Posted by Jeremy Scott | 1 Comment

Microsoft Lets Windows XP Live On With Last-Minute...

We’ve sort of been following the saga of Windows XP for some time now.  Clearly Microsoft would prefer all users to move on up to Windows Vista.  But for various reasons (mostly bad reviews and XP loyalty), a lot of users have resisted.

The availability of XP on new computer purchases has been reluctantly extended by Microsoft a few times already, and they were set to shutter it this month.  And whether it was due to user petitions or simply basic business math… Microsoft has decided to extend XP’s life yet again with a last minute stay of execution from Governor Gates.

Actually, they’re extending its availability through 2010–when the next Operating System from Microsoft (currently called Windows 7) will be released.

That’s right.  They’re going to let you buy XP all the way up to when Vista’s new baby brother arrives.

But… there is a catch (isn’t there always a catch?).  You can only get XP on new machines if you’re buying the lower-end computers.

From the article:

The extension Microsoft granted to XP for these low cost laptops, or netbooks, covered machines that have no more than 1GB of RAM; a hard drive up to 80GB in size; a processor running no faster than 1GHz; a screen no larger than 10.2in (25cm) and no touch screen.

So far Microsoft has laid down no specifications for the low cost desktops, called nettops, but it said it was working with 20 PC makers on these machines.

So, basically, if you want to buy a really slow computer that might have been top of the line 8 years ago, you can still get XP.  Sweet! It’s really kind of a bittersweet victory, though, isn’t it?

But seriously, if all you use your computer for is surfing websites and checking email, then you’re probably the target market here.  If you want to watch DVDs or play video games or do much in the way of multi-media… you’re stuck having to upgrade to Vista–which really isn’t as bad a thing as you might think.

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Posted by Jeremy Scott | 14 Comments

Guerrilla Search Engine Marketing–Golf Ball ...

Myself and several of my co-workers had the privilege of playing in Monday’s Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at the Bluegrass Country Club.

The weather was perfect, the golfers were jovial, and the birdies were flowing–for some teams more than others.

Any of you who participated in the tournament have probably already heard about our guerrilla marketing golf balls. For the rest of you, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version:

See, one of our fastest growing services is Search Engine Optimization–or, helping websites rank better on Google.  And we wanted to highlight that service to a tournament field filled with our core demographic… small business owners.  So we conceived of and designed some specialty golf balls. They were really nice golf balls, some of the nicest Nike makes. On one side we printed our logo, and on the other side was a catchy marketing message:

“Finding golf balls is easy. Finding your website on Google is hard. We can help. FoundGolfBall.com“

At 8:30, an hour or so before the groups all teed off, Eric and I hopped in one of the spare golf carts and headed out. We drove the whole course, “losing” 7 or 8 of our special guerrilla golf balls on each and every hole. Some were “lost” in the rough. Some were “lost” in the sand traps or near the edges of water hazards. Others were “lost” in the trees and wooded areas. Heck, we even managed to “lose” a few on or near the green on several holes.

The idea was that golfers are always on the lookout for free golf balls. Anytime a golfer hits a ball into the woods and stumbles upon another ball that someone else lost… it makes that bad shot just a little easier to take, because now he got a free golf ball out of the deal.

So we assumed that our Found Golf Balls would be found… often.

Anyone whose interest was piqued went home Monday evening and typed into their Internet Explorer address bar the website URL printed on the ball: FoundGolfBall.com, which took them to this page here on our website.

There they learned that the ball itself was a coupon, good for one free hour of Search Engine consulting with one of our Search experts (a $100 value). We’ve already had a few people email or call to take advantage of that offer.

What’s even more fascinating is the requests we’ve gotten to give estimates on recreating this Found Golf Ball promotion for our clients. Guess we should have seen that coming, as there were plenty of folks talking about it at the tournament’s reception.

So we’ve put together a nice, affordable package for any small business owners who want to make the biggest sponsorship splash of your next corporate golf tournament:

• 2-4 hours consulting time with our concept team. We’ll help you pick the perfect marketing angle and slogan for your guerilla golf balls
• 144 custom printed Nike golf balls
• A free web page to promote a specific service, product, special offer, or just your business in general. We’ll print the FoundGolfBall.com URL and a promo code on the ball, and anyone who visits the site and types in the code will be redirected to your special promotional page. This includes hosting and web design
• A handy PDF guide we authored with special instructions, tips, tricks, and suggestions to help make your golf ball promotion a rousing success

There isn’t a business or industry that these golf balls can’t help promote. Here are some examples:

Churches: “If only peace was as easy to find as this golf ball. Come join us on the journey at First Community Church.”

Golf Instructors: “If you were a better golfer, you probably wouldn’t have found this ball.”

CPAs: “Finding a CPA is like finding this golf ball… easy. Finding a CPA you can trust? Now that’s hard.”

So on and so forth. You see where we’re going here… any business can take this novel approach to marketing and, with the right guidance, come up with the perfect slogan.

Sure, you can sponsor the par-3 17th hole, like you do every year, and sit there giving away bottled water… like you do every year.

OR… you can do something that’s truly unique and totally memorable with the Found Golf Ball promotion from Keystone Business Solutions. Make a lasting impression on the CEOs and decision makers of local businesses in your area, and have some fun with it at the same time.

Give us a shout today to find out what it might take to get the ball rolling on your own amazing golf ball promotion.

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