Microsoft, very first and foremost, is often a software program business. Or is it? Give consideration to these recent developments: * On Could three, Microsoft announced its intent to acquire European-based mobile-phone advertising firm ScreenTonic.* Around the heels of its bidding-war reduction of DoubleClick to Google,
Microsoft Office 2007 Product Key, Microsoft is rumored to be nosing about one more advertising organization, 24/7 Real Media * Microsoft is promoting its Personal Expressions for Windows Live Messenger theme packs, which incorporate an expanded capacity for advertisers who want to make "advertisers part of face to face conversations." * Last year,
Windows 7 Home Basic, Microsoft bought Massive Inc. to help the corporation embed ads in games. * Microsoft is encouraging its partners to build Vista gadgets that are elaborate, interactive ads. * Microsoft is seeking new ways to obtain members of its Live communities to build mash-ups around ads. They want to find a way to repeat the success of the Microsoft "Gears of War" trailer that took on a mash-up life of its own on YouTube. At this week's Mix '07, the final keynote from Robbie Bach, President of Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, made no bones about Microsoft's advertising ambitions. Bach spent much of his 45-minute address detailing how advertising is becoming much more of a central component to many of Microsoft's businesses, including gaming, mobile phones and video/music delivery. Bach discussed how Microsoft's goal to connected entertainment revolves around making experiences personal, interactive and social. Integrating Windows Live Messenger into Xbox Live is one particular example of how the Softies plan to do this. Sharing the same contact list and search mechanism across your desktop, laptop and cellular device is yet another. Microsoft isn't adding all this social-software goodness to its products just because the up-and-coming generation want and expect it. Microsoft also sees a way to make money here. Just like Google, Microsoft is looking to marketing to offset the cost of providing these services. And because Microsoft, like other online marketing brokers, knows that users generally hate ads and try to find ways to circumvent them,
Office 2007 Pro Plus Key, Microsoft and its promoting partners are seeking ways to integrate inextricably content into ads. At Mix, Bach talked about "experiential marketing" using software program and services in combination. Initial you attract the customers, then you engage them and finally you excite them. He pointed to an Xbox 360 plan Microsoft did with Burger King, via which Microsoft helped create $3.99 games that integrated advertising with content. Burger King sold three.2 million of these games in six weeks — enough to have an impact on their financial results. With Xbox Live, "we've created a social community and that community markets to itself,
Office Professional Plus 2007 Key," Bach crowed during his Mix '07 keynote. "I've been at Microsoft for 19 years,
Windows 7 Activation Key," Bach said. "From a internet marketing perspective, it's a new world The tools and services and apps are becoming part of the medium, and that's part of how the advertising happens." How do you feel about Microsoft's quest to become more of an marketing broker? Will the Empire be any significantly more "evil" than Google in its quest to integrate content/search/ads?