Microsoft ad drive pushes Net presence

Microsoft Network has launched a multimillion pound advertising and marketing campaign aimed at establishing itself as Britain’s leading Internet access provider by the end of next year.

The initial wave of print advertising, through EURO RSCG, coincides with an aggressive direct marketing and sampling push, which will be followed by a second wave running from March to June next year.

Taylor Collyer, marketing director of MSN’s UK operation, says the announcement of a major retrenchment programme last month by the UK’s leading service provider CompuServe will not shake MSN’s big spending plans.

“MSN is there for the long run. It will be a couple of years before we see any profit come out of MSN,” says Collyer. “We will have to spend a lot of money on programming to make MSN the highest rating service on the Web.”

The UK arm of MSN is committed to spending a multimillion pound budget on programming, to position itself as the biggest spender among UK Web services on editorial, according to Collyer.

But MSN’s programming revamp is expected to take second place in the marketing drive to attract customers, which will focus on competitive pricing compared with other Internet access providers, and emphasise a month-long unlimited access test.