Microsoft is promising to showcase one of its most exciting technologies, and offer HoloLens Demos during the Cannes advertising festival this week. The company says it is looking to give its clients and colleagues a teaser of its augmented reality technology effort. Many ad buyers do not want to miss the chance to witness the impressive technology from the software giant, says a report from the Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft refocuses on ads with HoloLens
Microsoft is expecting that HoloLens will lure in advertisers again after losing them gradually over the last couple of years. The company has failed to earn revenue from advertising for very long. Last year, the software company raised doubts over its commitment towards the ad business by shuttering Xbox Entertainment Studio.
In its invite to select marketers for the HoloLens themed event, Microsoft mentioned, “Even with a full schedule, you don’t want to miss this.” Executives at the tech software company believe that their product will take advertisers by surprise. Ad buyers noted that the Redmond, Washington-based company is expecting $10 million to $12 million commitments for brands to create virtual versions of their product for HoloLens.
Another group of marketers suggest that the prices have been kept low, but Microsoft is driving a “hard bargain,” says the journal. The product would not launch in the market until sometime later this year.
HoloLens creates digital imagery onto real-world objects when a person wears a headset. Microsoft’s technology is nothing like Oculus Rift that takes the person to an entirely different virtual setting. Instead, shows hologram like images on top of the location where the person is standing.
Marketers need more demos
Ad agencies are, however, breathing a sigh of relief with Microsoft’s renewed focus recently, specifically after a series of meetings at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. Ad agencies are all praises for Bob Bejan, who was brought back last October for a second-time, to fuel new life in ad sales.
Some ad buyers think that Microsoft should move very fast to give a demo of HoloLens in front of as many marketers as possible to launch its innovation. One of the ad executives told the WSJ that although HoloLens is an exciting technology for them, only a few have seen it yet.
“When you see it, you become an instant convert,” but talking about the technology over the PowerPoint is not enough for marketers to buy. “They need to do more demos,” the executive said.
