“The Old Portal is Dead”– MSN’s Rob Bennett on New Content & New Experiences

A common cry these days in digital is “evolve or die”. With the pace of innovation (and thus change) in our industry getting faster than ever, brands are finding it difficult to keep up with what’s trendy, both from a technical point of view and via the ever-changing appetite of consumers.

Two weeks ago at the Microsoft Advertising Digital Showcase in New York, I got a few minutes with MSN’s executive Producer, Rob Bennett, as he stepped off stage and asked him what he meant by “the old portal is dead”.

Rob says that traditionally portals have programmed content at the whim of editors and advertisers, but have not done a good job of really including the audience and their desires. With the rise of social media and consumers being more savvy about engaging with content, sharing it and even voting on it, MSN has really adapted quickly by looking at trends, not just on MSN but across the web to create content that advertisers want to be associated with.

On stage he had cited MSNNow as a great example of this kind of real-time web curation, and in the video encourages advertisers to think beyond the web, to mobile, Xbox and other devices – it’s not just about how we take traditional marketing and stick it on these devices, but how we can use technology to create newer, more immersive experiences that are BETTER than anything else we’ve ever seen.

Watch the interview and let us know if you have any questions for Rob.

Cheers

@MelCarson