After acquiring Nokia’s mobile device business in 2014, Microsoft became a leading telecoms player overnight.
While this gave them a strong foothold, they were keenly aware that, as new players in the market, they would need to invest in building their brand to capitalise on their position.
Microsoft saw great potential in business buyers as its software offering meant it could deliver a seamless experience across the Windows eco-system.
The Challenge
But first, they needed to know what business buyers thought of their brand, monitor any changes in those perceptions and quantify exactly what impact their marketing activity was having so they would know where to focus investment.
Our approach
Working with Microsoft, Savanta canvassed the opinion of 2,400 device buyers in businesses across Europe. A series of direct questions were designed to build a complete understanding of brand performance, identify areas for focus and generate a set of brand KPIs.
This data provided valuable guidance in its own right and also revealed the impact of Microsoft’s marketing activity on those who hadn’t seen it against those who had.
To provide a richer understanding of brand perceptions, Savanta used Regression Analysis to identify any correlations between consideration and purchase intent, and a brand being associated with particular attributes. This revealed the power of those attributes to direct consumer decisions and therefore where the emphasis should be placed in Microsoft’s brand positioning.
The outcome
The research has been invaluable in helping Microsoft manage their brand journey. Firstly, it identified one key competitor in the space Microsoft wanted to own – enabling them to differentiate their brand.
It also identified the attributes in Microsoft’s overall brand that are especially important to the purchase decision, allowing Microsoft to emphasise these points in their marketing activity.
Last, but definitely not least, it helped Microsoft understand which marketing activities were having the most impact, significantly maximising ROI.
The overall guidance provided by the programme has help Microsoft to triple brand awareness in 2 years.
Our brand tracking study is an invaluable management tool. Not only does it provide critical performance metrics, but it also offered clear and practical guidance on how to strengthen our brand, all communicated in a highly engaging way.
Head of Planning & Insights