Bing Begins Massive Marketing Campaign

By Ben Haber

June 4th, 2009

While Microsoft announced the launch of Bing last week, the company should have  saved the news for when the site was actually live (June 1). After all, AdAge reported that the original announcement (and Steve Ballmer’s speech) generated about 1,500 news stories, or 1.7 percent of all Internet traffic two days before the launch, while news coverage on the day of the launch “only” produced 0.9 percent of all Internet traffic.

Of course when you’re Microsoft, you can afford to spend millions and millions of dollars on marketing instead of capitalizing on PR.  In fact, Microsoft has put aside approximately $100 million for Bing’s marketing efforts, which position the site as a decision engine.

Microsoft’s first advertisement is now on YouTube, and while it doesn’t mention Google by name, the ad resembles one of the Mac vs. PC ads in the way that it attacks Google. The video refers to Google as “search overload” and even ties the search engine to the economy’s collapse.  Wait – seriously?

Two exact lines from the advertisement are “While everyone was searching there were bailouts” and “While everyone was lost in the links there was collapse.” So everything you Google something Microsoft wants you to picture layoffs, GM and AIG so that you will go running to Bing where they will help you make decisions and simplify your life.

I’ve tested out Bing for the past few days and have found there is a lot to like about the search engine, such as the way the search results are organized and the quality of the results. I also found myself enjoying the Bing’s home page page, and check it out each morning to see which image they will have up. While I’m not a big fan of their image results, their video results are amazing and the site seems like a great tool for planning trips.

So while these factors will ultimately determine whether or not Bing will be a success, you can bet on Microsoft pouring millions of dollars into marketing to push it along.

Of course, Microsoft can afford the hefty budget since Bing is tied to the economic recovery and prosperity!

Entry Filed under: Branding & Advertising, Google, Public relations