Every so often, you realize that youre part of a tipping point moment. This particular moment is about the transformation of TV from a one-size-fits-all passive experience to a personalized, social and irresistibly interactive experience. For both consumers and advertisers, the promise of interactive TV has finally arrived. The last 11 months have been pretty amazing for Xbox LIVE, and our advertising partners. First there was the launch of Kinect,

In todays multi-channel, multi-platform, multi-everything media landscape, those responsible for creating advertising plans can be forgiven if they feel like a jack of all trades, master of none, as the saying goes. After all, how can you become expert at maximizing one channel, when increasingly you need to employ several to reach your goals? And, lets face it, new ones pop up everyday. However, there is one medium that its wise to learn to master,

The word television is a combination of the Greek root tele, which means far off and the Latin visio, which means sight. The term was imported from France around 1907years before the actual television set was invented. It wasnt until 1948 that the abbreviated version TV came into being. I share this bit of tube trivia with you because if current trends continue, we may need to add another term to the TV lexicon: Tell-a-Vision. As in,

The word television is a combination of the Greek root tele, which means far off and the Latin visio, which means sight. The term was imported from France around 1907years before the actual television set was invented. It wasnt until 1948 that the abbreviated version TV came into being. I share this bit of tube trivia with you because if current trends continue, we may need to add another term to the TV lexicon: Tell-a-Vision. As in,

One of the many things I love about the Cannes International Advertising Festival is its consistency: year after year the event continues to be a global mash-up of cutting edge creatives, celebrities, ad industry leaders and talented marketersall of them fired up for a week of workshops, networking, awards, and of course, parties. )The Cannes ad festival takes place the week before Ironman France, which is hosted just down the road in Nice.

One of the many things I love about the Cannes International Advertising Festival is its consistency: year after year the event continues to be a global mash-up of cutting edge creatives, celebrities, ad industry leaders and talented marketersall of them fired up for a week of workshops, networking, awards, and of course, parties. )The Cannes ad festival takes place the week before Ironman France, which is hosted just down the road in Nice.

Today at the Cannes International Advertising Festival , I will be lucky to take part in a seminal moment in the advertising and television industry: the introduction of NUads, which transforms traditional, linear TV advertising into an interactive experience by using the voice-and gesture-control of Kinect for Xbox 360. Typically when I talk about new technologies, I try to avoid hyperbole. But in this case of NUads and Kinect,

Microsoft made a number of significant announcements at E3 on Monday, including a slew of new Kinect titles, such as Kinect: Disneyland Adventures, Kinect Star Wars and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, and Kinect-enhanced third-party titles such as Mass Effect 3, Tomb Raider, and EAs perennial favorite, FIFA. As excited as I am about all of these new titles, for me, the real game-changer is the creative use of voice control throughout these games,

As far as reality TV goes, it was pretty unreal. There I was, watching my TV, as contestants on The Biggest Loser sweated their way through a workout session that they were watching on a TV screen exercise content that was delivered through a gaming console Kinect for Xbox 360. Then I was invited to join the workout session by downloading the TV challenge pack to compete against the same Biggest Loser contestants I just viewed. As one of the on-air contestants put it,

From its wildly popular Messin' With Sasquatch advertising campaign to a then first-of-its-kind augmented reality experience LivingSasquatch.com , Jack Link's Beef Jerky has combined marketing savvy with edgy creativeand consumers have been eating it up. One of the key ways Jack Links has become a monster brand is through a masterful approach to combining content with advertising a topic Ill dive into with my next blog post. In particular,

I often talk about how the Xbox LIVE audience is growing beyond the core of 18-34 year old male gamers. Certainly, the rapid growth of the global Xbox LIVE audience now 30 million and counting is broadening and diversifying in its composition, with moms and families being the fastest growing segments. And the phenomenal success of Kinect is sure to continue that trend. But lets not forget how we got here. Long before gaming entered the mainstream,

At Sundays Oscars the much-favored to win film The Social Network grabbed only three of the eight Academy Awards it was nominated fora surprise to some, who speculated the film was, well, over-socialized in the press and with the Academy. In other words, they may have lobbied a bit too hard for a Best Picture win, and it cost them . None of which changes the fact that the Social Network is a fascinating inside look at the origins of the phenomenon now known as Facebook.

At Sundays Oscars the much-favored to win film The Social Network grabbed only three of the eight Academy Awards it was nominated for a surprise to some , who speculated the film was, well, over-socialized in the press and with the Academy. In other words, they may have lobbied a bit too hard for a Best Picture win, and it cost them.

It was a groundbreaking way to immerse consumers in a brand. It had never been done before, and advertisers flocked to the new concept because, for the first time, they could communicate with audiences in a truly visceral way. You probably think Im talking about Kinect. I certainly could be, but Im actually talking about an advertising technique that debuted to great success four decades ago : scented strips in magazines, or as they are more commonly referred to,

Since we started experimenting with advertising on Xbox in 2007, Ive raved to just about anyone who would listen about its potential for advertisers to reach a broad and growing audience. But sometimes even I, one of the biggest cheerleaders for the business, am surprised by the success of Xbox. The numbers we announced at CES this week are the best example of exceeding my already high expectations.

Since we started experimenting with advertising on Xbox in 2007, Ive raved to just about anyone who would listen about its potential for advertisers to reach a broad and growing audience. But sometimes even I, one of the biggest cheerleaders for the business, am surprised by the success of Xbox. The numbers we announced at CES this week are the best example of exceeding my already high expectations.

Theres a dizzying amount of change in the media and advertising space right now, and next year looks to be even more chaotic and exciting. To make some sense of it all, Ive identified some megatrends, which I define as trends that are reaching critical mass, or shifting in some significant way. Take a look, form your own opinions, and then let me know what revolutionary developments you believe await us in 2011. Happy New Year! 1.

With all of the much-deserved success and press about Kinect for Xbox 360, another very significant addition to Microsofts gaming portfolio may have been overlooked: the official preview of the new MSN Games . This is the first social gaming portal which lets users easily connect to a centralized gaming hub that spans across multiple platforms. This is a significant development for people who love social gaming.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I wanted to take a minute to say something that advertisers probably dont hear often enough: thank you. This is particularly important during this still-tough economy, when pulling back is the easy thing for a marketer to do. Yet on Xbox LIVE, brands have been looking forward, leaning forward, and signing up again and again to connect )or in some cases, Kinect,( with our growing, global audience.

Ive been saying for some time that the Xbox LIVE audience is not only growing, but broadening demographically . Some recent audience numbers confirmed this, and in a very big way. The Xbox LIVE audience has grown to more than 25 million members a global community larger than any city in the world! But, more noteworthy than the absolute size of the audience is its rapidly changing composition. I spend a good chunk of time presenting to ad agencies and large advertisers.