Microsoft and AdMission have announced a development that may greatly benefit advertisers who use Windows Live Expo’s free classifieds. This “customized version of AdMission Spotlight” will allow users to “opt in and purchase an upgraded listing.” In effect, regular people will get to advertise through banner ads.
However, there will also be definite advantages – “each banner is generated based on user context and/or geographic location in order to maximize targeted advertiser promotion,” according to the release. Users will even be able to monitor how many people take notice of their rust-colored ’89 Civics, because “performance of each featured ad is automatically tracked . . . and . . . will be made available directly to the advertiser.”
In test cases, people who took advantage of the new system did quite well. The press release supplied solid data, citing “a two-month pilot conducted with five classifieds publishers in early 2006,” which “found that Spotlight Ads delivered an average of 2-10X click-through rate success compared with industry-standard banner ad performance of 0.1 to 0.3 percent.”
Microsoft’s Garry Wiseman spoke about the Live Expo experience, the new Spotlight Ads, and his company’s partner in this venture. “Users gain access to more locally relevant ad content, plus the opportunity to interact with new buyers and sellers while widening their network within the Windows Live community,” he said. “We chose AdMission as a technology ally in creating the featured ads program because it had a proven record in the classifieds business and a very innovative turnkey solution.”
This “turnkey solution,” according to Sarah Pate, the president and CEO of the AdMission Corporation, “is an excellent way for AdMission and Microsoft to reach millions of users with portable’ ad content and to monetize that substantial consumer traffic.” That seems like a fair statement.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
