Wednesday, May 21,2008 @ 12:00am
Microsoft pitches Zune-based ad service
Microsoft on Thursday revealed its plans for an advertising network built into its Zune media players, offering advertisers a direct line to consumers through the device. Yahoo writes that the company demonstrated the concept using a phony Doritos mockup. In the example, a user could befriend a musician through the Zune social page on a Doritos’ sponsored concert to view news and updates on the artist’s profile.
Once added to the friends list, users could also email the profile to friends, as well as downloading selected tracks from the website for playback on the Zune. When the recipient receives the email through Microsoft’s Hotmail service through their mobile phone, a brief ad will trigger, followed by a short game similar to Asteroids.
Provided the user does well at the game, they earn a coupon for a free bag of Doritos chips, with map directions to nearby stores that sell the chips.
While the program is currently in planning stages, requiring solid back-end infrastructure, Microsoft stresses that this isn’t “something that is far in the future”, that it is possible with current technology.