Microsoft’s Alternate Digital Reality

Domenic Venuto

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 I stepped into an alternate marketing reality on a recent Monday night. I was surrounded by fantasy and magic in a fourth-floor loft on the West Side of Manhattan. The bigger surprise, beyond the environment I was agape at, was that it was a Microsoft event—an open house to share their newest and shiniest home and office products.

The event was an unexpected reminder that the platforms available to us as marketers are not only continuing to expand, but will increasingly be fused with technological delivery.

It was clear that Microsoft has learned a few marketing tricks over the last few years. There was an impressive group of products presented in a cloud-like space, carefully chosen to be chic, intriguing and just enough out of the way as to be interesting. It also helped that you were lifted up into Microsoft’s new future by a massive open-structured elevator rising directly up from the wet streets of Manhattan. Another first—the Microsoft sales suits typically at these events were notably absent. Instead, the place was buzzing with large numbers of media agency twentysomethings all enthusiastically interacting with the new technology.

Apart from Windows Phone 7, launched that morning, it seemed that the other main draw was Kinect for Xbox 360. Both products are surprisingly un-Microsoft in that they are a perfect fit of form and function, beautifully executed in a slick user experience that we are used to seeing Apple deliver. With that said, it's worth noting that both products have been in development for some time now. While Microsoft still finds itself copying features from rivals (e.g. Google’s Android and Nintendo’s Wii) its implementation this time around is smoother and more polished.

The Windows Phone 7, for example, employs an up/down and left/right navigation structure, with a satisfying animation sequence to the “tiles” on the home screen. The tiles themselves are not only links to applications but can also be live friend feeds, so that an update that friend makes on Twitter or Facebook is pushed to the tile in real time. Say your husband posts a Facebook status update about grabbing a beer after work. That post will be pushed directly to his tile on your phone’s home screen. There’s no need to open an app or slide to a new screen. Now think about that tile as belonging to an advertiser, pulling in real-time updates and tweets directly to the home screen of the mobile device.

Another nice design touch was a graphic overlay that allows menus and tiles to float over background images, giving the interaction a quality of depth that was pleasing to engage with. After playing with the phone for a few more minutes, I had to ask myself, “Was this really a Microsoft product?” “Was it truly a production-ready device?” It certainly was, and will be shipping on Nov. 8.

Walking away from the Windows Phone 7 impressed, I found myself standing in front of Kinect for xBox. Kinect, the commercial realization of Microsoft’s Project Natal, is truly magical. Instead of using traditional game controllers to control action on the television screen, Kinect uses your hands arms, legs, elbows, knees and entire body as the controlling device. When I jumped in front of the TV, my on-screen avatar jumped. When I waved my hand in the air, my avatar waved its hand. When I turned around, my on-screen me turned around. It was a surreal experience.

The guy in the Kinect booth next to me was shadow boxing. He was trying to hit and kick cubes floating on the TV in front of him in order to smash them to pieces. Next to him were three women dancing in sync, and perfectly choreographed. They were following on-screen instructions and watching their avatars mimic each movement while teaching them new dance moves.

After I got the feel of the interaction, I started playing with Kinectimals. It's a game clearly targeted at young kids, but a wonder for adults as well, if the people at Monday’s event were anything to judge by. Kinectimals is a jungle environment filled with exotic wild cubs you befriend and build relationships with touch, play and voice.

I could reach my hands out and pet my cub, a lifelike animated baby tiger with a personality. My cub responded to my in-air hand movements. My hand strokes in the air caused her to purr and nuzzle. More stroking and she would lie down and roll over. It was as cute as can be, with amazingly real gestures and responses.

Since Kinect also senses distance and voice, your cub learns who you are and builds a relationship with you. If I moved away from the screen she came closer, trying to see where I was going, her breathe misting the inside of the television screen. She looked a little sad and had an expression that beckoned me to stay and play longer. I felt a pang of guilt as I stepped away.

With this type of physical, three-dimensional intelligence, the marketing applications for Kinect are limitless. Think about sports games that might recognize the logo on the shirt you are wearing to unlock additional sponsored content. Or merchandising tie-ins where physical items bought in stores and recognized by the game are used to enrich the virtual interactions. Just as we begin to understand the content and interaction possibilities of the iPad, we now have to master some new inventions.

As we left the event through the humdrum use of stairs, the event coordinators were power-washing the sidewalk, reminding us not to step in the doggy-doo that had soiled the entrance—a prosaic reminder to keep looking forward.

Minsider columnist Domenic Venuto is global managing director, media solutions, VivaKi.

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