osoft plans to double its advertising business to $20 billion

Microsoft wants to double its advertising business, from $10 billion per year to $20 billion. Although the leadership didn’t give a timeline, if they achieve their goal, Microsoft will be the sixth-largest global digital ad sales company.

Microsoft has many ad properties. Microsoft has many ad properties, including Bing search and Xbox. MSN is also available. Many other websites use Xandr for digital advertising. Microsoft also introduced vertical ads formats, credit cards ads and expanded its audience into 66 additional markets.

News and search revenue up 16% However, Amy Hood, CFO, stated that search in advertising and LinkedIn marketing solutions were affected by “reductions of customer advertising spend,” which was also weaker in the quarter.

However, the increase in search and advertising was due to “higher search volume and Xandr.” Nadella claims that Microsoft Edge has “expanded our geographic reach by almost 4x over the last year” and may be helping with Bing search and advertising revenue. Nadella says that Edge is the fastest-growing browser on Windows. It continues to grow as more people use its built-in price comparison and coupon features to save money.

Rob Wilk, corporate vice-president of Microsoft Advertising stated that he plans to make it easier for partners to buy ads across assets. In an October interview, he stated that “we have a lot to do” in plumbing. Microsoft must also differentiate itself from other companies with similar properties, but more established advertising businesses like Google. Wilk stated that Microsoft is more partner-oriented than Google.

Netflix. This month’s new partnership with Netflix allows advertisers to buy ads through the demand-side platform Xandr. Microsoft will pay a reseller fee. Experts predict that this partnership will drive huge revenue, with the potential to easily surpass $10 billion in ad revenues.

Gaming. Gaming is another great revenue generator for Microsoft. Activision Blizzard’s acquisition is still pending. However, in-game ad revenues could be a selling point if they can be purchased through Xandr.

Dig deeper. The full article can be found at Business Insider.

Why do we care? As Microsoft grows its ad business, it opens up more opportunities for advertisers looking to reach people beyond Google and Facebook. Publishers and brands will have access to additional options, such as Netflix and in-game ads.

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