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As we head into the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity this year, I’m excited to meet with customers and industry leaders to engage in conversations around the next chapter of digital advertising.

As a company, Microsoft has momentum with new consumer products that have the marketplace buzzing – including Windows 8, Xbox, Bing, Windows Phone and Skype. Technology advances are opening new opportunities for innovative, engaging and relevant advertising solutions that put the consumer experience first and add value – just check out the official rollout of NUads on Xbox LIVE and Conversation Ad formats on Skype that we announced last week. Plus there will be more to come on the Windows 8 front, which will provide a rich canvas for brands to re-imagine and re-define what can be done in digital display advertising.

While change is happening at a rapid pace, Microsoft Advertising’s goal remains the same: offer unique, creative and innovative ways for brands to bring marketing campaigns to life on a global scale, while keeping the consumer’s experience in the forefront.

Our industry is at a cross-roads – as everything we do in our lives gets more and more digital, marketing will get more and more experiential and be deeply integrated into the fabric of how we live our lives. The story below is a view into just how integrated it could become.

The theme in this piece is something we are very excited to build upon with our customers and partners in the industry. It also underscores the importance of creative expression, creative quality, and the need to back up everything we do with insights, data and the technical capabilities to manage this new marketing world beyond any single interaction or campaign.

The future of technology and the next chapter of digital adverting will of course be front and center in discussions at Cannes Lions. Specifically, here is what we have lined up this week…

Microsoft Advertising Experience Center and Digital Lounge: Our Experience Center features the latest innovative solutions for marketers. Cannes delegates can also relax and have some fun at our new Digital Lounge, where they can challenge a friend to a Kinect for Xbox 360 game, Skype their friends, family and colleagues back home, and check out the latest breaking news at Cannes on the new msnNow. They can also preview Windows 8, do the ‘smoked by Windows Phone’ challenge or try out the latest Kinect for Windows technology. The Digital Lounge is open to all Sunday, June 17 through Saturday, June 23 from 9:00 to 18:00, Palais des Festivals, Level 1.

Microsoft Keynote on ‘Device Love: Where Technology and Creativity Converge’: Chris Capossela; gamer, technology buff and Chief Marketing Officer of Microsoft, will walk us through Microsoft’s latest and greatest technology bets through leading products like Windows 8, Xbox and Skype, and how they will evolve the way consumers, technology players and marketers see the role of devices in their lives on Wednesday, June 20 at 11:30. (Palais des Festivals, Debussy Theater)

Microsoft Forum on ‘Interactive Entertainment: The Next Chapter’: The future of interactive TV is here and through technology consumers are now using more natural actions to interact with their TV sets. Ross Honey, General Manager of Xbox LIVE Entertainment and Advertising at Microsoft, will provide a peek behind the scenes at some of the most innovative consumer experiences created in this new world of natural user interface technology, and learn how you can participate in the next chapter of interactive entertainment on Wednesday, June 20 at 15:30. (Palais des Festivals, Audi A)

I look forward to seeing you in Cannes, and for those who are not able to attend, please keep checking our Microsoft Advertising blog and site for Cannes Lions updates and insights throughout the week.

Thanks,


Frank Holland – Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Advertising