Microsoft Corporate VP Says Xbox One Can Reshape Marketing

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roseofbattle

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Apr 18, 2011
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Microsoft Corporate VP Says Xbox One Can Reshape Marketing

Microsoft has conflicting viewpoints on how to use Xbox One's Kinect in regards to marketing research.

Many potential consumers have worried over the Xbox One's Kinect -- whether it will always be on, what information will be collected, and what Microsoft will do with that information. Microsoft set out to rectify the situation, assuring people that the Xbox One was not designed with advertising in mind. However, Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft corporate VP in marketing and strategy, delivered a speech at the Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing Conference in Phoenix, Arizona, contradicting Microsoft's earlier statements.

In the speech, Mehdi hinted at the possibility of Xbox One user data being made available for market research. Trade publication Advertising Age published a report based on the speech over the weekend. The report said Mehdi's speech addressed possibilities in increasing consumer expectations for production values in advertising due to Xbox imaging technology. Examples included gamification of advertising and consolidating attention that is currently spread out among several technologies (games, TV, and internet). Mehdi said the Xbox One could help in understanding a consumer in the "360 degrees of their life."

"We have a pretty unique position at Microsoft because of what we do with digital, as well as more and more with television because of Xbox," Mehdi said. "It's early days, but we're starting to put that together in more of a unifying way, and hopefully at some point we can start to offer that to advertisers broadly."

This news comes after Albert Penello, Microsoft director of product planning, responded to questions [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128432-Xbox-One-Is-Not-Designed-With-Advertising-In-Mind-Microsoft-Says] on NeoGAF about the company's plans for advertising. Penello said although the Xbox One Kinect features could be used for advertising, nobody was working on that. "If something like that ever happened, you can be sure it wouldn't happen without the user having control over it. Period."

Source: Eurogamer [http://adage.com/article/special-report-ana-annual-meeting-2013/xbox-reshape-marketing/244605/]

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omega 616

Elite Member
May 1, 2009
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Never thought any differently, Microsoft were always going to sell customers information to third parties. It's a business and they're going to do anything to get money, other companies sell your information, so why not Microsoft?

Just the world we live in
 

Miss G.

New member
Jun 18, 2013
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Not even a chuckle. This somehow wasn't as funny as I thought it would be, guess I'll just have to wait for more Microsoft fail.
 

cynicalsaint1

Salvation a la Mode
Apr 1, 2010
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And yet Xbox One apparently isn't designed with advertising in mind ...
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/128432-Xbox-One-Is-Not-Designed-With-Advertising-In-Mind-Microsoft-Says
 

Teoes

Poof, poof, sparkles!
Jun 1, 2010
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Another day, another Microsoft contradiction/about-face.

roseofbattle said:
Mehdi said the Xbox One could help in understanding a consumer in the "360 degrees of their life."
On the face of it the bullshit phrasing of this sentence hurts my head, then I realise Microsoft is actually a generation late with this sentiment. Surely now they should be aiming to understand the consumer in the One degree of their life..
 

Fox12

AccursedT- see you space cowboy
Jun 6, 2013
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"Mehdi said the Xbox One could help in understanding a consumer in the "360 degrees of their life.""

So the Xbox 1 is a controlling stalker boyfriend? I-no, I can't even make fun of this anymore. This stopped being humorous a long time ago. Go fuck yourself Microsoft.
 

Phrozenflame500

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Dec 26, 2012
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roseofbattle said:
Mehdi said the Xbox One could help in understanding a consumer in the "360 degrees of their life."
This is simultaneously the most hilariously cringe-worthy and horrifyingly cringe-worthy thing I've read all day. Well done M$.
 

MCerberus

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Jun 26, 2013
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It's really odd that Microsoft would out their lie to the public so soon, but then I remembered that different parts of the launch team have no idea what's going on with each other.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

(Insert witty quote here)
Sep 10, 2008
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No words can describe my feeling.

You might as well emboss this onto the Kinect at this point.



Only instead of watching for thoughtcrimes it's to sell you sh!t.
 

Klagermeister

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Jun 13, 2008
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Whoo, glad to see the snarky, biased comments have already arrived.
Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. Of course it's going to reshape marketing, for better or for worse. The service bases and customer feedback influencing the product so far has proven that.

To be perfectly frank, the majority of Microsoft are making the best of the bad situation they were given. They're removing things based on customer feedback (DRM restrictions), adding new things just because (headset), bettering the product at high cost (CPU boost)...
Seriously, they're fixing all the shit their bosses made them push out. Why are people still so against them?
 

