Marketers try to convert Internet freeloaders into customers
Internet marketers for major companies are finally embracing users of peer-to-peer free software, music, and film swapping sites as they try to convert them into customers willing to pay for certain software or entertainment according to this New York Times story (registration required):
Lions Gate, an independent studio, wanted to reach KaZaA's large audience of college students because it thought that many would be interested in the film. Microsoft wanted to showcase its Windows Media software, which lets entertainment companies distribute material securely over the Internet with high-quality sound and video. When users download the trailer video, they are prompted to upgrade to the new version of the Microsoft software.
"We'll never spend as much as Sony, but this is one way we can compete with the big boys," said Tom Deluca, vice president for new media at Lions Gate, who added that after his trailer promotion, he had received several expressions of support, tinged with envy, from counterparts at Hollywood studios.
Microsoft also paid Altnet $12,500 last month for a 60-day promotion of a video for Tony Hawk's "Boom Boom HuckJam," a multimedia punk-rock tour. By Hollywood standards, the promotions were small, and Microsoft executives maintained that there was nothing inherently wrong with peer-to-peer technology like KaZaA's.
"Microsoft clearly does not promote or support piracy of any kind," said Erin Cullen, product manager for Microsoft's digital media division. "But in terms of looking at new ways to reach an audience in a secure way, this may be an avenue that will become useful."