In this edition of AdVison, our very own Mel Carson looks into the crystal ball with Y&Rs David Sable on what to expect for 2012. Storytelling is getting much more important, Sable said. With the increasing number of advertising channels entering the market so rapidly, advertisers must now carefully consider how to captivate their audiences without getting lost in the shuffle.

You know how it is with a new look sometimes you need to shake things up a little. Thats what weve done at MSN Lifestyle Living. Not only have we updated our name, weve got a vibrant new look with larger imagery for deeper user engagement, new social tools for our highly social audience and more timely, targeted content. This transformation makes MSN Living the freshest face in the MSN portfolio of sites.

This year well be talking a lot about mobile, and personally Im excited about all of the innovative advertising solutions well deliver for our clients via the mobile channel over the course of the next 12 months. In anticipation, I took a look back on some previous campaigns weve driven that effectively integrated mobile platforms and Intel The Chase stands out to me as a fantastic example.

As I reflect back on 2011, there are a number of successes I am incredibly proud of, including: two of our formats being selected for the IAB Rising Stars awards ; the announcement of our intent with Polymorphic ads ; we let the market know that Windows 8 will support advertising-in-applications ; and last but not least, our views on the changing tide of social advertising and how brands are shifting the way they think about using social as an advertising medium.

Microsoft Advertising is inviting brand marketers and advertising agencies from across 30 countries to submit their most creative and innovative ideas to help drive a brand or nonprofit organizations story forward. Right in time for TV and movie awards season, were launching the Microsoft Advertising Story Awards also known as The MSAs.

Microsoft Advertising is inviting brand marketers and advertising agencies from across 30 countries to submit their most creative and innovative ideas to help drive a brand or nonprofit organizations story forward. Right in time for TV and movie awards season, were launching the Microsoft Advertising Story Awards also known as The MSAs.

It is our priority to provide developers around the globe an opportunity to make money using the Microsoft Advertising Solution and today we are happy to announce we are expanding our solution into seven new countries on February 1, 2012: Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Mexico, Sweden, and Switzerland. Now, developers from nineteen countries )full list below( can make money by taking advantage of Microsofts Advertising solution for mobile developers .

Along with our well-watched interview with Sir Martin Sorrell , we captured other delightful digital insight from a number of industry luminaries at CES 2012. In this clip we talked to Curt Hecht from VivaKi , who gives his thoughts on how his teams approach advertising with Microsoft and what they'll be looking to capitalise on in 2012. Adore his comment on advertisers loving "sight, sound and motion"! Watch on and let us know your thoughts! More soon''.

The iPad app follows hot on the heels of MSN's first Xbox app , released last December. What's in the MSN app? The MSN app for iPad presents the same exclusive and original content as found on the new-look MSN UK . Its easy to find what you want with stories being split into six main channels: News, Sport, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Cars and Video. You'll also find our pick of the day's best features' in Editor's Picks.

UK Finance Trends and Digital Opportunities With consumer confidence remaining at all-time lows, and negative perceptions of the high street banks, )45%* feel banks have lost touch with their customers( finance brands in the UK are under increasing pressure to rebuild relationships with the public. Although times are hard,

In our latest AdVision installment, we talk to Maria Luisa Francoli, Global CEO of MPG about the importance of storytelling for brands and connecting with consumers across platforms. As a longtime Microsoft Advertising partner, Maria Luisa finds value with the relationship as Microsoft has been valuable in terms of developing new ideas, sharing new experience and delivering value to our clients.

Since launching at the beginning of last November weve had a fantastic response to our new campaign for Hyundai Motor Co., the New Thinkers Index . Its a multi-screen, multi-market campaign that lets consumers discover and share how new thinkers are shaping the future by taking a fun, online interactive test, before sharing and comparing their results with family, friends and celebrities.

In another world several years and several media plans ago, I was in advertising sales. I began my stint working at my college newspaper )remember those?( entering hand-written insertion orders and frantically leafing through the daily edition to see that my clients investment appeared in print as beautifully as I imagined when I sold the space. Graduation came and went and so began my collection of media sales adventures. Online display? Check. Search? Of course. Radio?

Heading in to CES 2012 a topic of particular interest to the Consumer Electronic and Digital Industries is the rise of tablets and how they fit into the device ecosystem. From a publisher and marketers perspective should we treat tablets as smartphones, given they both share an app-centric engagement model? These questions and more are being tackled at the SmartPhone and Tablet Conference - Digital Hollywood CES where I was fortunate enough to attend the panel,

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 timing of the Consumer Electronics Show in early January always makes it a perfect place to reflect on the past year and consider whats to come. As I read and listen to all the news from this years show , it reminds me just how much the Xbox platform and audience have grown. When we launched Xbox LIVE in 2001, it was about making history in the world of gaming, now Xbox is an entertainment platform.

What does science fiction have to do with the evolution of media consumption? In this week's AdVision, we discuss how our hunger for multi-screen media consumption is transforming the way we digest our world. Brian Monahan EVP, Managing Partner, IPG Emerging Media Lab sat down with us during Advertising Week 2011 to discuss the media evolution and companion devices.

Its that time of year again, when thousands of technology aficionados descend on Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics show which starts on Monday. 2012 maybe the last year Microsoft has a booth and delivers a keynote speech, but as Frank Shaw said in December , this wont be the last time you see any of us on the ground meeting customers, making connections and marvelling at the rapid acceleration of technology and innovation in the consumer space.

As the year draws to a close, I always make sure I take some time to reflect usually on a plane or train travelling from one city to another on Microsofts achievements both globally and here in Europe. This year, following Frank Hollands post a couple of weeks ago , I thought Id put pen to paper and share my thoughts on 2011 on the Microsoft Advertising blog with our great community of contributors and followers.

The open road means so much, to so many. To me, the thought of it brings back nostalgic memories of cross country trips with my family, road trips with friends to see bands play, and summer camping trips in our national parks. Chevrolet wanted people worldwide to celebrate and share experiences like these through its Chevrolet Route 66 global filmmaker contest. In June of this year,