October 26, 2005 Microsoft Makes Its Revolutionary Note-Taking Software, Microsoft Office OneNote 2003, Available as Free 180-Day Trial for Students at Ohio State University as Part of an Exclusive Campus Representative Program[Ohio State University] was selected as one of only 50 schools nationwide to participate in this groundbreaking program. [Columbus, OH] – [Ohio State University], 2005 – Junior, Jessica Yaskowitz and Senior Betty Lee will join 98 other student ambassadors as part of the newly formed OneNote Campus Representative Team. Jessica and Betty are tasked with utilizing a $1,000 marketing budget and various tools and materials provided to them to increase awareness and drive usage of the student software Microsoft® Office OneNote® 2003 at Ohio State University. Jessica and Betty were flown out to Microsoft Corp. headquarters in Redmond, Wash., for a training and brainstorming session with the other 98 OneNote representatives. Now back on campus, Jessica and Betty must create and submit their marketing plan for the semester and quickly begin rolling out the program. In addition to increasing overall awareness of OneNote among college students, the team’s main goal is to drive 1,000 downloads of a 180-day free trial of OneNote being offered exclusively to students. After the trial, students at Ohio State University will also be able to purchase the software for $49 (U.S.), 50 percent off the estimated retail price, or potentially cheaper if the university participates in volume license programs with Microsoft.Although the price is very modest and the trial is free, the value that OneNote offers students is significant. OneNote is a digital binder that enables students to easily collect, organize, find and share the information they use daily – from class notes to handouts to Web research – saving students time and making them more organized. Most users of OneNote are big fans of the program, with more than 50 percent saying that it helped them get better grades, 75 percent saying that it makes them more organized and prepared, and over 90 percent saying they would recommend it to a friend.”We find that students who use OneNote love OneNote,” said Alex Robinson, product manager of OneNote at Microsoft. “But because the product is still so new, most people don’t know about it yet. That’s why we’ve created the Campus Representative Program and why we’ve made this special 180-day trial available exclusively to students.”Students can download a free 180-day trial of OneNote by going to http://www.onenotecampus.com. Students who download the program should also be sure to select Ohio State University as their school and activate the program, because Jessica and Betty will also be competing against the 49 other schools for a variety of cash and prize incentives; the team with the most downloads will win a $10,000 cash prize. About OneNoteFor students and educators who gather and interpret data from multiple sources, who collaborate with peers, who juggle classes, meetings, social activities and more, OneNote is the note-taking application that makes it easy to take, organize, manage and reuse notes more productively. Unlike paper systems or word processing applications, OneNote combines the ability to capture typed and handwritten text, diagrams, Web page content and audio notes in one place with the flexibility to organize and reuse them any way students and educators want.About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.#########Microsoft and OneNote are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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