• by September 17, 2004

Seeking to buff up its industry relations and research teams, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN named Mari Kim Novak director of industry relations, and Greg Bloom, research manager. Novak--who will report to Eric Hadley, director of marketing for MSN--replaces Dave Chase, who left the position nearly a year ago to join Altus Alliance, a firm that advises early-stage businesses. Bloom, in a newly created post, will report to Stephen Kim, research director, when he starts today.

Novak joined MSN on Sept. 7 from Millward Brown IntelliQuest, the Internet and technology-focused market research firm where she was the senior vice president of strategic client development. She has more than a decade of research experience, including a five-year stint at comScore Media Metrix, and three years with Grey Advertising.

Novak relocated to London to help open the European operations for Media Metrix, and became the managing director of Media Metrix U.K. Before going to London, she was vice president of account development in New York, overseeing more than 500 Media Metrix clients. At Grey, she was director of new media research and strategy, where she led all new media research and strategic projects for Grey Interactive clients, including Procter & Gamble and Sprint Business.

Novak's mission at MSN is to work closely with advertising and media associations to promote online advertising.

Bloom joins MSN from Nielsen//NetRatings, where he was a senior analyst and conducted custom research for media clients. Prior to joining NetRatings, Bloom managed ad research operations for B2BWorks, an online advertising firm. During his tenure at B2BWorks, he developed online research programs for clients including Primedia and the Chicago Convention Bureau. He also worked for NetRatings' competition, helping build Internet ratings systems at Media Metrix. Bloom began his career as a technology consultant at Accenture in Atlanta.

Bloom is a familiar analyst presence for reporters covering online business, and is likely to be an asset to MSN in helping bridge the gap between online and offline media research, given his Nielsen pedigree. MSN has also stepped up research efforts, beginning with its Advertising Accountability Study, released in March 2004. That study found that companies should be spending between 8 percent and 12 percent of their advertising budgets online, in order to maximize their marketing mix.

"MSN is committed to developing research that its clients can use to make informed decisions about where to make their media and site buys," said Eric Hadley, director of marketing, MSN. "We have a strong research team currently; bringing in Greg, who has a deep understanding of research in online advertising, will make us an even stronger resource for our clients," he said.