Were now just 8 weeks away from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity , and were gearing up to travel to the south of France to hear the latest from advertising industry thought leaders and cheer on the winners of the awards. As weve done in previous years, Microsoft Advertising will be there sponsoring the event, speaking on the main stage,

The media network has taken a battering of late, but whats new. Since their inception networks have had the finger pointed at them for their cowboy tactics, high margins, cookie bombing, dogey inventory youve read the stories. Now its the advent of new technologies and trading models; Agency Trading Desks, Data Management Platforms )DMPs(, Demand Side Platforms )DSPs(, Exchanges & Supply Side Platforms )SSPs( that are set to undermine the network business.

Spring is here, the sun is out )for a while at least( and summer is fast approaching. The Royal Wedding is just around the corner and thousands are counting down the days to the extra bank holiday. Whilst the majority of the UK enjoys staying in the country, many will enjoy taking the opportunity to travel and Im off to Las Vegas! With Las Vegas firmly in my mind, I thought it would be a great time to provide some insight into the world of Online Gambling.

The media network has taken a battering of late, but whats new. Since their inception networks have had the finger pointed at them for their cowboy tactics, high margins, cookie bombing, dogey inventory youve read the stories. Now its the advent of new technologies and trading models; Agency Trading Desks, Data Management Platforms )DMPs(, Demand Side Platforms )DSPs(, Exchanges & Supply Side Platforms )SSPs( that are set to undermine the network business.

The internet's growth has accelerated over recent years, driven by developments in technology and people's appetite for absorbing and sharing information and entertainment. The vast increases in available content, speed and online touch points mean there is more change than ever for advertisers to keep up to speed with. What drives people online? How does it vary across different markets, and at different times of the day? How does marketing fit in the experience?

Digital advertising offers a rich environment for advertisers to direct relevant content towards consumers through the many data and technology driven targeting capabilities available. For a marketer this is digitals biggest differentiator; the ability to precisely target the right message to the right user at the right time based on that users online behavior and profile.

Yesterday M&M Global published an article I wrote entitled Dont Miss the Target Online about the growing importance of online targeting as the global media landscape becomes ever more complex and fragmented. In the article, I compared an offline example of how the changing demographics of an area could impact billboards in the vicinity, with a similar challenge facing digital advertisers. However, despite the similarities,

Do you have a creative edge and the ambition to move beyond traditional marketing? If so, our new Brand Building in the Digital Landscape series has been designed for you. The full panel discussion is now available for instant viewing or you can check out the below excerpts! Rich media opportunities featured in this short, colorful sizzle reel. Jennifer Creegan - General Manager of Brand Advertising at Microsoft Advertising - discusses consumer usage patterns,

Our team in Asia will be attending ad:tech New Delhi later this month, for what looks set to be a colourful and creative marketing conference at the Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon. Well be showcasing all our latest technology and advertising opportunities at the Microsoft Advertising Experience Centre This year the booth will include some interactive elements like Kinect for Xbox 360 and the very popular Digital Quotient Quiz,

Microsoft Advertising Nominated for Festival of Media Awards One of the things were always keen to talk about here at Microsoft Advertising is the spirit of partnership we have with our clients. So we were particularly pleased recently to be nominated in the Best contribution to a campaign by a media owner category in the upcoming Festival of Media Awards for two of our campaigns for Ford and HP. But what made these so special?

For more videos, photos, blog posts and all our coverage from the conference, visit our Imagine 2011 Microsite Enjoy,

Following the conversations we have with our partners and clients, we know that the wealth of online social media and communication channels can be tricky terrain for advertisers to navigate, particularly when trying to measure the types of brand conversations taking place and how and when they impact the consumers buying decision. Consequently, asking ourselves questions like Where do consumers discuss the brands they are interested in or thinking of buying?

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,

Big Hollywood names and long-time storytellers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard took the stage at Imagine 2011 with Microsofts Stephen Kim, GM Global Creative Solutions. Grazer and Howard are the Academy Award-winning filmmakers and founders of Imagine Entertainment, which has given us TV programs like 24 and movies like A Beautiful Mind. They discussed their partnership and how they play off of their strengths.

Jaron Lanier, Partner Architect in Microsoft's eXtreme Computing group, blew the audience at Imagine 2011 away just now with a 25 minute talk on how  Microsoft is evolving technology like Kinect  for medical and educational uses. This interview encapsulates what he talked about on stage - we'll post the actual talk on our Imagine 2011 microsite very soon. My take away was how Jaron's work is attempting to create a future for humanity full of wonder,

Brand magic. Two strong examples from Levi and FedEx demonstrated this. The FedEx site, www.experience.fedex.com , marries real world data with a visual representation of the globe; allowing users to visually see data from many different pivot points such as money vs happiness or population densities. The Levi Company was interested in getting back to its roots. It was attracted to a town, Braddock, PA; once vibrant industrial town,

Recently, a fundamental shift and rebalance in the global economy has taken place bringing new opportunities for brands and different ways of working )new models and new working styles( to life. India has the fastest growing ad spend predicted in CY11-12 at 18.5%, China following with 12.5%, and Brazil and Russia just behind them with 11% )source: WARC International ad spend forecast March 11( . But what does this mean for advertisers? What is the significance?

Qi Lu, President of Microsofts Online Services Division, spoke about the continued evolution of the web, and explained how Microsoft is helping its customers gain access to new features, tools, and experiences. The ubiquitous nature of smartphones and the increasing breadth and depth of services living in the cloud has giving the world a new landscape for building and interacting rich experiences.

Jeffrey Cole, Director, Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future , has spent the last 11 years tracking TV usage. In the next three to four years Cole believes that screen time will rise from 30 hours per week to 50 hours per week. We have seen recent examples of explosions in screen time with this years Super Bowl finally surpassing the viewership on the final episode of MASH in 1983.

T-Mobile came to Microsoft Advertising with a brand challenge: help them create a digital campaign that showcased the powerful new 4G network capabilities and give its fans entertainment anywhere, on the go. For T-Mobiles Live Rising promotion the Microsoft Advertising team created a customized, multi-screen campaign that is a celebration of new music and technology and being able to enjoy both socially. At the core of the experience are three live concerts,