It’s that time of the year again – we’re wrapping up 2019 and getting ready to welcome in 2020! That means it’s the perfect time to take a look back at some of our most popular blogs of the past year – from a farewell to Digital Prophet David Shing, to five marketing lessons from Liam Gallagher and the rise of experiential shopping, also known as ‘retailtainment’. We’ve delved into some of the biggest trends, insights, developments and announcements of the past 12 months, so check out our greatest hits on the Microsoft Advertising UK blog for 2019.
The digital prophet has left the building
When news broke in August that Digital Prophet David Shing was leaving Verizon Media after 12 successful years, it certainly marked the end of an era. Since first bursting into popular culture during an unforgettable MSNBC appearance, Shingy established an untouchable personal brand with his unique job title, controversial antics and outrageous fashion sense. In this blog, we take a look back at one of the brightest minds in advertising and his impact on the industry.
Five marketing lessons from the genius that is Liam Gallagher
Is Liam Gallagher a musical genius? Depends who you ask. But one thing is for sure – the man’s got marketing smarts. Having taken complete control of his own brand and having changed the direction of his narrative and creative expression, I would argue that Gallagher’s latest album serves as the perfect example of how modern marketing works best when it’s a balancing act between the old and the new.
5 pieces of brand inspiration from the greatest music designer of all time
Having designed some of Oasis’ most iconic album art, music designer Brian Cannon shared his provocative view of what brand marketing and design means today during a special keynote presentation at Microsoft’s London office. We sum up the five key pieces of brand inspiration from Cannon’s talk, including his insights on the power of creativity and the elements that drive a real connection between successful brands and their most important audiences.
‘Retailtainment’: Welcome to the future of shopping
As the retail industry undergoes a dramatic transformation — one which fuses shopping and entertainment under one roof — the focus is shifting to providing a fun, immersive and highly-personalised customer-first experience dubbed ‘retailtainment’. We take a look at how this new trend is a direct result of Millennial shopping habits and a new breed of shoppers who no longer merely look to purchase products, but expect an all-round unique and memorable in-store experience.
Alan Turing: 'Are you paying attention?'
Light-years ahead of his time, in 1950 Alan Turing was already asking the big questions like ‘Can machines think?’. Now widely considered as the father of ‘modern computing’, Turing believed that the computer could be considered a ‘thinking machine’ and created essential concepts in modern computing that have included key developments in artificial intelligence. In this blog, we take a look at one of the most underrated visionaries in the technology industry.
Microsoft acquires PromoteIQ
Last August saw Microsoft acquire PromoteIQ, the leading provider of vendor marketing technology to online retailers and brands, making the announcement an important step in the journey to innovate and accelerate our offerings. Rik van der Kooi explains in this post how PromoteIQ’s technology strategically complements Microsoft’s current retail advertising offerings, and how, together, we can enable retailers with a portfolio of technology solutions to modernise their e-commerce platforms and maximize their monetisation opportunity.
Audience targeting solutions
Search advertising used to be solely focused on keyword queries, but these days that isn’t enough to reach people who are ready to buy. In this post, Steve Sirich explores how Microsoft Advertising can take you a step further towards reaching the right people in the right way, thanks to new audience targeting solutions that combine secure customer data with new Microsoft technology to pinpoint your ideal customers when they’re ready to buy.
Staycations: Threat to leisure travel abroad?
The growing domestic tourism market in the UK is posing increasing challenges to leisure travel abroad. Sarah Essa explores the latest research from Microsoft Advertising in this blog post, highlighting the greater popularity of domestic holidays compared to leisure travel abroad, as well as offering new insight into online purchase journeys of leisure travel consumers and their destination preferences.
Learning from the Leaders: A blueprint for modern marketing success
Is there a blueprint for the successful application of data and AI in improving customer experience? We take a look at recent Microsoft Advertising research, showing that there is a growing gap between the 20% of businesses that have successfully managed to achieve a high
Customer Experience Quotient (CXQ) and the 80% that are in danger of getting left behind. This blog looks at the traits of the High Performers to identify a blueprint for marketing success.
DMEXCO 2019 Trusted Partnership Interview Series: Performics US
As part of the Trusted Partnership Interview Series recorded at DMEXCO 2019, keynote speaker and author Jon Burkhart spoke to Burcu Agma from Performics US about how to earn customer trust and, more importantly, how to keep it. As the first episode of a total of seven, this blog post features a video of the full Performics interview as it happened live on the Microsoft Stage in Cologne, Germany last September.
