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A new study by the NPD Group finds that Americans have not tried — let alone heard of — online productivity tools like Google Apps and Zoho Office.

These all-online "hosted" offerings are positioned as direct competitors to the Microsoft Office Suite. Indeed, the sleeper threat compelled Microsoft to release a hosted companion to Office that enables online editing and collaboration, reports CMSWire.

But of 600 consumers surveyed, 73 percent have never heard of free online office suites. 20 percent have heard of them, but haven't tried them, according to Ars Technica.

Though online office tools are relatively seasoned, they suffer from a significant lack of consumer awareness; that is, proper marketing, the NPD Group survey suggests.

For its part, Google has focused on marketing its Apps suite to businesses. It now boasts clientele like P&G, GE, and Prudential, and is also accessible on the Everex gPC TC2502 — a fully open source PC competitor.

In 2008 Zoho will put retail boxes, containing starter documentation, on store shelves. Ars Technica compares the strategy to that used to promote Apple's .Mac online package.

In terms of awareness, Apple is considered by some to be a tech marketing prodigy.