Can’t Buy Me Love – Why Getting Digg Hosts to Pimp the Zune Fell Flat

The Microsoft Zune is definitely the underdog when it comes to MP3 music players. In this market, there is only one king and everyone knows it’s the iPod. It’s hard for anyone offering an alternative MP3 player to get ahead, even when they have the marketing budget of a company like Microsoft. 

And the Zune – it’s not all bad, you know? The team knew they had to do something a little different to set it apart when they built it, so the Zune offers some unique features like wireless sync and wi-fi sharing of music, pictures, videos, etc. There’s also an all-you-can-eat subscription service (the Zune Pass) available and the Zune marketplace contains over a million DRM-free tracks (and not at jacked-up rates, either).

The features alone weren’t enough to convert the legions of Apple fans, but at least the Zune was making waves. Zune was establishing itself as an alternative…and that’s a good place to start.

Then came the quirky television commercials. Some people loved them, some just thought they were odd. Whichever side you took, you have to at least admit they were memorable. They were different. They were artistic and they didn’t look anything like the iPod commercials. (I personally thought they were cool…and I hate most commercials.)

Zune TV Ad

But where the Zune marketing efforts veered off course was in sponsoring Diggnation. Although Alex claims to really like the Zune, listening to Kevin Rose discuss the device, like in this recent paid advertisement (see below) reeks of disingenuity. Everyone knows Kevin is a hardcore Apple fan and the only reason he’s sitting on the couch is to make some money.

Alex & Kevin Talk Zune 

It’s like the Zune marketing team wanted to buy their way to the top by purchasing a bit of Alex & Kevin’s geek cred, but that’s just not how it works anymore. Yes, there was a time when a famous spokesperson could sell a product, but today’s youngest generation of consumers, Gen Y, is wary of being marketed to and not quite that gullible.

They want to know what the people they admire, be them famous singers, actors, or even internet stars really believe in. They don’t want an infomercial.  This generation can tell the difference between a pitch and a conversation and they can smell a marketing stunt from a mile away. And Kevin Rose talking Zune? That one is so obvious it’s just sad.

And what kills me is that it was unnecessary, too. Zune was building a brand for themselves as something unique. Something different. From its very launch when one of the color choices was a controversial chocolate brown, Zune was standing up and saying – “hey, look at us, we’re not an iPod. We’re different!” 

That “uniqueness” is the brand - the TV commercials mirrored this sentiment as did the other marketing efforts like the site Zune Originals, which lets you customize your Zune by having it engraved with select artwork. And it’s not cheesy stuff either – there’s a huge selection to choose from and it’s all that same weird, quirky stuff from real, honest-to-goodness artists.

Plus, there’s the occasional extra-hip Zune available there, like the current Joy Division Zune which is, in fact, so hip that it doesn’t even have mass market appeal.

And let’s not forget the latest addition, Zune Arts, which I recently blogged about here. The site features content (desktops, wallpapers, buddy icons, etc.) from several visual artists, all of which is downloadable for the Zune.

Their latest offering is what even may be a first – a graphic novel made just for the small screen. Does anyone else even offer that? Is that the start of a whole new form of media? Who knows, but it’s definitely interesting…and it works.

So, the Zune marketing team should stick with appealing to the indie crowd and whatever notoriety they achieve there will trickle down to the masses over time. (It’s why bands like “Death Cab for Cutie” are now getting airplay.) Going the indie route takes time, but it can worth the effort in the long run.

What doesn’t work, though, is buying 8 minutes of time to have the one guy who can’t stand any Microsoft product sit on a sofa and pretend to be interested. And seeing that the video has only achieved 1000+ views, the entire audience seems to agree.

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