Thursday 28 February 2008

Microsoft announce new online advertising measure

A new approach to managing and measuring online marketing campaigns has been announced by Microsoft.

Engagement Mapping has been designed to take in various online 'touchpoints' and consumer interactions before sale, which is expected to be an improvement on the previous 'last ad clicked' standard.

The new integrated tracking measure intends to attribute value to the brand adverts that a consumer sees before clicking on a text advert and asses the influence on a person's buying behaviour.

Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the advertiser and publisher solutions division at Microsoft made the announcement at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's Annual Meeting in Phoenix.

"The 'last ad clicked' is an outdated and flawed approach because it essentially ignores all prior interactions the consumer has with a marketer's message, he said.

"Our Engagement Mapping approach conveys how each ad exposure - whether display, rich media or search, seen multiple times on multiple sites and across many channels - influenced an eventual purchase. We believe it represents a quantum leap for advertisers and publishers who are seeking to maximize their online spends."

Microsoft made a $44.6 billion dollar offer at the beginning of the month to buy out Yahoo, which it is thought the search engine has rejected. However, it is yet unclear whether Yahoo will hold firm on this position.

Category: Marketing campaigns

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