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What a week in NYC! 

Advertising Week seemed to be stronger than ever as thousands put up with the weather (rain after 3 months, seriously?) and participated morning, noon and night (and late night) to share, debate, present and innovate. 

It was the best we have had ever.  Huge kudos to Matt Scheckner, executive director of Advertising Week, for organizing an incredible week.  I also loved the collaboration with the ANA, 4 A’s and IAB and it seems like the industry was all working together which is what we need! 

From media sellers to agencies to clients and entrepreneurs in between, it is clear we need to collaborate in much more significant ways. We also need to remember that as data becomes more and more sophisticated, we must not forget the importance of the idea.  Clients want ideas to drive growth in their business and the creative process we see in Mad Men is just as important today as it was then, if not more.

My personal experience at Advertising Week was fantastic.  I got a chance to be on stage 4 different times and each time, had the privilege of being joined by industry leaders.  I was inspired, challenged, and provoked to think differently, move even faster, and most of all remember, it always comes down to the people you surround yourself with. 

For those of you who missed it, I did shake things up a bit at my keynote where I planted 3 Broadway singers (we were after all in the heart of Broadway!) who opened up my keynote after heckling me on a really boring opening slide with an amazing rendition of Guys & Dolls with lyrics about our industry.  It took the audience by surprise and it was a hit! 

At the end of my week, I was on stage with the top thought leaders from agencies and clients and Tim Armstrong and I were the media side representatives---it was deemed a Socratic debate and after 2 hours, I think we moved the needle on the need for change.  Nick Brien was his usual inspirational self and once again, grounding us in what we all are here to do….grow our clients business through spectacular ideas that are flawlessly executed. 

The clear message from Ad Week for me was - Forget the old business models; get rid of the silos…the digital transformation is here and the consumers don’t care about our business models or our silos.  They expect real-time interactions, portability of content across all their screens and marketing that is inspiring and relevant to them.

I am now off to Athens to be further inspired by 350 luminaries and entrepreneurs at STREAM (unconference), and my journey continues…..

Sharing some Microsoft experiences from Advertising Week:

· Blake Mycoski from TOMS Shoes on maximizing engagement through multiple screens, following his session with us

· Kinect announced that advertisers including Chevrolet, Sprint, T-Mobile and others are already getting in the game.DSC_0366

· Windows Phone 7 with “tiles” featuring apps and info, and  Bing location aware search feature. The Microsoft Advertising SDK for Windows Phone 7 announced Wednesday.

· Pivot using Silverlight Deep Zoom to enable interaction, discovery and organization.

· Videos from Advertising Week

· Interview on my first 90 days at Microsoft, discussing display advertising, and content vs. advertising for driving audience awareness

· Darren Huston IAB MIXX keynote about the future of multi-screen, especially mobile

· Rik van der Kooi on how his team partners  with advertising customers to create meaningful connections with audiences at scale

· Mark Young showing Kinect and how fun Kinectimals for Xbox 360 will be for any age

· Stephen Kim on the future of digital marketing, helping brands connect with consumers in innovative ways

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Thanks,

Carolyn Everson

Corporate Vice President, Global Ad Sales and Strategy, Microsoft