A New Era: Bing and Oath Partnership Announcement

Recently, Bing and Verizon Media announced a partnership in which Microsoft’s Bing Ads will be the exclusive search advertising platform for Verizon Media. This will mean increased inventory for advertisers using Bing Ads beginning in March.

Starting March 15th, Yahoo Network search traffic will gradually migrate to search campaigns on Bing Ads and scheduled to be completed by the end of March. This means that by April, all of Verizon Media’s search volume will be served exclusively by Bing Ads.

READ: “Skai Wins Bing Partner Awards

As a result, marketers will have a single global platform to create search advertising campaigns that reach audiences across the Bing and Verizon Media’s key properties, Yahoo and AOL networks.

“As a former paid search practitioner, I know that search marketers will be happy about this news,” says Desirea Calvillo, Skai’s Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Search. “Anytime they can access more inventory from an existing source, it means that it extends their reach and scope without having to build and manage new accounts. This is really exciting for our Skai Search clients.”

How much more inventory?

This extended inventory will, of course, be different from client to client, but early estimates by Bing Ads suggest that marketers can expect a 10-15% increase in clicks and revenue across the Bing Ads marketplace in the US when migration is completed.

“While exact results will vary by client, Bing Ads users should closely monitor their budgets to ensure they are ready to capture these potential increases in click volume,” said Kya Sainsbury-Carter, VP of global partner service for ad sales at Microsoft”

But this market move goes beyond just inventory. By aligning campaigns under Bing Ads, marketers will benefit from the deep audience understanding contained in the Microsoft Graph coupled with Microsoft artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to connect to the right audience with the right message across any device.

Also as part of this new multi-year global native advertising deal, marketers will gain additional access to 20% more native inventory through Oath Ad Platforms with high-performing ad formats on Microsoft News/MSN, including exclusive placements. Additionally, the companies have extended their existing relationship, which delivers unrivaled access to brand safe video, display and content marketing solutions across Microsoft properties globally including MSN, Outlook and XBox.

READ: “Skai Wins Bing Partner of the Year Award”

Next Steps? An FAQ from Bing Ads…

For search advertisers already on Bing Ads and/or Verizon Media properties (AOL and Yahoo), here is what is being recommended by Bing Ads:

What action, if any, advertisers should I take?

The first immediate is to make sure search campaigns don’t lose any volume during the transition. It is important that advertisers keep their budgets and investments in Oath Ad Platforms during the transition time, to avoid any loss of volume. In parallel, advertisers should bring their campaigns and budgets to Bing Ads.

Here’s the timeline and what to do:

• Phase 1: by March 15*: Oath Ad Platforms search traffic will gradually migrate to search campaigns on Bing Ads. The migration is expected to start on March 15. What to do: Replicate your Oath Ad Platforms search budget on Bing Ads. Then, add an extra 10% budget cushion.
• Phase 2: from March 15 to March 31*: Traffic will continue to serve on both platforms during the transition. What to do: Keep your campaigns running on both Oath Ad Platforms and Bing Ads during the transition time to avoid any traffic loss. Monitor your campaigns and budgets closely to check if bid adjustments are necessary.
• Phase 3: after March 31*: Expected on March 31, Oath Ad Platforms paid search traffic will stop completely, and 100% of the Yahoo Search Network traffic will be served by Bing Ads. What to do: Double check if your Bing Ads campaigns are being constrained by budget.

* expected dates, subject to change.

We are asking advertisers to keep campaigns running on both Oath Platforms and Bing Ads during the transition time. Won’t this cause overspend for them?

The sum of Oath Ad Platforms spend and Bing Ads spend should remain constant to advertisers. For example:

• March 15: Bing Ads spend = $100; Oath Ads Platforms = $100; total spend across both platforms: $200
• March 16:  Bing Ads spend = $105; Oath Ads Platforms = $95; total spend across both platforms: $200
• March 17:  Bing Ads spend = $110; Oath Ads Platforms = $90; total spend across both platforms: $200, and so on…

So even though advertisers will have to raise budgets, the actual spend for the 2 platforms should remain constant.

What advertisers should do after the transition period is over, after March 31?

When the migration is completed (expected to happen on March 31), Bing Ads will be the exclusive platform for Verizon Media’s network traffic. Make sure campaigns are running as expected and that advertisers are satisfied with the change.

What about native ads?

Verizon Media/Oath will access MSN Native inventory globally. This deal begins on January 16th with Canadian traffic and will roll out globally over the next several weeks. These ads will be bought through the Verizon Media’s Oath Ad Platforms (formerly Gemini). Advertisers do not need to take action to access this new inventory, but we advise advertisers to increase Native campaign budgets to accommodate the additional opportunity.

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