For the 2nd year running we are thrilled with the opportunity to serve as platinum sponsor for FutureM kicking off next Monday, September 12th, 2011. Microsoft is supporting FutureM by contributing speakers, and also serving as host venue for 10 FutureM events.    

We will be leading two marketing innovation sessions featuring Stefan Weitz (Director of Bing Search), and Ginny Musante (Director of Marketing Xbox LIVE Advertising Business). In addition, NERD will host events covering such topics as Gen-Y, geo location, mobile, cause marketing, cloud computing and more.

This year promises to be even better than last, and the members of the organizing committee have done an outstanding job creating a week long program with the best and brightest marketing, media and technology industry experts.

Here’s a sampling of FutureM events:

Tap Into Gen-Y
Ever wonder what it’s like to be a college student in today’s digital-anything-goes world? Are you trying to connect with Millenials and GenY and don’t have a clue where to start? Do you want a glimpse into the perspective of the most digital savvy generation yet to hit the consumer marketplace? This event will give marketers and entrepreneurs a deeper understanding for the collective minds of one of their most important target groups.

Date: Monday September 12th from 2pm to 4PM – 1st Floor at NERD.

FutureM Opening Night
The biggest celebration of marketing innovation during FutureM, the festivities will end in a networking party and begin with a welcome from the Mayor of Boston, Thomas M. Menino, and four mini keynotes from four internationally renowned speakers including: Jessica Greenwood -a Cannes Lion Festival speaker and Director of Contagious, Carol Kruse -SVP of Marketing for ESPN and one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2011, Frank Rose – Wired Magazine contributor and Author of The Art of Immersion, and Rishad Tobaccowala – Chief Innovation Officer for VivaKi

Date: Monday September 12th from 5PM-9PM– Back Bay Events Center – 180 Berkeley Street, Boston, MA.

Massachusetts: The Future of Marketing is Here
Mobile, social, gaming, analytics, video, cloud… virtually all of the technologies that are redefining the practice of marketing today have their home, if they have one, right here in the Bay State. Why is that? More importantly, what does it mean for the future of marketing?

Date: Tuesday September 13th from 8:30am – 10:30am – 1st Floor at NERD.

Bing & Social
By integrating the opinions and collective know-how of your Facebook friends and the collective wisdom of the crowd into your search results, Bing brings a powerful tool to the decision making process.  Research shows us that 90% of people rely on the “friend effect” in making decisions, and 80% will defer a decision until getting input from friends.  In this talk, Stefan Weitz, Director of Search at Microsoft will discuss this powerful integration, explore its implications on consumer decision making and why it’s so important, and the opportunities it presents for marketers and advertisers.

Date: Tuesday September 13th 4:30pm – 6:30PM – 11th floor Commons at NERD.

Kinect & the Future of Digital Marketing
Microsoft sold 10 Million Kinect devices in 4 months – Wired Magazine called it the fastest-selling consumer tech product of all time.  While its hands-free interface redefines the way that consumers interact with games, the opportunities for contextual advertising and positioning will redefine the way that marketers and advertisers think about reaching their audiences. In this talk, Ginny Musante, Director of Director of Marketing for the Xbox LIVE Advertising Business will explore the scenarios and opportunities, and the implications on the future of digital marketing.

Date: Wednesday September 14th 11AM – 1PM – 1st floor at NERD.

Beyond Cause Marketing Summit 2011
Rather than rehash past campaigns, Beyond Cause Marketing will build on the success of its 2010 run by bringing leading cause marketing practitioners from corporations, charities, and agencies together with disruptors and innovators from other disciplines to challenge the commonly held assumptions of cause marketing. The half-day will begin with a rapid-fire presentation of five never before explored ideas presented by leading practitioners and thought leaders. Building on this energy, we’ll then harness the collective innovative wattage to fashion solutions to real problems by forming into cross-disciplinary teams and taking on the problems brought to the table by others. To cap the half-day, these solutions will be presented to the larger group with critiques and feedback given on the spot.

Date: Friday September 16th from 8:30am – 2:30pm – 1st Floor at NERD.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you at FutureM either at NERD or other venues in the community. If you have not had a chance to register you can do so here – FutureM promises to be a great week!

