Microsoft Hires Marketing Guru For Mobile Division

Microsoft has hired a new marketing vice president as part of a bid to make Windows Mobile a household name.

Todd Peters, formerly the man behind Staples' "Easy button" campaign, will take the helm of marketing for Microsoft's Mobile Communications Business division, which encompasses the Windows Mobile platform, Windows Live for Mobile, and the company's other portable device efforts. Prior to his work at Staples, Peters was Intel's "brand strategy" head for six years.

The change comes amid an effort by Microsoft to expand its mobile services such as Live Search even onto competing platforms such as BlackBerry, as well as a renewed emphasis on consumer-driven features in Windows Mobile such as multimedia and web browsing.

Windows Mobile Marketing Historically Weak

Since the inception of Microsoft's mobile device platform, enthusiasts and even some manufacturers have complained that Microsoft's marketing for the devices was weak, and that the company hadn't used its bully pulpit to show consumers Windows Mobile-based devices in a desirable light.

The recent repositioning of the company's marketing and development efforts appear largely geared towards a fresh focus on individual buyers, and competing for consumer dollars against newcomers such as the Apple iPhone, and a shift away from the strictly enterprise-based strategy the company had formerly been pursuing.

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