Microsoft is shopping its digital ad agency Razorfish around to five major ad agency players, says Monday's Wall Street Journal.
The company hopes to strike a deal for Razorfish that would entice the right agency to use Microsoft's advertising technologies and buy ad space on Bing and other properties, according to the Journal. The move is seen as part of Microsoft's growing battle with Google and other Web sites for precious online ad dollars.
Citing executives familiar with the situation, the Journal said that top ad firms WPP, Omnicom Group, and Publicis Groupe have all expressed interest in Razorfish, while talks have also been held between Microsoft and agencies Interpublic Group and Dentsu.
Under the possible deal, the agency that wins Razorfish would agree to use Microsoft's digital ad services or buy space on search engine Bing, other Microsoft Web sites, and even on the Zune music player and Xbox game console.
Talks are likely to be delicate, says the Journal, since ad agencies don't want to appear too cozy with Microsoft as that might upset their role as neutral third parties. The winner could easily run into trouble trying to decide which search engine on which to buy ad space.
The cost for Razorfish may vary widely, says the Journal, from as low as $400 million to as high as hundreds of millions of dollars more, depending on the technology and ad-buying commitments.
The Journal also cited executives at two smaller ad agencies who said they contacted Microsoft about buying Razorfish but were rebuffed. According to them, Microsoft isn't looking to sell Razorfish to the highest bidder but rather to an agency with major industry clout and one that can spend big bucks on online ads.
Microsoft got custody of Razorfish in 2007 when it purchased Aquantive, which owned the agency then known as Avenue A Razorfish.
Since then, Razorfish, which employs 2,000 staffers and brought in about $400 million in sales last year, has acted both as a traditional ad agency and as Microsoft's arm. Razorfish has designed ad campaigns for such companies as Best Buy, Mercedes-Benz USA, and Mattel. The agency also created the logo and associated online ads for Bing.
T3's rendering of a Zune-Xbox portable gaming console.
(Credit: T3.com)The Zune rumor mill has been churning for a while, with leaks of an alleged ZuneHD and maybe even a Zune smartphone. The latest rumor gathering steam is sort a riff on previous rumors: Microsoft is developing a portable digital entertainment device that bridges the gap between the Zune and the Xbox 360.
Team Xbox, which ran a story back in January with a similar theme, is the site behind the gaming Zune rumor. Team Xbox's anonymous source had some juicy tidbits to throw out, saying the Microsoft handheld, which has been dubbed the xYz, will be "unlike anything on the market today" and that we should think in terms of a mashup between the Sony Mylo, the PSP, and the iPod Touch. The source, Team Xbox says, wanted to make clear that device "lacks access to a phone network."
The article goes on to note that the graphical interface found in the New Xbox Experience will make its way onto the handheld. "Buy a song, a movie, or a TV show on your Xbox, play the content later on the handheld or the other way around," the source said. "Play an Xbox Live Arcade game either on your Xbox or in this handheld." Sony's been trying to move toward a similar relationship between the PS3 and PSP but it remains a work in progress.
So, is the rumor legit? Will we see a new portable entertainment system from Microsoft this year?
We're willing to buy into this one--to a degree. Our second-hand sources confirm that the Team Xbox post is basically on the money and that Microsoft is indeed prepping a device that's designed to compete with the iPod Touch, not the iPhone. As we said, we've been hearing bits and pieces of this rumor before. For instance, some alleged ZuneHD specs that were circulating earlier referred to "3D gaming" capabilities for the device. So it makes sense that the Zune HD--or Zune xYz--will have some tie in to Xbox Live Arcade games. And hopefully, Microsoft will having something to say about it at E3 next month.
What do you guys think? If true, is this a PSP, iPod Touch, and Nintendo DSi killer all rolled into one device?
As it has in years past, Microsoft is meeting this week with some of its hardcore enthusiasts--the Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) that serve in many ways as unpaid ambassadors for the company's products.
This year, though, the gathering with tech enthusiasts is completely closed to reporters and is also covered by nondisclosure agreements (NDA). However, that hasn't stopped the chatter, particularly because of the heavy use of Twitter to discuss the event. (For the latest discussion, simply click on this link.)
There are dozens of postings every few minutes, ranging from talk about meals and the weather to teases about what's being discussed and even some direct discussion of the content itself.
This post is an example of the tease variety from Twitter user JuanKaram. "Wooooooooooow!!!!!! Nda sorry... WOOOOOOOWWWWW!!!!"
And there are some twitter postings that I'd rather not hear about, such as "MS Toilet: Up flush for #1 down flush for #2. Seems like a lot of thought. :-) needs automation #mvp09."
But there are also some interesting tidbits that I will be digging around for more dirt on.
Some of the postings are admonitions to other Twitterers to stop violating their NDAs. And still other posters simply want to get a better understanding of what they are and aren't allowed to talk about, given that some of the stuff being discussed is already public.
The end result is that what is made public is a collection of tidbits that's kind of like being at the event itself when you can't hear half of what was being said and can only see via a strobe light that flashed every few seconds.
For its part, Microsoft said it decided to make the MVP event off-the-record and not allow reporters "to enhance the opportunity for direct dialogue" with the MVPs. The company did post some information about the event on its Web site.
As for the NDA, Silverlight head Scott Guthrie had this to say about Microsoft's enforcement powers. "There's a little red light that we're going to ask you to look at as you leave." (And of course, that quote itself is courtesy of one Twitter poster.
Even if Microsoft did steal the mind-zapping wand from the Men in Black boys, it may be too late, thanks to the real-time powers of Twitter.
The MVP summit hasn't always been completely behind closed doors, notes TechFlash's Todd Bishop who attended last year's keynote by CEO Steve Ballmer. (Ballmer's speech this year--scheduled for Wednesday--is slated to be closed to reporters.)
I'll be keeping a close eye on the Twitter posts, but if someone sees something good I should follow up on, please let me know.
Well, it's official, Microsoft and Yahoo have come to an agreement.
On lunch.
As first noted by Valleywag, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock had lunch together this week in New York. The New York Times has a lengthy piece up now as well, confirming the meeting, but offering no clue as to what happened beyond, presumably, caloric consumption.
In any case, it's the second high-level contact this week, given that incoming Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz told employees that she, too, had talked with Ballmer.
Microsoft has made it clear in every way imaginable that it would like to do a search deal, but it remains less clear whether Yahoo is willing to take the relationship beyond the "lunch date" stage.
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