Microsoft NUads
Joe Koszulinski, Mindshare
BackgroundMicrosoft Advertising recently announced their new global advertising platform, Natural User Interface ads (NUads), offering supposedly unparalleled levels of user interactivity with ads. The new platform based on Microsoft‟s Xbox and Kinect systems enables advertisers to target users through interactive features in their ads such as gesture and voice control..
Details
The new advertising platform utilises existing video advertising accessible on the Xbox dashboard/home-screen and pre-rolls on certain video sharing partners. The new features for users to interact with the ads, prompted by on screen instructions, include:
- Speak to Tweet – Enables users to share the ad/content through their Twitter profiles with an utterance of a couple of words and the wave of a hand.
- Speak to receive more info – Enables the user to, with a swipe of their hand, send a more detailed email direct to their inbox with more details of the campaign, this opens straight up on the screen.
- Location Finder – Enables users to find their closest dealer/store/place to spend their money on the product in the ad.
- Gesture interactions – Users are able to interact with ads in a number of ways, such as waving to bring up and enter a poll/ visit a company‟s Facebook profile/upload a photo etc.
- Reminder Setting – Enables users to send reminders directly to their phone for TV shows and other content.
Implications / What does this mean for us? Microsoft are looking at maximising the potential of their hugely successful Kinect device so that users can interact with brands in an entirely new way in the comfort of their living rooms.
The NUads platform will inevitably encourage users to interact with content on a more engaging level and give them options to share/get further info on brands. The platform also opens the door for advertisers to be far more creative with video content and gives them a tool to drive users towards specific actions.
The new platform is likely to run on a cost per view/engagement model and will interact with Microsoft‟s current and future mobile and desktop platforms. Finally the tracking and targeting opportunities via registered Xbox Live profiles will help to ensure that the right content is delivered to the right audience at the right time.
Summary With NUads Microsoft are attempting to avoid the traditional „one-way‟ mechanic of traditional video advertising and enabling users to interact with brands and advertising in new ways. Features such as “Xbox Near Me” gives advertisers a valuable tool to get users from a digital to a physical location and “Xbox Tweet” creates new social opportunities and facilitates the easy sharing of branded content.
Check out the full video announcement from Microsoft Advertising here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RSk5DhxQHLo#at=23Download
Microsoft NUads (pdf 58.2 Kb)