Unilever partners with Microsoft’s MSN to deliver digital content across MENA.

Unilever Middle East and North Africa has entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to be their food and drink content partner within the Lifestyle section of the MSN. Starting June, this seven-month long integrated content partnership enables Unilever to embed their branded content into the MSN alongside other relevant lifestyle content, bringing together some of the most well-respected and influential content from local and international sources in English and Arabic languages.

A key Unilever brand being featured prominently on the MSN across the region is Knorr, one of the company’s strongest brands. Highlights of the content available on the site include a wide array of cooking tips and ways to use Knorr products for special Ramadan dishes in a variety of editorials and videos. Following the Holy month of Ramadan, MSN users can also look forward to refreshed recipes showcasing how they can prepare other types of dishes, such as soups and healthy foods, in subsequent months.

With a range of lifestyle content being pulled together from Unilever and other established MSN content partners, this provides a comprehensive and broad content experience for MSN users across the region. Coupled with additional tools such as polls and social media feeds updated in real time, as well as cross-platform accessibility with content being made available across screens and devices, MSN users can enjoy their favorite content and the same user experiences wherever they go.

Kinda Ibrahim, Editor in Chief for MSN Arabia - English said “Since the launch of the revamped MSN, our lifestyle content has grown in popularity among consumers as well as advertisers. We see great opportunities to expand our current offerings by delivering integrated content experiences with services that are unique for our target audiences. We are very excited to launch this partnership with Unilever; the first of it is kind since the relaunch of MSN. It is a true example of deep integration for the brand within editorial context to deeply engage with its audience and tell its story in a subtle, yet very compelling way.”

“We are pleased to be bringing popular brands from the Unilever portfolio to consumers through this exciting and cutting-edge deal with Microsoft’s MSN. Unilever constantly strives to grow the FMCG market with our strong portfolio and large investment across our brands. The partnership with MSN provides an excellent platform to leverage our ‘food’ credentials that is at the heart of our Knorr brand and engage with our target audience in an authentic and relevant way by taking full advantage of the great features presented by the new MSN,” said Ageel Angawi, Vice President Marketing, Food, Refreshments and Home Care, Unilever North Africa and Middle East.

“Microsoft and MSN are our key partners globally, and we are pleased to be landing a first ever MENA wide initiative with them. This partnership is strategic, that gives us a good play in content across devices, and above all it provides the reach within the consumers we target,” said Asad ur Rehman, Director Media, North Africa & Middle East at Unilever.

The partnership was initiated and followed through by Connect Ads, the sole provider of Microsoft’s digital media solutions in the region earlier in the same month, as Unilever, represented by their agency PHD in the Middle East, takes over MSN Food & Drink channel until the end of 2015.

In October last year, Microsoft revamped its MSN portal by combining comprehensive content from the world’s leading media outlets with powerful tools that help consumers do more. With wide reach to an engaged and loyal audience of over 400 million unique visitors worldwide each month, advertisers can engage broad audiences via immersive ad offerings across various screens and devices. The highly personalizable nature of the MSN (e.g users can select topics to follow on the news or decide what to have for dinner from the widest recipe database on earth), and the buying simplicity enabled by IAB standard ad units, further enables advertisers to connect with their audiences in easy and immersive ways.