Zipa

batlh bIHeghjaj.
Dec 19, 2010
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Klagermeister said:
Why are people still so against them?
People don't like to be spied upon in their own homes. Plus people are even more cautious and aware of this kind of thing going on in their homes thanks to the whole NSA thing.

That and their competitors product doesn't spy on anything and is $100 cheaper (maybe if they didn't insist on a Kinect in every Xbox then they could put better hardware in) , has apparently better hardware and didn't have to reverse shitty management decisions to make their product competitive.
 

Keiichi Morisato

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Nov 25, 2012
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Klagermeister said:
Whoo, glad to see the snarky, biased comments have already arrived.
Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. Of course it's going to reshape marketing, for better or for worse. The service bases and customer feedback influencing the product so far has proven that.

To be perfectly frank, the majority of Microsoft are making the best of the bad situation they were given. They're removing things based on customer feedback (DRM restrictions), adding new things just because (headset), bettering the product at high cost (CPU boost)...
Seriously, they're fixing all the shit their bosses made them push out. Why are people still so against them?
the reason for the headset is because SONY is giving them away with every PS4, the CPU boost is due to the PS4 as well. essentially people were like "if SONY is doing this why aren't you guys?"
 

Story

Note to self: Prooof reed posts
Sep 4, 2013
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Toilet said:
This instantly jumped to mind.

Wow, this image made me very sad.

OT:
Well I've always preferred Sony's choice of using advertising. In which I mean, I like the fact that there is very little advertizing at all, and this is someone who doesn't mind watching commercials.
I'm curious to see if the XBox 180 is going to be as much of train wreck as everyone saids its going to be.

Edit:
Phrozenflame500 said:
roseofbattle said:
Mehdi said the Xbox One could help in understanding a consumer in the "360 degrees of their life."
This is simultaneously the most hilariously cringe-worthy and horrifyingly cringe-worthy thing I've read all day. Well done M$.
lol
 

MCerberus

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Jun 26, 2013
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Klagermeister said:
Whoo, glad to see the snarky, biased comments have already arrived.
Honestly, I don't see what the big deal is. Of course it's going to reshape marketing, for better or for worse. The service bases and customer feedback influencing the product so far has proven that.
You see here's the problem:

Oct 4: no, the Xbox 1 isn't designed around marketing
Oct 7: HEY GUESS WHAT WE DESIGNED FOR YOU, ADVERTISERS
 

Lightknight

Mugwamp Supreme
Nov 26, 2008
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I think we all really knew this around E3 when another (or the same) Marketing VP stated that the marketing department only gets a "few" pieces of biometric data from it.

This is an interesting scenario. On the one hand we hate Microsoft for being sneaky about this and we value our privacy, but on the other this would result in spam that no longer feels like spam. Ads about products you actually care about that would be valuable to know about.

It just depends on what side of that fence you're on. I personally don't want me being watched or monitored for any reason. I'm quite content with marketing companies grasping at straws when trying to address me. I'm also firmly on the side of the fence that Microsoft shouldn't be sneaky about it. They should show us exactly what opting into or out of it would look like. If we don't like it, is this something some games would require us to activate to be able to play? Like that poker game that is supposed to let people play while seeing eachother for effective reading/bluffing. Will it make you enable it like so many other products do?

We'll see. But this is absolutely a dream marketing tool and it's time for Microsoft to stop being sneaky.
 

lacktheknack

Je suis joined jewels.
Jan 19, 2009
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http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.820366-Xbox-One-Designed-With-Advertising-in-Mind

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.830193-Xbox-One-Is-Not-Designed-With-Advertising-In-Mind-Microsoft-Says

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.830418-Microsoft-Corporate-VP-Says-Xbox-One-Can-Reshape-Marketing

Please make up your mind, Microsoft. I don't know which reason I should be mad at you for anymore.
 

WeepingAngels

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May 18, 2013
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MinionJoe said:
omega 616 said:
Microsoft were always going to sell customers information to third parties.
Facebook makes their money on selling user information. Difference is, Facebook doesn't charge you $50 a year for the privilege of selling your information. :p

It's like Microsoft heard the phrase, "If you're not the consumer, then you're the product." And then thought, "Why not both?"
Microsoft is charging $560 to sell your information to advertisers. In fact, I would say that Microsoft is selling YOU to advertisers.