Microsoft Advertising has announced a year-long strategic partnership with Entertainment One UK (eOne UK) to deliver new film launches across the Microsoft platform ecosystem.

The films will be promoted by eOne UK on MSN, Skype, Windows 8 and Xbox, with Microsoft Advertising’s in-house team creating content-led ads which fit in to the ecosystem. For their part, eOne UK will use Microsoft data to identify specific verticals to target ads for certain films.

Films included in the partnership include The Raid 2, Pompeii 3D and Earth to Echo, with seven films in total being utilised. Divergent, a dystopian action adventure which launched in UK and Ireland cinemas last weekend, is currently getting this treatment with MSN and Windows 8 homepage real estate.

“Budgets across the entertainment industry are structured in a unique way, typically focused on individual launches as opposed to broader campaigns,” said Owen Sagness, Microsoft Advertising & Online UK general manager.

“We instead developed a long-term partnership, pulling all the individual budgets together, allowing us to create something much more significant for all of eOne’s films.”

Kezia Williams, eOne UK head of marketing, added: “We look forward to continuing to develop innovative campaigns which bring to life the rich appeal of our content, drive deeper audience engagement and ultimately deliver increased cinema ticket sales.”

This isn’t the first time Microsoft’s advertising arm has been involved in film promotions. Back in December a partnership was announced with Warner Bros UK and the film The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, whereby a 3D printed version of ‘The Key to Erebor’ – a major artefact in the film’s plot – was on offer to fans who used Windows 8 Ads-in-Apps.

Alongside bespoke content Microsoft Advertising will also work closely with eOne’s team and ZenithOptimedia.