Microsoft is adding a raft of new features to its display advertising products, as the software giant looks to compete with Facebook and Google.
Spending on display advertising, expected to reach $12.3 billion in the US this year, will almost double to $22 billion in 2015, according to EMarketer.
Microsoft is now the fourth-biggest seller of display ads in the U.S. behind Facebook, Yahoo! Inc. and Google.
Microsoft has launched tools and partnerships with AppNexus and MediaMath designed to help customers more effectively tailor ads and measure their impact.
The company aims to reassure customers such as Publicis Groupe SA that have questioned its commitment to display ads and the Atlas software it acquired with the $6 billion AQuantive deal.
Microsoft is adding personnel and dollars to bolster display and Atlas, which is used to place ads on websites and help advertisers measure performance of ad campaigns.
New Atlas features will ensure customers see ad copy designed for their region, and keep them from seeing the same ad too many times.
Microsoft is also rolling out what it calls audience- messaging tools that can ensure that a particular version of an ad is shown only to customers in certain regions, or that a customer who has already seen parts one and two in an ad series is shown the third installment.
The software maker also has developed a feature for its Excel spreadsheet program that makes it easier to manage media campaigns, and software that lets customers view their Atlas data in dashboards in Microsoft’s SharePoint program.
