Microsoft adCenter Labs Showcases Digital Advertising Breakthroughs at Third Annual Demo Fest

REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 16, 2007 — Microsoft Corp. will offer a glimpse at the future of online advertising this week at its third annual Demo Fest, a two-day gathering on Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., campus. Wednesday’s event will spotlight breakthrough digital advertising tools by Microsoft® adCenter Labs (http://adlab.msn.com), the innovation engine for the Microsoft adCenter platform. The tools showcased at Demo Fest will come from a portfolio of nearly 60 technologies at various stages of development and represent Microsoft adCenter Labs’ seven new focus areas: keyword and content technologies, ad selection and relevance, audience intelligence, social networking, video, platforms, and devices.

“The technologies showcased at Demo Fest will help create unprecedented opportunity for developers and search engine marketers like the Keyword Services Platform,” said Tarek Najm, distinguished engineer and general manager of Microsoft adCenter at Microsoft. “KSP is a service that provides a framework for researchers to plug in advanced algorithms in the form of building blocks to be consumed by developers for building sophisticated advertiser applications.”

Developed by the rapidly growing team of more than 120 Microsoft adCenter Labs researchers and engineers, technologies displayed Wednesday are all designed to help provide the best advertising experiences for users, advertisers and developers. They include the following:

  • Keyword Services Platform. The platform provides a set of Web service APIs related to keyword technologies, including keyword recommendation, forecasting, categorization and monetization, enabling developers to build more intelligent applications for online advertising and beyond.

  • Commercial intent detection. Advanced keyword analysis helps differentiate consumers who are looking to make an online purchase from those who are searching for information about products or performing other tasks.

  • Large display feedback. Vision-based technology creates interactive public displays that can measure the size of the audience, as well as track audience gestures and estimate demographics.

  • Social video sharing. This next-generation video sharing solution features a synchronized “commenting” technology. The introduction of novel in-video, synchronized comments enables a new level of interaction between users, opening up the video as a medium for collaboration.

  • Content classification: By accurately analyzing and matching the Web pages included in search results, Microsoft adCenter Labs technology helps increase the probability that the ads displayed during Web searches are relevant to consumers.

“Microsoft adLabs research tools show marketers how consumers behave online,” said Aaron Goldman, director of client strategy and development for Resolution Media. “This kind of critical insight is what our industry has sought for years in order to market brands holistically online.”

A complete list and explanations of the technologies showcased at this year’s Demo Fest can be found in the Microsoft adCenter Labs Advanced Tools fact sheet.

adCenter Labs’ Video Hyperlink Technology to Debut Ahead of Schedule

This spring, Microsoft adCenter Labs will join forces with a national retailer to bring the first Video Hyperlink ad pilot to MSN®. The ad will feature a video segment with embedded hyperlinks for featured products. Consumers who click on the products will be taken to the retailer’s Web page, where they can purchase the item.

“Video Hyperlink technology is a milestone for Microsoft adCenter Labs and symbolizes our promise to innovate and advance the entire industry to new levels,” Najm said. “At last year’s Demo Fest we said that this technology would take us three to five years to get to market, but due to overwhelming community feedback we’ve been able to release it in just one year.”

About MSN and Windows Live

MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live™, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary services. Some Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov. 1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com. Windows Live is available at http://www.live.com. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.

About Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions

Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions encompasses a robust set of global advertising products and services designed to effectively connect advertisers with their target audiences across multiple digital lifestyle touch points. Advertisers can actively engage with a global audience of more than 465 million unique users per month across the MSN network, as well as millions more consumers through Windows Live, Xbox Live®, Microsoft Office Online and Live Search. More information about Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions is available at http://advertising.microsoft.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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