Microsoft Advertising Exchange Expands Globally

CANNES, France, June 21, 2011 -

Exchange Now Open for Business in the
UK and Netherlands

Windows Phone 7 In-App Inventory
Available Globally 

Microsoft  today announced that the Microsoft Advertising
Exchange, a real-time bidded (RTB) marketplace that allows
advertisers the ability to bid on high-quality online inventory, is
officially “open for business” in the UK and Netherlands with
launches planned for Canada, France and Germany in the coming
months. In addition, the company announced that all Windows Phone 7
in-app ad inventory is now available globally via the Microsoft
Advertising Exchange for Mobile.

The Microsoft Advertising Exchange, which launched in the US in
early April, gives advertisers and publishers the ability to buy
and sell their digital inventory through an automated RTB auction
on a cost-per-impression basis, via its partnership with AppNexus,
a leading real-time ad platform. The RTB functionality helps
advertisers scale creative executions with just a few clicks.
Additionally, the Exchange helps publishers achieve higher yields
on their own inventory while still maintaining a quality ad
environment on their web pages.

“We’re very pleased to announce the expansion of the Microsoft
Advertising Exchange into markets outside of the US and to also
offer the Windows Phone 7 in-app inventory via an RTB platform,”
said Dennis Buchheim, general manager, Scale Display for Microsoft.
“We’ve seen very encouraging results so far in the U.S. 
Advertisers are seeing improved ROI on their campaigns, while
publishers are achieving higher yields on their inventory - all in
an open, premium marketplace. It is a true ‘win-win’ situation for
both parties, and we’re committed to an aggressive expansion of the
Exchange in other markets in the coming months.” 

Since April 2011, the Microsoft Advertising Exchange has grown
rapidly and achieved strong results for both advertisers and
publishers. For example, on the advertiser side, Accordant Media
recently realized an 8x increase in daily conversions as a result
of tapping the Exchange for an e-commerce client’s campaign. From
the publisher side, Windows Live - in pre-launch tests in the U.S.
- saw inventory sold through the Exchange monetized at rates 192
percent higher than the rates achieved through traditional
non-guaranteed channels.

Daphne Sacco, Director, Internet Marketing, eBay comments:
“Microsoft’s quality inventory has proven to be very successful for
eBay.  We are looking forward to expanding our relationship
and the use of the Microsoft Advertising Exchange in the UK
market.”

The new Windows Phone 7 in-app ad availability will also provide
several key benefits for advertisers, ad networks and ad agencies,
including:

The ability to use real-time ad bidding to increase media buying
efficiency and maximize ROI;

Larger banner size (480 x 80), support for both image or text
ads along with click-to-web and click-to-call to drive greater
impact and engagement;

Enhanced targeting such as age, gender, location, and app
category, to improve mobile ad relevance; and

The ability to bid on image or text in-app inventory available
in countries with a Windows Phone Marketplace.

Currently, Windows Live and MSN non-guaranteed PC inventory is
available through the Microsoft Advertising Exchange. Microsoft
plans to integrate additional third-party publishers into its
global Exchange offerings as well as announce new markets in the
near future.

About Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft Advertising provides advertisers and publishers with
media, tools and services to help drive deep and profitable
engagement with their audiences. This includes a media network that
reaches hundreds of millions of consumers around the world; global
technology platforms and tools that enable easy planning and
management of campaigns and content; and services that help
untangle the complexities of digital media to get more value from
marketing and content investments. Microsoft Advertising makes
buying and selling media simple, smart and cost-effective across
media and devices in the Microsoft network of properties and
beyond. More information is available at href="advertising.microsoft.com">advertising.microsoft.com.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worldwide leader
in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential.

For more information, please contact:
Joe Walton
Phone: +44(0)7903-275654
E-mail: href="mailto:jwalton@webershandwick.com">jwalton@webershandwick.com

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