Bing Ads Rebrands to Microsoft Advertising

On Monday, April 29, 2019, Microsoft announced that Bing Ads was getting a new name: Microsoft Advertising. While not the first time name change for Microsoft’s ad platform (formerly Bing Ads and Microsoft adCenter), this recent rebrand represents one of the biggest shifts in Microsoft’s paid search advertising efforts, emphasizing a more-depth focus on personalization and AI. According to a blog post by Rik van der Kooi, corporate VP for Microsoft Advertising, the future of advertising is evolving into “more meaningful, more timely, and more valuable” connections. And this has spurred Bings Ads’ evolution into Microsoft Advertising. Additional changes include:

• BingsAds.com to MicrosoftAdvertising.com
• Bing Partner Program to Microsoft Advertising Partner Program

Despite these updates, Microsoft is adamant that they will not change “the importance of advancing trust” as they continue to innovate. “Trust is integral to who we are, and it will always guide our innovation and offerings,” said van der Kooi.

New Name, More Advertising Products

Microsoft Advertising plans to introduce more advertising products with built-in AI and connected data over the coming months, including:

• Microsoft Audience Network
• Sponsored Products

Microsoft Audience Network

The Microsoft Audience Network launched last year, and with the use of AI, rich audience intent, and profile understanding, dramatically helps marketers reach consumers in brand-safe environments. The first major announcement about the Microsoft Audience Network is the deployment of product enhancements, including viewable impressions and image upload and management tool updates to make managing images even easier. The second announcement is that the Microsoft Audience Network will expand to the UK and Canada later this summer.

Sponsored Products

Sponsored Products will allow manufacturers to promote their products in shopping campaigns alongside their retail partners. This gives manufacturers access to new reporting and optimization capabilities, while retailers get additional product marketing support with a fair cost split. Currently, Sponsored Products is in beta in the US only.

So What About Bing?

It isn’t going anywhere. Bing will remain the consumer search brand in the Microsoft portfolio. The search engine has been gaining momentum over the last decade, reaching milestones like:

• 100 months of consecutive Bing share growth
• 500,000 advertisers with access to more than half a billion consumers
• And becoming the exclusive provider of search advertising across Verizon Media properties

Bing will continue to be important to Microsoft’s paid search efforts due to how critical intent data is to driving additional personalization and product innovation.

What Does This Reband Mean For You

As mentioned earlier, the shift to Microsoft Advertising is more than just a name change. It’s a shift to a more personalized AI driven platform. As a Microsoft Advertiser, this means you will have access to more meaningful, audience-driven data to make observations and optimizations to your ad campaigns. This will also help your future advertising efforts via the Microsoft Advertising Network. If you’re not currently advertising on Bing (or on the Microsoft Network), now would be a good time to look into the platform.

Tags: Paid Search Marketing