At Microsoft Advertising we are passionate about delivering innovative, interactive and multi-screen consumer engagement for brands. Never one to do things by halves my team and I wanted to back that up by bringing to life one of the most ground breaking branded content experiences we had ever envisaged. I honestly believe that’s what we’ve achieved.

Index

With that, today I’m delighted to announce the launch of the New Thinker’s Index, our new multi-screen, multi-market campaign for Hyundai Motor’s that lets consumers discover and share how new thinkers are shaping the future. We devised the concept based on Hyundai’s new brand positioning ‘New Thinking, New Possibilities’. The campaign leverages Microsoft’s media portfolio to create a new digital content experience across MSN, Xbox, Windows Live Messenger, Mobile and Tablet.

So what’s the content hook I hear you ask? Well The New Thinker’s Index will be promoted through 22, yes 22, celebrity videos! Each features celebrities such as Hollywood actors Kevin Spacey, Joseph Fiennes and Tobey Kebbell, Grime rapper Devlin, entrepreneur and record-breaker Richard Noble, and legendary England and Arsenal footballer Ian Wright. Personally I’m an Arsenal fan so I have to admit the Wrighty inclusion was a little sycophantic but honestly how many people can you really call legendary that have played for club and country? Exactly, not many, and he is one of the few!

These celebrity videos will illustrate how different types of people apply their thinking in certain situations. They range from Word-smart, Number-smart, Visual, People-smart, Self-aware, Musical, Body-smart or Natural. By giving our audience the opportunity to compare the way they think to celebrities, and other participants, via a fun, interactive online test the New Thinker’s Index aims to build a fascinating directory of the different ways in which people think today.

But enough of me waxing lyrical. Check out the video below that tells you how we came up with this innovative concept and helped Hyundai tell their story. We’ve packed it all in, with shots from the Index, our celebs, and interviews with myself, Michael Dwan our global creative solutions director and Hyundai’s deputy general manager of overseas communication Woo June Cha.

The New Thinker’s Index will run through to March 2012 in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Keep an eye on the new celebrity videos as they appear in the coming months, and check out our New Thinker’s Index Facebook page regularly to keep tabs on real-time updates as they are made throughout the campaign’s lifecycle.

Enjoy the video and if you’re of a curious disposition then please sign up to the New Thinker’s Index. Surely on your commute to work you ponder the question “is there someone out there in the world who thinks like me?” Maybe? Or then again, maybe not? Only one way to find out.

Jonathan Oliver, Senior Digital Strategist, Creative Solutions, Microsoft Advertising