Recognition is one of the pillars of the Microsoft Advertising Partner Programme. Our Partner Growth award goes to the partner that showed the most growth through revenue, new accounts, and/or certifications in the previous 6-12 months. In our review of nominations received in the April 2023 round of Partner Celebration, our partner KG Media was chosen as the Microsoft Advertising Global Partner Growth Award winner.
We had the opportunity to interview the Performance Marketing Director of KG Media, Antonios Ivan Karalazos.
Tell us a little about KG Media—history, current size, audience, and business objectives.
We’re an independent advertising agency established more than 20 years ago. Our offices are strategically situated in Austria and Croatia. Having started out in the era of traditional offline marketing, we’ve experienced first-hand the striking emergence of digital media in the marketing sector. This enables us to take a wide-ranging view and grasp the overarching scope of the entire marketing landscape.
Currently, our talented team consists of 15 in-house marketing experts. We mostly provide our services to the travel industry, supporting our clients and partners in expanding their business to the markets across Europe.
What’s KG Media’s vision, mission, or specialisation?
Results first. We’re dedicated to delivering superior results and performance to our diverse clientele through our comprehensive suite of both offline and digital marketing solutions. We go beyond being mere executors of campaigns; we deeply consider our clients’ business goals, needs, and overall strategy. Understanding the larger context and objectives of our clients is integral to our approach.
What impact have you been able to drive to your business with Microsoft Advertising?
Specifically, Microsoft Advertising has enabled us to deliver added value to our clients by identifying and reaching a new, high-quality audience that we missed before. We significantly enhanced the overall effectiveness of our marketing strategies after we included MSA in the media mix.
What are your favourite tools or features within Microsoft Advertising and why?
Bing Webmaster Tool is an amazing tool that isn’t just for SEO purposes but is also immensely helpful for keyword research. Through the Ad Preview tool, it’s possible to present real-time results from any market to the clients, along with any opportunities they might be missing. Once the campaigns go live, Auction Insights provide a glance at the share of impressions relative to other advertisers.
Leveraging this information, as well as data from additional tools such as bulk edits, scripts, audiences, and more, enables us to execute highly targeted and efficient campaigns for our customers.
What’s your greatest success with Microsoft Advertising so far?
Our most significant achievement and success lies in our ability to consistently deliver results to our clients that surpass the average performance of other comparable marketing channels. By providing outcomes that are substantially above average, we demonstrate our commitment to excellence and our capacity to outperform industry standards.
How do you see your relationship progressing with Microsoft Advertising and why?
Long-term cooperation and trust aren’t only our core values but also values that we share with Microsoft Advertising. Our strong partnership is built on shared objectives.
For over a decade, we’ve been successfully running Microsoft Advertising (MSA) ads, a testament to the effectiveness and value we’ve experienced through this collaboration. Our relationship’s longevity reflects the positive outcomes we’ve achieved together.
Have you had any positive experiences or working relationships with people who work within Microsoft Advertising or Microsoft Advertising Support?
We place significant importance on providing high-quality support to our clients and guiding the process in alignment with their strategy. One aspect that we appreciate is the understanding and assistance we receive from Microsoft Advertising Support.
How does your company embody the Global Partner Growth Award?
Becoming an exceptional workplace doesn’t happen suddenly or by chance. It requires leadership to exemplify the core values and encourage employees to embrace and uphold them. By doing so, we instil qualities such as integrity, a strong work ethic, and a positive mindset.
How has Microsoft Advertising been able to help you reach new customers and grow your business?
Insights and case studies serve as a source of inspiration, but it’s also our team’s dedication to continuously learn, explore innovative ideas, channels, and methods that has yielded results.
Microsoft Advertising is undoubtedly a must-have channel in your media mix, whether you’re running performance-based or branding-focused marketing campaigns.
Thank you to Antonios Ivan Karalazos and the KG Media team for walking us through how they leverage Microsoft Advertising to go above and beyond for their clients and positively impact their business!
Don’t miss our other Partner Celebration Global Award Winner spotlights—Wriggle Marketing and Shoper—or your next chance to become a Celebrated Partner during our next round of nominations.
If you haven’t enrolled in the Microsoft Advertising Partner Programme yet, make sure that you apply at microsoftadvertisingpartners.com so you’re eligible for the next round.
If you’re an enrolled partner, stay connected with us and up to speed on all things partner-related by joining the Microsoft Advertising Partner Community on LinkedIn.