Too soon for Zune?


Zune, Zune, Zune. Anyone who attended Sigma Alpha Epsilon's Saturday night shindig saw Zune everywhere. Hanging on the walls, giant posters screamed Zune. Partygoers received glowsticks with the Zune name all over them.

Professional photographers and a man with a video camera filmed Penn students as they partied down. This wasn't normal sticky floor SAE party. Microsoft sponsored this soire.

Microsoft recently revamped its Zune mp3 player, trying to take a bite out of the iPod's success. However, name recognition is low, and Microsoft is trying to create a buzz. College campuses are a main target.

Wharton sophomore Sameer Kirtane is one of Microsoft's main offensive weapons. As a brother at SAE, he organized the Zune party. "So [Microsoft] rolled out the Zune, and they have people on campus that they give them to. . . Ground force marketing. I pitched the idea [of a party]."

The marketing team contracted by Microsoft to create the buzz, gave Sameer and the brothers of SAE a check, a few easy guidelines and free reign."They wanted product placement, to get the name out," said Sameer. "On top of that, they wanted to get some good pictures—potentially to use for advertising."

Microsoft isn't the only company targeting students with parties, give-aways, and cool events. Toyota's Scion brand recently began hosting events in 55 different cities across the United States, including Philadelphia. A more subtle strategy, Scion actually looks for up-and-coming fashion and technology trends, surveying their events for the next hot thing. Those tight jeans your ueber-hipster friend wears or the blu-ray disc your techie friend bought might just inspire a new automotive design or technology. Product placement seems to be a secondary challenge.

Whatever their motives, companies are beginning to realize the lucrative power of the college-age market. With our trend-setting style, party-Ivy title, and status as super consumers, Penn students are demanding the attention of the business world, and not just for OCR. It's a marketing technique gone wild, and I couldn't be happier. We're finally invited to the company party. Interview with Sameer Kirtane- brother at SAE.