Current Issues in Marketing Strategy

Norton Anti-virus has gone back to the drawing board in an attempt to revitalize their brand. The release of Norton 360 (2008) v2.0 requires a marketing strategy that retains the brand name, but improves the image, which to be honest, has more flees than a dead camel. If Norton 2006 was a dog, it would have been put down immediately, because despite the hype and brand recognition, all it did was lie in the doorway, obstructing your access. So let's look at the marketing strategy behind the 360 degree face lift.


Positioning is the corner stone of the campaign with a range of print and online media featuring Craig Lowndes (V8 Supercar Champion). This part of the strategy is simple and in many ways effective. Even a well trained monkey could tell that they are aligning their brand with a fast and streamlined speed machine (and it's driver). Despite how simple this may seem, never lose sight of the fact that simple is effective.

Something the campaign has not done well is the placement of their print ads. The magazines have all been car related and all tied into Bathurst, (Auto Action, Top Gear, V8X, V8 Bathurst Magazine, Bathurst Official Program). Now once again, even George Bush understands the parallels between Craig Lowndes and Bathurst, but they are only targeting a very small portion of the total market and I would argue the wrong segment. I can't see the cross over between motor enthusiasts and anti-virus software other than the fact they will recognize the endorser (Lowndes).

The Norton Website is an interesting 'hands on' display that presents the user with a graphical dashboard displaying the difference between the 2006, 2007 & 2008 models in terms of processing time. The interface looks to me like it is faking the statistics and could be vastly improved by linking to fan reviews and other credible data.

Liam Tung from Znet wrote about Norton's history of "over promising & under delivering". At the end of the day, this is exactly the problem. Will the new product be any better? Well, it better be, or all the marketing in the world will not save them from the ditch of negative brand equity they have dug themselves.

Josh Strawczynski's Opinion:
The closest example I can think to Norton's current positioning is Volvo. Going back 2 decades, Volvo branded themselves as 'safety #1', an image that they carry to this day. Despite a wide brand awareness, the image of a safe vehicle does not sell cars. To this day, Volvo has invested millions in trying to shake the tag and yet it is still like the fat dog in the doorway...alive and well.

Sam Berringer's Opinion:
I would really like to see them open up the campaign to a wider audience. There is recognision for Craig Lowndes outside the racing world, just like non-golfers recognise Greg Norman. So play to this strength and target the home users and business operators...this is where the money is at!