MEDIA-I: Microsoft campaign to win over agencies

<p>HONG KONG: Microsoft is repositioning its MSN portal as an </p><p>integrated marketing solutions provider and will launch a major </p><p>advertising campaign targeting advertisers and ad agencies in Asia in </p><p>mid-October. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The move is part of the company's global US$100 million </p><p>initiative to build up an advertising revenue stream for its portal. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MSN has allocated US$30 million for Europe, Africa and the Middle </p><p>East markets. However, a budget has not been confirmed for Asia, </p><p>according to MSN director of marketing and PR, Rose Leng. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Leng said the company would launch its Asia Advantage marketing campaign </p><p>in Hong Kong on October 18. "We haven't quite set a budget for Asia, but </p><p>there will be a series of trade marketing campaigns targeting both </p><p>agencies and advertisers. We are trying to position ourselves as an </p><p>integrated marketing solutions provider, not just offer banner ads." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MSN has invested US$250 million over the past year-and-a-half to </p><p>promote and build its portal internationally. A report by NetValue </p><p>ranked MSN third in terms of audience reach in Hong Kong in August. In </p><p>that same month, it placed second in Singapore, 10th in Taiwan and 11th </p><p>in Korea. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Microsoft's new positioning comes in the wake of a slumping global </p><p>economy and a downturn in online advertising. But industry analysts were </p><p>optimistic on the change, saying the new positioning would underline the </p><p>portal's commitment to online media. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The new positioning is also likely to put MSN in direct competition with </p><p>online agencies such as DoubleClick. The portal has added a new </p><p>ad-targeting product, along the lines of DoubleClick's Dart, and has </p><p>expanded its advertising formats to include full-page ads, which appear </p><p>for a few seconds while a web page is being downloaded. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ACNielsen eRatings.com managing director, North Asia, Hugh Bloch, said: </p><p>"It seems as though MSN may be setting itself up to compete more </p><p>directly with the ad networks such as Mezzo, DoubleClick, Real Media and </p><p>the like. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Obviously, Microsoft's big benefit is its ownership and control of one </p><p>of the leading global and regional websites and its branding clout. A </p><p>disadvantage would be its ability to cross the web, to reach those </p><p>consumers who don't use Microsoft; perhaps they have this covered in </p><p>some way." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>MSN is also offering a "scratch-off ad" format, which works like a </p><p>lottery ticket - the message is revealed when the user moves a cursor </p><p>along the banner ad. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As part of an ad agency relationship building initative, Advertising </p><p>Advantage, MSN will offer advertisers tools for research and tracking </p><p>ads, and the ability to update ads in real time. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The portal is also launching an Agency Alliance Programme, offering </p><p>agencies incentives when clients run schedules on MSN. The idea behind </p><p>the programme is to help the portal build relationships with agencies </p><p>and advertisers in order to drive recurring revenue as the online ad </p><p>slump worsens. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>