Microsoft unveils first look of new MSN for Asia

The new MSN combines premium content from the world’s leading media outlets with personal productivity tools to help consumers do more at every moment.

Starting today, Microsoft is inviting people around the globe to try out the new web experience at preview.msn.com, with the experience officially launching in the coming months.

Additionally, the new MSN experience will soon extend to mobile apps across all major device platforms, including Windows, iOS and Android. A list of URLs to preview the new MSN in Asia can be found below.

“We have re-written MSN from the ground up for a mobile-first, cloud first world,” said Adam Anger, general manager for Asia Pacific, Microsoft Advertising. “The new MSN brings together quality media sources with the data and services that help people get more done. And because it’s a single platform, once you personalise, you get the same experience everywhere – on every device that works for your life.”

Most popular and complete content

MSN is partnering with some of the world’s best and most authoritative sources – including The New York Times in the US, Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Guardian and The Telegraph in the UK – as well as leading publications from Asia such as The Hindustan Times and NDTV in India, CommonWealth Magazine Group in Taiwan, PCCW Media (NOW) in Hong Kong, Nine Entertainment Co. in Australia, The Nation in Thailand, The Philippine Star in the Philippines, The Malaysian Insider in Malaysia and The Jakarta Post in Indonesia, among others.

Spanning multiple categories including sports, news, health and fitness, money, travel and entertainment, the new MSN provides a global perspective from thousands of publishers across the world.

Information ranges from the latest stats on over 200 global sports leagues, reviews of more than 1.5 million bottles of wine, to over 300,000 gorgeously photographed recipes and more.

MSN editors will be able to draw from more than 1,000 global and local sources to hand-curate a unique experience for each market. 

“CNN is the world's leading news video brand and getting that video in front of as many people as possible is of paramount importance to us,” said KC Estenson, general manager and senior vice president of CNN Digital, “We think partnering with Microsoft to distribute CNN’s premium, made-for-digital news video across their platforms will put CNN in front of an even bigger audience than we have today.”

Know more, do more

The new MSN makes information ‘actionable’ by incorporating personal productivity tools like hotel booking engines, shopping list generators, flight checkers, and savings calculators into the new experience.

Additionally, the new MSN connects to popular services like Outlook.com, Facebook, Twitter, OneNote, OneDrive, Xbox Music and soon Skype, allowing users to see their latest updates, emails and chats.

Personalised and available across devices

A clean, fresh design makes it easy to find and enjoy content most important to each user, letting them organise categories and interests to personalise the layout of the homepage. And because the new MSN is designed to work across multiple devices, each user’s preferences will automatically change across the web and app versions. 

“I’m MSN user for long time and now with the new one, I feel so impressed. Users can choose their favorite cities for weather, sports teams, and restaurants, staying connected to the content that matters most at work, at home or on the go”, said Hang Le, director CMC technical deployment department.

New opportunities for brands

For brands, MSN offers audiences a personalised web experience, quality content from both global and local publishers, and engagement across the PC, phone and tablet. With an audience of nearly 425 million people coming to 57 markets around the world available across the three major device platforms, the new MSN is an ideal environment for seamless brand storytelling across screens.

“The transformation of MSN allows brands to be in the thick of a rich library of premium content that travels with readers throughout the day, regardless of device,” said Ben Poole, head of Interaction for Asia Pacific, MEC.

“This positive brand association is a win for the industry and a win for users looking for quality content in an adaptable environment. We are incredibly excited to bring new campaigns to life on the reimagined MSN.”

Though the face of MSN has transformed, the process of buying ads is simple. Brands can still enjoy ease of purchasing through similar IAB standard units available on previous versions of MSN.

 “With premium content and productivity tools, we’re thrilled to offer a new experience to both advertisers and consumers,” said Ken Chang, regional sales director for Asia Pacific, Microsoft Advertising. “The new MSN allows advertisers to be in more moments and to capture consumers at the right mindset throughout the day.”