Cannes Lions

Hot off the wire - our press release about our participation at Cannes.

Microsoft Advertising will once again have a significant presence at the Cannes Lions International Advertising festival taking place from 20-26 June 2010. Mich Mathews, Microsoft’s Senior Vice President, Central Marketing Group, will deliver a keynote speech, host several events throughout the week and provide insight about Microsoft’s marketing investments and the company’s approach to being both an underdog and an incumbent when it comes to marketing its brands.

During the festival, a number of senior Microsoft executives will also play prominent roles. Darren Huston, Corporate Vice President, Global Consumer & Online (C&O) will present a keynote speech during the Microsoft Advertising Business Conference on Tuesday 22 June, outlining the company’s commitment to partnering with advertisers and agencies to accelerate innovation and incubate solutions across multiple channels and devices that strengthen consumer engagement and brand adoption.

In addition to Mathews’ and Huston’s keynotes, Microsoft will host and sponsor a number of events at Cannes designed to create forums for discussion, debate and drive industry thought leadership:

· TED@Cannes – In association with Starcom MediaVest Group, Darren Huston and executives from Microsoft Advertising will join the TED@Cannes team to host this exclusive event to discuss the future of the media industry and the impact of advancing technology and social platforms. Speakers include:

o Nicholas Christakis, author of ‘Connected’

o Stefan Sagmeister, iconic graphic designer

o Naveen Selvadurai, Foursquare founder

· Microsoft Advertising Business Conference – Executives from across Microsoft as well as industry leaders such as Claudia Lagunas, Digital and New Media Director, Pepsico International; Blake Mycoskie, Founder and Chief Shoe Giver, TOMS Shoes; and Joël Palix, President of Clarins Fragrances Group for Thierry Mugler will discuss cutting edge innovation in social media, mobile and multi-screen campaigns and how these developments are changing the future of both digital marketing and the consumer experience. Some of the latest Microsoft innovations in this space will be showcased at the conference:

o Kinect - a new way to play games where users control actions with their hands, feet and body instead of a controller;

o TownHall - a free, cloud-based social media tool that allows advertisers to interact with their audiences in real-time; and

o DeepZoom - a Microsoft Silverlight technology feature that allows consumers to interact and zoom into content within a web page or an advertisement to view greater details of a particular product or item.

· Microsoft Advertising Workshop – Open to all Cannes Lions festival delegates, this workshop will explore ‘The Rise of the Rich TV’. Attendees will get a first look at research that illuminates how advertisers are tracking consumer engagement and behaviour with brands on Xbox LIVE and traditional TV. Attendees will also have an exclusive opportunity to see how Natural User Interface (NUI) technology and Microsoft’s “Kinect” are changing the way viewers physically engage with content.

· Microsoft Advertising Seminar – Mich Mathews will deliver a keynote that focuses on how brands can hold the position of both market leader and underdog by providing insight into Microsoft’s own marketing campaigns for its Windows, Bing and Windows Phone brands. She will also examine the ways in which digital marketing can advance a brand’s position and explore how Microsoft envisions the future of marketing.  

· Microsoft Advertising Experience Centre – Cannes Lions delegates are invited to visit the Microsoft Advertising Experience Centre where they will be able to experience first-hand ground-breaking technologies including: Kinect, Massive, Surface and Windows Phone while also experiencing a range of Microsoft Advertising’s recent multi-screen campaigns.

· Cyber Lions Awards – For the ninth consecutive year, Microsoft Advertising will sponsor the Cyber Lions Awards, recognising the best in digital advertising over the past year. 

“Cannes has become the premier global event for senior advertising industry executives to come together, share their ideas and passion, spark innovation, and forge the industry’s path for the coming year and beyond,” said Darren Huston, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Global Consumer & Online group.   

“We see this as our chance to connect with our agency partners and strategic clients, share and learn about the latest innovations in digital marketing, and work together to enhance the impact of marketing against the evolving digital landscape.”  

Throughout the festival, Microsoft Advertising news, events, commentary and opinion will be posted to the Microsoft Advertising Community site, on Facebook and Twitter.

See you in the sun!

Thanks

Mel