the GUI of my office sweet. This MS feature has no apparent advantage. If it does, please tell me!"
Is an advantage for Office 2007 users.

"Again, maybe Office 2010 is not for you, but still far better than any other office suite in the market, don't you agree? "

No, I don't agree. Why is it superior?

Regards,

kikl
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