Windows Phone â A New Opportunity for Brands?

Windows Phone had a tricky first couple of years. Little wonder considering all the competition it faced. It didn’t help that Microsoft was very late on the uptake leaving the door wide open for long-time nemesis, Apple and new-kid-on-the-block, Android.

The cold reception to Windows Phone was hardly a surprise given the heavy competition. It is fair to say that Windows Phone initially fell short of the high benchmark set by iPhone and early Android editions.

That was then. This is now.

It is true that iPhone and Android have a tremendous head start, but where it would appear the Windows 8 operating system is yet to hit the mark with consumers, Windows Phone 8 (mark 2), is gradually clawing back some of the ground it lost in the early days of the smartphone war.

If Microsoft’s tablet offering can start achieving similar results in user adoption then Microsoft will be well on the way to recovering some of the ground it has lost. And with PC sales experiencing their biggest slump in sales ever, this resurgence can’t come soon enough.

Phones are no longer phones, they are mobile devices.

The primary role of a phone has shifted from a communication device in the conventional sense to a communication through multiple media such as email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. All made possible by faster and faster internet speeds. Being able to talk on the phone is now such a minor consideration that if a phone were introduced without a microphone and speaker, some buyers may not even notice.

A Camera that makes calls, too

Consumers now expect devices to be all inclusive; phone, camera, games console, map, diary etc. Everything Everywhere is the philosophy for the modern mobile phone. The recent launch of Nokia’s Lumia 1020 with a 41 megapixel camera is just one example of how the purpose of the mobile phone has changed and how Nokia/Microsoft partnership may now be capitalising on the shift in consumer expectation.

The signs of possible green shoots in Microsoft’s mobile ‘recovery’

The clearest sign that Windows Phone is becoming more popular are on adverts for Apps. All App ads feature operating system compatibility and once upon a time 99% of App ads only had iPhone and Android compatibility. This trend has changed of late however and we are increasingly seeing the Windows Phone logo appearing alongside iPhone and Android on App adverts.

Some App-makers (and their sponsors) are even starting exclusively with Windows Phone before expanding into iPhone and Android. Not a bad idea really as Microsoft’s App Store is far from being on par with Apple and Android, and there is merit for both brands and developers in being a big fish in a small pond.

Some figures to illustrate this: Research just released by Kantar show that Windows Phone has hit 8% in the UK, with much of this growth being focused on lower-end phones bought by users who have traditionally migrated from feature phones to Android. (http://ow.ly/nKDRB)

Whether or not Microsoft devices will ever inspire the kind of brand loyalty as Apple enjoyed remains to be seen but with a new generation of devices on the way there is every possibility we will start hearing the phrase “It has to be Microsoft” in the not-too-distant future.