Microsoft Advertising Quarter Two Update - September

Dear Channel Partner,

Welcome to this month’s Channel Partner Newsletter with the latest & greatest news. Today’s issues focus on the company’s recent announcement about the new Bing and Edge. Additionally, we have some product updates as well as a top tip.

The new Bing and Edge: creating new value for advertisers
The next stage in Generative AI

Seven months ago, we launched AI-powered Bing, enhancing web experiences. Users embraced Bing Chat and Bing Image Creator, driving creativity. Our new approach to search also influenced our advertising business, bringing core search ad formats to Bing Chat – text, multimedia, shopping, and vertical ads – enabling consumer engagement in natural conversations across the open web.

But we’re not stopping there. Last Thursday, we made big announcements in the consumer and advertiser space, and are thrilled to announce our vision for the next stage of our evolution in generative AI and how it will transform search and advertising even further.

We are unlocking new opportunities for clients and partners in three key areas:

1. We are creating more engaging experiences
   With generative AI, we want to create content that can change dynamically to match the advertiser goal and consumer intent. To meet this opportunity, we are introducing Conversational Ads, a new ad format designed specifically for Bing Chat that allows you to interact with consumers in a natural and personalized way. 
2. We are democratizing AI
   We believe that everyone should have access to the power of AI. Back in May we announced our Ads for Chat API which provided publishers, apps and online services the ability to customize their own Chat experiences with ads. We are delighted to announce today that Snapchat and Axel Springer have become the first publishing partners to utilize our API, embedding the technology into Snapchat’s My AI chatbot and Axel Springer’s product Hey_ (hey.bild.de) on BILD.de. 

We are here by your side

AI is your partner. We're introducing Copilot in Microsoft Advertising, a chat feature using generative AI for answering questions and aiding your ad goals, including help content, best practices, strategies, and insights.

If you want to learn more about our vision and our new features, please check out our latest blog post Transforming Search and Advertising with Generative AI and Sign up for our generative AI webcast in November!

Product Updates
Launches and feature development

Video & CTV Ads

Video and Connected TV are GA in US, CA, UK, DE, ES FR, IT and in open beta for a lot of other countries. Online video and CTV ads aim to boost engagement and optimize impressions and views, helping you reach your ad goals. They target audiences while streaming media and offer control over ad frequency.  Online video ads appear on various devices and within the Microsoft Advertising Network, in both instream and outstream placements. Instream ads run during online media streaming, while outstream ads blend naturally with webpage content. CTV ads allow genre-specific targeting, matching your ads with related shows and channels. Placement depends on video quality and bid amount. Technical requirements are available for online video and CTV ads.

Check the attached feature guide.

Display Ads

You know how important a full funnel approach is. Reach your target customers across more surface areas with display ads.

This is an open Beta and available in most markets. It’s all about driving brand awareness, engaging with the right audience and controlling your message. This rich media will offer the brand some beautiful display placements.

Find all the details in the feature guide attached.

Cost-per-Sale pricing Model for shopping campaign

CPS (Cost Per Sale) is a performance-based pricing model where you are only charged when a click on your ad leads to a sale within a 24-hour period after the click. CPS as a low-risk bidding strategy ensuring you only pay when a sale happens, at the cost per sale you set.

Please find the one pager attached. If you want to have a look at the feature guide, please reach out to me.

Budget Center

Another exciting GA: Budget Center allows you to seamlessly interact with your budget and spend all in one place.

A visual dashboard that shows all budget and spending details in one place, including:

• budget settings
• constraints and alerts
• budget-based performance trends
• spending trends
• spending recommendations

This can help you set budgets and track spending to avoid missing potential customers. In Budget Center, you'll get real-time insights into campaigns that may be depleted and suggestions about how to optimize your campaign budgets.

Check the Feature Guide attached for more information or this help page: About Budget Center (microsoft.com)

Google Analytics 4 attribution change

Changes to Google Analytics attribution in GA4 may impact your Microsoft Advertising conversions. Google's shift to data-driven attribution (DDA) as the default model, crediting conversions based on various touchpoints, differs from UA's last-click attribution. This can lead to significant conversion reporting differences between Google tools (GA4, SA360) and Microsoft Advertising. I'll ensure you grasp the impact on your conversion and revenue reporting.

This attribution model comparison tool (with step-by-step instructions here) can help us understand if the changes in Microsoft Advertising attributed conversions and revenue is tied to your selected GA4 attribution model.

If significant disparities arise, assess your preferred attribution model for accurate reporting. Even with last-click attribution, GA4 migration can introduce discrepancies. Always rely on Microsoft's reporting for Microsoft conversions. In general, we always encourage you to check Microsoft’s reporting for Microsoft conversions.

Ad library
A good resource to bookmark!

The Microsoft Ad Library is a public collection of ads shown by Microsoft Advertising on Bing within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). It provides information on these ads, including advertiser details, funding sources, ad content, dates, estimated reach, and targeting criteria. This resource helps people make informed choices about online ads, and users can search for ads by content, advertiser, date, or location.

Search by ad content or advertiser name here: Microsoft Ad Library

In particular, we want to highlight an update on how Microsoft is complying with the Digital Services Act - EU Policy Blog

I hope you enjoyed this month’s newsletter.

Please reach out to us if you have any feedback, question or opportunities.

Best regards,

Your Microsoft Advertising Team