Microsoft is looking for the right path to the hearts of Internet users. As traditional forms of media indicate an increasing tendency to shift to the web, the general trend is for global investment in online media, as well as digital marketing to follow. With content becoming digitized and transitioning online, users also focus more on Internet materials, more so since they can enjoy extraordinary flexibility, having a multi-media, multi-purpose and multi-device infrastructure at their disposal. Such a scenario raises new changeless for advertisers to serve ads to users. And although it lags behind Google when it comes down to online advertising, Microsoft is hammering away at its strategy to reach, engage and persuade Internet target audiences.

The videos embedded at the bottom of this article come to prove that the context in which Internet advertisements are served is a crucial factor, on top of other relevant aspects that will influence the success of an online marketing campaign. Just because the eyeballs are there, doesn't mean that a flood of ads will achieve its purpose. In order to get an insight into the connection between Internet users and advertising, Microsoft has teamed up with MEC Interaction. Now, the Redmond company is even offering a .PDF report titled "Context Matters" as an example of how to bridge users with ads, courtesy of Mel Carson with the Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions (MDAS).

"Identifying the 'online occasions' as being entertainment, creation, communication, transaction, information and general surfing, the research shows the different ways in which we are willing to accept 'pull' mechanisms, or advertising where we may be asked to interact with it, or 'push' messaging, where we're too busy to connect but are susceptible to the branding effect. There's a load of info in the report about what percentage of time people are multi-tasking, home versus work, week versus weekend, and some specific quotes and case studies. There are even stats on what mood people are more likely to be in at various times of the day, and how focused they are likely to be while performing certain actions during these occasions", Carson revealed.

According to Carson, citing the results from the MEC Interaction study, an online advertising campaign could be influenced by a plethora of factors from time to place, and to the mood and motivation of the users. Ultimately, the context is definitive when in regard to the impact of the advertising message. "Now the concept of 'context' in planning your marketing strategy is not a new one, however no one has done as an indepth study of how consumers behave online across the ever-expanding, multi-channel opportunity that we have through the Internet", Carson added.


Video: Microsoft - Context matters


Video: Microsoft- context matters


Video: Microsoft - context matters