REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 30, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a new consumer promotion targeted at home computer users of Microsoft® products, featuring several of the company’s newest and most successful Internet-ready products.
“Are You There Yet?”
officially kicks off Oct. 3 at computer retail stores nationwide.
“Are You There Yet?”
includes a unique promotional element –
“msCASH” checks for customers who obtain any of the six leading Microsoft products in the promotion: the Windows® 95 operating system with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0; Microsoft Publisher 97; the Microsoft Encarta® 97 multimedia encyclopedia, Deluxe Edition; the Microsoft FrontPage
™
Web authoring and management tool; any annual membership plan on MSN
™
, The Microsoft Network; and Microsoft Home Essentials. Customers who obtain any of these products will receive an msCASH check for $30 that can be used toward the purchase of any Microsoft product from authorized Microsoft retailers. Each lead product purchased will result in the customer’s receiving another $30 msCASH check – up to $180 per household.
Customers who acquire one of the six lead products can obtain a mail-in order form at the store, at the promotion’s Web site, or in the promotion’s newspaper ads. Customers send that form, along with proof of purchase and the top flap of the product box, to a clearinghouse and will receive their msCASH check about two weeks later. They can redeem the checks when they get other Microsoft products at participating retailers, or they can give the msCASH checks as gifts. Those who respond before Oct. 7 will receive an additional $30 worth of msCASH.
“Are You There Yet?”
will run from Oct. 3 to Nov. 5. Consumers will have until Jan. 31, 1997, to redeem their msCASH checks at retail stores. To reach the target audience for the promotion – home PC users – Microsoft will run a $3 million national and local advertising campaign for
“Are You There Yet?,”
including ads in USA Today, national and local radio spots in 25 top PC markets, local newspaper ads in 25 top markets and inserts in family-based computing publications, as well as Web advertising. This advertising will be supported in computer stores with special merchandising displays and msCASH check order forms. Order forms and additional information about the promotion will also be available on the World Wide Web at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/thereyet/
“‘Are You There Yet?’ is a great consumer value as well as a positive promotion for the retailers who sell Microsoft products,”
said Steve Schiro, vice president of the end user customer unit at Microsoft.
”
The featured titles are a great way for anyone to get involved with
Windows 95, the Internet and state-of-the-art productivity software. The msCASH checks can be used on any Microsoft product, from software – including 16 new software titles such as Deadly Tide, Picture It!
™, Soccer, Flight Simulator for Windows 95, Cinemania® 97, Golf 3.0 and Dreamworks’ Neverhood planned for the holiday season – to hardware, such as the Microsoft Natural® Keyboard or SideWinder® joystick. The msCASH checks mean that retailers get a second round of store traffic as customers come back to redeem them, which will drive the high-traffic holiday season.”
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Windows, Encarta, FrontPage, MSN, Picture It!, Cinemania, Natural and SideWinder are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.
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