BUILD It for Windows 8

BUILD Windows

Windows isn't the only makeover going on at Microsoft this week. Alongside today's Windows 8 preview, Microsoft also announced the BUILD conference, what had been PDC 2011. Microsoft previously announced the developer conference during MIX11, in April, for Sept. 13-16 in Anaheim, Calif. BUILD is the same event, made over, and with new name.

What a name! The connotations are loaded, and Microsoft is doing good job endearing them. From Microsoft: "BUILD what you DREAM." "BUILD with Windows 8."

I'm a big fan of verbs in marketing, but there is something else going on here -- OK could be. In marketing, companies seek to control one word and have that associated with their brands. For Mercedes-Benz it's "prestige" or "safety" for Volvo. Toyota was associated with "reliability" before its massive car recall last year. That's one reason the recall was so damaging to the brand, and yet why so many people also remained loyal -- that association with "reliability."

Barack Obama ran one of the most effective marketing campaigns in U.S. history by coming to control one word. Advertising Age named Obama marketer of the year in 2008. In Nov. 5, 2008, AdAge story "What Marketers Can Learn From Obama's Campaign," Al Ries explains how Obama came to own "change." He writes:

Mr. Obama's objective was not to communicate the fact that he was an agent of change. In today's environment, every politician running for the country's highest office was presenting him or herself as an agent of change. What Mr. Obama actually did was to repeat the 'change' message over and over again, so that potential voters identified Mr. Obama with the concept. In other words, he owns the 'change' idea in voters' minds.

Could Windows (and possibly Microsoft) come to be associated with "build." It's a lofty goal, but what else are platforms for anyway? But to build stuff on.

Microsoft is making changes to the app model with Windows 8, putting more emphasis on web applications -- how developers will build stuff for the operating system across devices.

According to the BUILD website:

Go behind the scenes and learn all about the new app model that allows you to create powerful new apps. All while retaining the ability to use your existing apps. Web-connected and web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript have access to the power of the PC. Touch-optimized browsing, with the full power of hardware-accelerated Internet Explorer 10 transforms your experiences with the web. BUILD is the first place to dive deep into the future of Windows.

Will you be there in September to see how to BUILD Windows?

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