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23-03-2006, 04:09 PM
XBOX hacks Ninemsn
MICROSOFT has underpinned its media onslaught in launching its latest games console by roadblocking the Ninemsn website for an entire day.
Xbox is the first advertiser to take full control of the Ninemsn home page in a deal that will force up to 1.2 million visitors to one of Australia's most popular websites to watch an ad for the Xbox 360. Xbox will own the site for 24 hours, with visitors logging into Ninemsn finding the page filled with nothing but stories about the games console. After a brief period the page changes to reveal a picture of the unit and the advertising line "Today the game changes forever". The image then morphs into the traditional Ninemsn home page.
While Microsoft has refused to divulge the value of the deal, online media buyers say owning the site for a full day would have cost $70,000 to $100,000. However, they have questioned whether Xbox has cut a deal with its sister company to get the website at a cheaper rate.
"You have to ask yourself if Toyota came to Ninemsn asking to take control of their home page for the day, whether they would say yes," one online media buyer said.
The deal is the latest step in what has largely been a guerilla marketing war for Microsoft which, rather than relying on traditional advertising, has engineered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of media coverage through a concerted campaign by Ogilvy & Mather-owner agency Pulse Communications.
Staff at the agency have declined to comment on the cost of the PR onslaught, which has generated more than 100 stories on the Xbox in metropolitan newspapers during the past two weeks. Men's magazines, lifestyle shows and radio programs have also been blitzed.
Last week Microsoft was handed a free kick by market leader Sony when it announced that its long-awaited PlayStation 3 console would not be launched until November.
The midnight launch of the Xbox, something that has become a regular gimmick for companies such as Microsoft and Sony, was planned at 300 shops across Australia.
Many shops put on free food and entertainment
MICROSOFT has underpinned its media onslaught in launching its latest games console by roadblocking the Ninemsn website for an entire day.
Xbox is the first advertiser to take full control of the Ninemsn home page in a deal that will force up to 1.2 million visitors to one of Australia's most popular websites to watch an ad for the Xbox 360. Xbox will own the site for 24 hours, with visitors logging into Ninemsn finding the page filled with nothing but stories about the games console. After a brief period the page changes to reveal a picture of the unit and the advertising line "Today the game changes forever". The image then morphs into the traditional Ninemsn home page.
While Microsoft has refused to divulge the value of the deal, online media buyers say owning the site for a full day would have cost $70,000 to $100,000. However, they have questioned whether Xbox has cut a deal with its sister company to get the website at a cheaper rate.
"You have to ask yourself if Toyota came to Ninemsn asking to take control of their home page for the day, whether they would say yes," one online media buyer said.
The deal is the latest step in what has largely been a guerilla marketing war for Microsoft which, rather than relying on traditional advertising, has engineered hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of media coverage through a concerted campaign by Ogilvy & Mather-owner agency Pulse Communications.
Staff at the agency have declined to comment on the cost of the PR onslaught, which has generated more than 100 stories on the Xbox in metropolitan newspapers during the past two weeks. Men's magazines, lifestyle shows and radio programs have also been blitzed.
Last week Microsoft was handed a free kick by market leader Sony when it announced that its long-awaited PlayStation 3 console would not be launched until November.
The midnight launch of the Xbox, something that has become a regular gimmick for companies such as Microsoft and Sony, was planned at 300 shops across Australia.
Many shops put on free food and entertainment