by Robert van Alstyne
WHAT’S HAPPENING
- The next generation of advertising promises to be highly interactive, if Microsoft has any say in the matter. The company’s forthcoming NUads for the Xbox 360 leverage the motion-and-sound-sensing power of the Kinect accessory.
- Short for natural-user interface ads, NUads can be directly engaged with via a series of succinct voice commands. Consumers can share ads on their social networks (by uttering the phrase “Xbox Tweet”), get local retailer maps sent directly their phone (say, “Xbox Near Me”) or procure additional product details (“Xbox More”). Users will also be able to wave at the screen to vote on topic prompts selected by advertisers.
- The new advertising features are currently set to start surfacing on Xbox 360 consoles in the spring of 2012.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
- Advertising has long been a frustratingly passive medium, particularly for Millennials reared in an otherwise highly interactive media world. By allowing those consumers to spontaneously dive deeper into brands, NUads will feel refreshingly in-step.
RESOURCES
