Observations from CES: Advertisers are Hungry for Help Telling Their Story

Having just returned from my first CES, I want to share some of my key observations from an advertising perspective. First and foremost, I was struck most by the incredible density of both brand clients and agency partners in attendance.  Marketers and advertisers are hungry to understand how technology can help them tell their story with more consumers.  In addition:

1. The attendees were a who’s who of brand marketers rarely seen together outside of the Cannes Lions Festival.  The discussions I was involved in centered on Microsoft Advertisings unique ability to reach consumers across virtually any screen, whether on MSN, Windows Live or Xbox, or connecting with them while they are searching, browsing, watching or buying.

2. As Steve Ballmer showcased in the opening keynote, Microsoft is bringing together all the technology consumers love – simply and magically, like the two-way interaction with Kinect.  As one client said, “If touch is like magic, Kinect is like a miracle.”  

3. The Windows 8 Metro UI  will offer a variety of advertising formats, from basic text ads to rich and immersive new advertising experiences that give customers the power, the mobility, and the familiarity to effortlessly move between, not only what they want to do, but what they need to do.

Overall, there is no question advertisers are hungry for interplay across the phone, PC, tablets, and console to tell their brand story.  The ad solutions Microsoft Advertising offers and the campaigns we help build people engage with our technology across virtually any screen and device. 

2012 is going to be an exciting time for advertisers and marketers working with Microsoft. 

Frank