Microsoft VS Google

...if I were in control of the estimated $80 million to $100 million Microsoft plans to spend on marketing its, yet to be launched, search engine.

Were just days away from Microsoft releasing Kumo (the current working name) into the wild and for once, mounting an honest-to-goodness challenge to Googles dominance. But, Microsoft cant possibly expect something flashy and new to convince Google users to make the switch, so it needs to play the only trump card that it has.

Doubt.

Think about it. Were all pretty much convinced that Google is the best search engine out there, but what if we were told that weve become brainwashed into thinking that? What if Microsoft took its research"that suggests 35% of users are unhappy with online search, and 42% refine their search query"and spun that into a campaign that places doubt in the mind of consumers? Are you really using the best search engine available? Dont you owe it to yourself to make sure?

Cheesy?

To you and I"marketers that can smell a soundbite from 100 yards"but not to the average web user. Think about how many people switched from MySpace to Facebook, simply because theyd heard that it was the place the cool kids were heading to. On the web, its not so much the wisdom of crowds, but the wisdom of sheep. Everyone else is using Google, so thats the search engine Im going to use.

Well, Googles strength can also be its Achilles heel. Attack the herd mentality. Suggest that were not getting the very best search experience. Cause doubt to creep into our minds.

Microsoft is not going to convince anyone to make the switch unless it can convince us that we want to make the switch. Its mind games, for sure, but if the recent launch of Wolfram Alpha has shown us anything, its that searchers are ready to try an alternative to Google. Were ready to express our individuality and move on to the next big thing.

Microsoft doesnt need to convince us that it has the best search solution. It merely needs to sow the seed of doubt in our minds as to whether Google really is the best.

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