Microsoft exec touts Windows Phone 7 as 'ad-serving machine'

Microsoft's forthcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system will transform the software giant's mobile platform into "an ad-serving machine," according to an executive. Speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Microsoft general manager for strategy and business development Kostas Mallios said Windows Phone 7 applications will enable advertisers to push offers and news directly to handsets across a new marketing platform dubbed Toast, adding that even when a given app is inactive, a small ad box can slide down from the top of the device screen to notify the user of a new promotion. Users can opt in or out of the Toast platform, Mallios said.

"(Windows Phone 7 is) an extra move on our (natural user interface). We're trying to get technology out of the way of people," Mallios explained. "For consumers, what this means is basically seamless experiences, seamless social connectivity--not just about applications, obviously about the phone, obviously about media... It basically enables advertisers to connect with consumers over time."

Microsoft unveiled Windows Phone 7 in mid-February--the OS, scheduled to ship later this year, features dynamically updated "live tiles" on the Start screen, showing real-time content directly--users can also create their own tiles for their personal contacts and social networking friends. Mallios said advertisers can leverage the tiles to deliver promotions directly to users' homescreens: "What you'll see is that there's actually a message on that tile," he explained during a demonstration. "So that tile is actually a dynamic tile that you're now able to push information to as an advertiser, and stay in touch with your customer. It's a dynamic relationship that is created and provides for an ongoing dialog with the consumer."

For more on Toast:
- read this Seattle Post-Intelligencer article

Related articles:
Microsoft paying devs to port iPhone games to Windows Phone?
Windows Phone 7 to offer both Silverlight and XNA development
Zune, Xbox Live integration bolster Windows Phone 7