S w 909A23 MICROSOFT WINDOWS: THE LAUNCH OF WINDOWS 7 Matthew Ball wrote this case under the supervision of Professor Miranda Goode solely to provide material for class discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality. Ivey Management Services prohibits any form of reproduction, storage or transmittal without its written permission. Reproduction of this material is not covered under authorization by any reproduction rights organization. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, contact Ivey Publishing, Ivey Management Services, c/o Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7; phone (519) 661-3208; fax (519) 661-3882; e-mail
[email protected]. Copyright © 2009, Ivey Management Services Version: (A) 2009-08-13 INTRODUCTION It was the spring of 2009, and Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, was planning the launch of Windows 7, the company’s newest operating system. Successfully marketing Windows 7 had become essential for the company, which had faced numerous challenges in recent years. The company’s image had been tarnished by the commercial and public relations failure of its last operating system, Windows Vista. Moreover, the company became the target of a brutal series of advertisements by its largest competitor, Apple Inc., and was continuing to bleed market share. Beta releases had been well received by the Internet community, and Microsoft hoped that Windows 7 would not only improve its bottom line, but also restore its tarnished image.