Microsoft is launching an ad attack against Google to the tune of $80-100 million, according to AdAge. This will include ads on television, radio, print, and of course online.
“People with knowledge of the planned push said the ads won’t go after Google, or Yahoo for that matter, by name,” says AdAge’s Abbey Klaassen. “Instead, they’ll focus on planting the idea that today’s search engines don’t work as well as consumers previously thought by asking them whether search (aka Google) really solves their problems. That, Microsoft is hoping, will give consumers a reason to consider switching search engines, which, of course, is one of Bing’s biggest challenges.”
Bing is the most recent title we’ve seen for Microsoft’s forthcoming search engine in case you have not been following. It has otherwise been known under the codename Kumo.
Microsoft has acknowledged in the past that it is Google’s brand as a search engine that it has to overcome. The company claimed to have performed tests with consumers where they found Microsoft’s search results just as good, if not better, than Google’s. It’s just been the Google brand that has been so dominant.
People are happy with Google for the most part. They need a reason to switch. Many of them have already invested much of their time and energy into setting up Google accounts and using multiple Google products on the web. Google is just a habit.
By throwing tons of money into advertising, Microsoft is hoping to break consumers of that habit. Luckily, Microsoft has a pretty large brand of its own. Too bad Bing isn’t that brand. We’ll see if it can become one.
Bing is supposed to be officially announced today at the All Things Digital Conference. The product and the advertising campaign will come in June.