Our local game companies had strong showings last week at Gamescom in Cologne, Germany.  Gamescom is one of the largest video game conferences in the world, measured by number of attendees.  Like E3, Gamescom has a few days where only industry people are allowed to attend.  It then opens up to the public, like PAX, for a few days and draws in huge crowds.  It’s an extremely important show for game companies to showcase upcoming content, announce release dates, show off new features and in general try to rise above all of the other announcements.  The game industry continues to be highly dynamic, with new distribution platforms arising, business models evolving and technology improving.  As a region, I think we have the talent and expertise to continue to be an important player in the game industry.  Here’s a look at four of our local game companies, showing off their content to the world at Gamescom.

Cambridge’s Harmonix announced a Dance Central 2 for Kinect, with a release date of 10/25 in North America and showed off new features and gameplay.  The game looks fantastic and super fun to play.   The franchise continues to be one of the leading products for Kinect and it should sell very well this holiday.  From the original Dance Central, Harmonix has added simultaneous multiplayer, drop-in/drop-out play, voice integration, customizable Break it Down and a ton of new songs.  It’s also will be a great way to get a workout!  Check out a really cool new cinematic (as of 8/19) on the Dance Central website.  You can follow Dance Central 2 on Twitter and Facebook.

Bioshock Infinite from Irrational Games (Quincy) looks amazing!  After launching the original Bioschock, I’m really happy to see Ken Levine, a rock star in the games biz, return to the franchise.  Bioshock Infinite is the third title in the franchise, but it’s not yet clear how it connects to the other titles, if at all.  The setting is clearly different as it takes place in a cloud/sky city instead of under water.  Characteristic of Ken’s depth of creativity and experience, Bioshock Infinite will have a deep story, strong cohesive art direction and game play that allows players multiple options for overcoming the challenges they face.  Bioshock Infinite cleaned up on editorial awards at E3 this year with over 75.  It simply will be a must buy when it becomes available.  Check out the official Bioshock Infinite website for more and follow it on Twitter and Facebook.

Turbine (Needham) showed off the Rise of Isengard expansion for Lord of the Rings Online.  In this upcoming release, 9/27/11, players continue to follow The Fellowship south toward Mordor and help various people of Middle Earth along the way.  It will have three new areas to explore, additional content and an increased level cap.  I highly recommend it, especially if you’re at all a fan of Tolkein’s epic work.  The folks at Turbine have done a great job bringing his world to virtual life, staying true to it in many important ways but also adding to it to enhance the game experience.  If you didn’t already know, LOTRO is now free to play with micro-transactions so you can easily experience the world. Learn more about the Rise of Isengard and Lord of the Rings Online on their websites and follow them on Twitter and Facebook.

38 Studios (Providence) and EA debuted an impressive cinematic trailer for Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and announced a February 2, 2012 release date for North America.  Reckoning is an open-world, high fantasy role-playing game that takes place in a new universe called Kingdoms of Amular.  38 Studios received a number of kudos for the exciting combat mechanics that feel more like an action title than an RPG.  The art direction is clean and somewhat exaggerated (i.e., it’s not photoreal but not cartoonish) and shows a respectful attention to detail (i.e., enough, but not too much).  In the long run, it will be interesting to see how it ties-in with 38 Studios’ MMO that also takes place in the Kindoms of Amular universe.  You can see more on the Reckoning website and via Twitter and Facebook.

I’m very excited about the depth of game industry talent and experience we have here in the Boston area, as demonstrated by these upcoming titles.  There are many other local companies that I have not mentioned, like Demiurge, Firehose Games, Zynga Boston, Lucky Labs and even Scvngr, making games or game-like experiences, not to mention those making technology (e.g., Vivox and Imvox, which has leadership here) or making games that educate or improve health.  But I also believe that we need more wins and growth to achieve long term success here. I’m with Scott Kirsner in that I’m hoping for resurgence, as he recently wrote in an Innovation Economy article titled “Game industry has its eyes on the next level.” With PAX Seattle this upcoming weekend and Tokyo Game Show later in December, I hope we hear more exciting news about our local game companies and their titles!