One of the most important initiatives launched by Microsoft in recent years is the Microsoft adCenter, which is serving as the ad engine for MSN, Windows Live and other Microsoft online services. The goal is to help advertisers strategically plan online buys and get better ROI by using real audience intelligence and advanced targeting capabilities.
Microsoft adCenter -- with 14,000 customers currently -- gives advertisers information about consumers' geography, age, gender, lifestyle and wealth. MSN claims this is quite different than what's been offered by its competitors.
MSN doesn't currently have a contextual advertising product offering, but according to company representatives they are in the product planning phase. No timeline has been released.
What this could mean for marketers:
Microsoft adCenter will ultimately give advertisers a one-stop shop venue, whether buying search, contextual or display ads across multiple Microsoft properties. Key features of interest to marketers include exclusive targeting, budget controls, keyword generation tools, bulk keyword upload tools and built-in performance reports. Marketers can thus easily track ad campaign performance and report results.
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