Public Relations at Microsoft

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Case Details:

Case Code : MKTG194
Case Length : 12 Pages
Period : 1980-2008
Pub Date : 2008
Teaching Note :Not Available
Organization : --
Industry : Computers
Countries : USA

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This case study was compiled from published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion. It is not intended to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a management situation. Nor is it a primary information source.

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"One cannot choose whether or not to have public relations; one can only choose the degree to which those relations will be managed."¹

- Paul Holmes, Editor of the Holmes Report.

"If I was down to my last dollar, I'd spend it on public relations."³

- Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft Corp.

"Microsoft has been the overall strongest index [Cision Corporate Media Reputation Index] company since 2001 and in its worst showing it only dropped to the second position."⁴

- Joe Barnerdo, President and CEO of Cision⁵ North America in January, 2008

Introduction

In 2007, Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) maintained its top ranking on the Cision Corporate Media Reputation Index⁶ that listed the top 100 companies in the US on the basis of positive reputation in the media (Refer Exhibit I for the top ten companies on the Cision Index in 2007), for the fourth consecutive year.

"In 2007, critical acclaim and strong sales of the Halo 3 game⁷ for Microsoft X-box⁸ console got the company high marks from the media as Microsoft looked to replicate its desktop and enterprise software successes in its entertainment businesses," said Wayne Bullock, Senior Vice President, Analysis Services, Cision.⁹

Microsoft had occupied the first position in the Cision index rankings since 2004. According to analysts, the company had successfully used its positive financial results of the last few years, and its new product launches, new business partnerships, and acquisitions to attract media attention. They viewed Microsoft's top ranking on the index as an indication of its prowess in harnessing the power of Public Relations (PR) to its advantage (Refer Exhibit II for a note on public relations).

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1] Michael Turney, "Online Readings in Public Relations," http://www.nku.edu.
2] Holmes Report is a weekly e-mail newsletter of opinion and analysis for the public relations industry.
3] www.quay-west.co.uk.
4] "Microsoft Media Reputation Leads Among 100 Largest U.S. Companies for Fourth Straight Year," http://us.cision.com, January 28, 2008.
5] Cision is a leading provider of media monitoring, research, distribution, and evaluation services for PR professionals. (Source: http://us.cision.com)
6] Cision's Corporate Media Reputation Index includes analysis of news items of the 100 largest US companies. Cision collects news from America's most prominent national daily newspapers, and business and news magazines. The index is prepared on the basis of scores calculated on the number of positive and negative reputation driving attributes found in each story concerning a company. (Source: http://us.cision.com)
7] Halo 3 game is the sequel to Halo and Halo 2, the video games created by Bungie Studios. The game, meant for the Xbox 360, was released in September 2007.
8] The Xbox is a sixth generation video game console produced by Microsoft.
9] "Microsoft Media Reputation Leads Among 100 Largest U.S. Companies for Fourth Straight Year," http://us.cision.com, January 28, 2008.