Last month, Microsoft tried a new scheme to build excitement for Xbox. It sent $150 worth of free Xbox goodies to 1,000 women across the country who agreed to throw a Xbox house party for at least 10 friends. The women used their own Xbox consoles but received a free party pack that included microwaveable popcorn, the Xbox trivia game Scene It? Box Office Smash, an Xbox universal media remote control, a three-month subscription to Xbox Live, and 1,600 Xbox Live points (useful for buying games, movies and other Xbox tchokies), reports the USA Today.
The story quotes Heather Snavely, Microsoft's director of interactive entertainment business global platforms, who notes that Xbox has sold 20 million consoles to date:
"In order to get to the next 20 million, we need to get a new audience of women and teens. We're going after them in ways that are different than ways we've done before."
Microsoft found the 1,000 women through a marketing service called House Party, a company that attempts to orchestrate word-of-mouth buzz about a product or service through home parties. House Party has a database of 100,000 folks who have signed up to host such parties and it matches products to the people in its database most likely to like the product in question. In this case, USA Today reports, Microsoft sought out women who owned an Xbox console and were active in social networks.
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For some reason, this idea
For some reason, this idea just sounds like a non-starter to me. I really can't imagine getting anyone for customers this way except for teen kids.
I'm also having nightmares of this mashed up with a 60's Tupperware party :).
Vern
SwiftWater Telecom
http://www.swiftwatertel.com
Tupperware vs. Xbox
I'm not sure it will work, but as a member of the over-40 club myself, I know that Wii is insanely popular with my crowd. I think Microsoft is looking at those stats and wondering if Xbox could grab us. Doubtful, but an interesting attempt all the same.
Julie
Microsoft Subnet editor
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