What's Next to Microsoft?

Microsoft is reportedly changing its tagline to "Be What's Next", the new motto was announced at the annual Microsoft Global Exchange July in Atlanta, a showcase event for the own employees and a few select people from outside of the company. The new motto had been rumoured before the time.

According to the application, which Microsoft filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 2, Microsoft has finally filed for trademark on the slogan "Be What's Next" to become their new corporate tagline. It is a new symbol all about agility, anticipation, innovation, and the willingness to take risks in the hope of achieving something great, and the saying of "Your Potential, Our Passion" has lost sheen as Microsoft has slowly moved from it.

The new tag line firsted officially shown in the video which also emphasises how flexibility exists between the various brands from Microsoft. Some assumed that the ribbon icons within the video indicated that Microsoft was about to announce a brand new set of logos for its products.

Although the ribbon icons were not liked on the whole, just as well Microsoft is not planning to use them, the logos and rebranding in the have been widely liked.

What does "Be What's Next" refer to?

Customer Focus

It seems like that Microsoft is changing the marketing strategy of paying more attention to customers."Be What's Next" is more attractive and up-to-date than that used by the company in the past and it appears to have been well received by the Microsoft community with some seeing it as a greater focus on consumers. To the contrary, the company's old motto of "Your Potential, Our Passion" has more of a business sound to it than the consumer oriented.

Cutting-edge Focus

The tagline can to be an affirmation by the company that they will offer the next major products. Science and technology industry always derides Microsoft as a follower, claiming that it is not the company leading the world toward what's "next" but rather the one to introduce or imitate technology that its competitors have already done. The tagline, on the other hand, tries to position Microsoft as bringing cutting-edge technology to the masses.

Actually, Microsoft has a bit of a history with less-than-stellar slogans, and the corporation have been at pains to product marketing strategy. However, some of the company's past posters make "Be what's next" look downright brilliant.

Tagline 1: Your protential, Our passion

Former tagline below the main corporate name had a good run in the past 3 years, but it is also the name of a soap opera starring Ricky Martin. Microsoft introduced it to the public in the summer of 2007 and built a number of TV ads around it.

Tagline 2: It just works

The tagline is for Windows Millennium Edition,the last member of Windows 9X family, and it has been bad enough on its on. Even worse, Microsoft once used an eerily similar slogan for Windows 98:"It just works better."

Tagline 3: People-ready

Steve Ballmer once outlined that how people, armed with the right software, is the key to driving business success. The "People-Ready" vision for business is the backdrop for a series of innovative solutions in new and existing categories that Microsoft brought to market. Unfortunately, some people considered the sound more like the motto for some sort of mass transit system.

Tagline 4: What's a microprocessor without it

This one came from Microsoft's first-ever catchphrase, also, it is seriously part of a cartoon called "The Legend of Micro-Kid". Obviously how Microsoft's marketing journey began, it still remains to be seen if this new motto assists Microsoft in the various markets it competes in or gives the company a new direction and drive
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