Microsoft seeking in-store spruikers for Vista

Angus Kidman
Friday, 15 December 2006 00:44

Your IT - Home IT

Who said we'd entered the era of online promotion? For its forthcoming consumer launch of Vista, Microsoft has decided that blogging and banner ads alone are not enough, and is planning to hire in-store demonstrators to harangue passing shoppers with walkthroughs of the new OS.

Marketing company CPM Asia Pacific has begun advertising for staff to "promote and demonstrate the latest Microsoft PC Products in various retail outlets". While the actual product isn't specified in the advertisements, the temporary roles begin on February 1, one day after the global consumer launch of Vista.

During the two-month promotion, the spruikers will work four hour shifts, demonstrating such new features as the Aero transparent interface and enhanced photo sorting options. Applicants must be "IT savvy" and have access to email, as well as their own car.

The fact that Vista won't go on sale until after the busy Christmas period has been widely viewed as a marketing challenge for Microsoft and many of its PC partners. One response has been its Express Upgrade program, which offers free or discounted upgrades for people who have purchased new PCs in the period since the Vista code was finalised.

Another problem with the delay between the enterprise release of Vista last month and its commercial debut next month has been enhanced opportunities for piracy. "Although Windows Vista is not yet broadly available, unauthorized DVD copies of Windows Vista are already for sale on streets around the world," Microsoft noted in a recent advisory.