As we begin a new year, I always make sure I take some time to reflect - hopefully on a beach but sometimes just on the morning commute to work - on my experiences over the past year. 2011 brings to a close my first year as the head of Microsoft Advertising Asia, and following Frank Holland's post a couple of weeks ago , I thought I'd put pen to paper and share my thoughts on next year with our great community of contributors and followers. Firstly to innovation,

Stephen Kim, General Manager for Microsoft's Global Creative Solutions, discusses how digital has opened up new ways for consumers to express themselves through their own storytelling - from sharing pictures, to blogging, to uploading videos and social media. According to Kim, marketers can use these stories to interact and make their brands come to life for the consumer.

Its that time of the year again... Were all really excited as we welcome the best advertising minds in Asia to Singapore for Asias largest advertising festival. Kick-starting on the 18 th of September at the Suntec Convention Centre in Singapore, SPIKES Asia is going to be really interesting. This year, we are absolutely delighted to welcome Stephen Kim, General Manager for Microsofts Global Creative Solutions and Richard Dunmall, Vice President,

This week we're on the ground at the Cannes Lions International festival. You can follow our coverage of one of the world's biggest events for creativity in communications. Some of the best creative minds and marketing visionaries will convene for the Cannes Lions international festival of creativity, and Microsoft Advertising will be at the heart of it all. Follow our minute by minute coverage that will bring you the best from Cannes through videos, blog posts, photos,

Last week in Shanghai we spoke with Jason Kuperman from Omnicom who gave us some fascinating insights into how mobile is creating powerful marketing methods in Asia. View the interview here.