• by Kevin Ransom , April 10, 2007

Microsoft Corp launched a new integrated marketing campaign yesterday for its Forefront lines of business-security products. The campaign, dubbed "Easy, Easier," combines print and online advertising, integrated customer relationship marketing, a creative Web experience and public relations.

The campaign features the humorous use of fictional foes - aliens, ninjas and zombies - to illustrate that defending against online security threats is easier than fending off these comically rough customers.

Created by McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, it was designed to stress Microsoft's competitive differentiation - that Microsoft security products are easier to deploy, implement and manage. The Easy, Easier campaign will be featured in IT, print and online media in the U.S. and 28 markets worldwide.

"We wanted to connect with the customer in a new and different way," said Rob Bagot, EVP/ECD at McCann Worldgroup San Francisco, in a statement. "By using humor in a relevant fashion, we can engage and inform IT professionals at the same time.

Feedback from focus-group customers supported the decision to use IT-geek humor as a jumping-off point into a serious topic like security, said a Microsoft spokesperson. Microsoft reported that one IT professional who participated in a focus group said that the campaign was "original and entertaining. It was very clever, eye-catching and memorable, which makes you want to learn more about Forefront."

The aforementioned creative Web experience features an interactive flash video that leads customers through a visually striking experience that delivers more in-depth product information as they move through the site. The Web site also touts real customer stories from clients like Vienna International Airport and Cable & Wireless, illustrating how Forefront products have enhanced their infrastructure security.

The Forefront brand was actually launched 10 months ago. Since then, Microsoft has introduced a serious of new products under its banner, including Forefront Security for Exchange Server, Forefront Security for SharePoint and Forefront Client Security (which is presently in beta, meaning it is available for customers to begin working with and evaluating).

The Forefront line also includes the company's security products -- Internet Security and Acceleration Server and Intelligent Application Gateway 2007 -- which will be re-launched under the Forefront brand when the next generation of those products is ready to hit the marketplace.

"We've heard loud and clear from business customers that security products not only need to provide the greatest level of protection but also must be easy to manage and integrate with existing infrastructure," said Steve Brown, director of product management for security and access product management at Microsoft, also in a statement. "This ease- of-use is one of the key competitive differentiators that Microsoft brings to the market with its Forefront security products."