The Mojave Experiment was an
advertising campaign
An advertising campaign or marketing campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication (IMC). An IMC is a platform in which a group of people can group their ide ...
conducted by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
for
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...
in 2008. The campaign was part of Microsoft's efforts to change what it felt was an unfair negative consumer perception of the
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...
.
''Mojave'' spanned a series of advertisements that consisted of individuals being shown a demonstration of Windows Vista by Microsoft; however, the operating system was
rebranded
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
in disguise as a new version of Windows codenamed "Mojave," which was not revealed during the demonstration.
Prior to the demonstration, participants generally gave a negative assessment of Windows Vista. In contrast, reviews for "Mojave" were positive, with participants stating that they intended to use or purchase the operating system for themselves; the same participants were astonished when they were told that "Mojave" was Windows Vista.
The campaign implied that negative consumer perception was largely the result of preconceived notions about the operating system.
Test procedure
The Mojave Experiment is a public
case study
A case study is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. For example, case studies in medicine may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in business might cover a particular f ...
designed by
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
to determine computer users' thoughts of
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, released five years earlier, which was then the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft W ...
, in the absence of prior experience. The study begins by asking the participant's thoughts of Windows Vista, with their answers based solely on their knowledge from
word of mouth
Word of mouth is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others a ...
. They were then asked to rate Windows Vista, from 0 to 10. Next, the participants were introduced to Windows "Mojave." This was Windows Vista,
rebranded
Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...
to prevent preconceived bias. The users were guided by a Microsoft assistant to test "Mojave." After the test, the participants were then asked to rate "Mojave," from 0 to 10. It was then revealed to the participants that "Mojave" was simply Windows Vista, rebranded.
Reception
Technology bloggers and journalists criticized the experiment, for several reasons, such as that the hardware and software were already set up, so the users did not have to install applications or device drivers, which were the typical source of compatibility issues.
See also
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Windows Vista editions
Windows Vista—a major release of the Microsoft Microsoft Windows, Windows operating system—was available in six different product editions: Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. On September 5, 2006, Microsoft ...
*
Windows Easy Transfer
*
Windows Ultimate Extras
*
Windows 7
Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM), released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, ...
References
{{Microsoft
Advertising campaigns
Marketing techniques
Microsoft advertising campaigns
Windows Vista