What’s happening with Microsoft Advertising this week

Join us virtually at Advertising Week – September 29 – October 8, 2020

We are excited to participate in Advertising Week 2020 (AW2020) with some great sessions and panel topics on inclusion and Marketing with Purpose. 

1. September 29, 11:30AM EDT / 8:30AM PDT: Hear from Global Head of Marketing, Heidi Cooley, of Crocs, the iconic shoe brand, on the lessons they have learned during COVID that helped them achieve exceptional results. Kya Sainsbury-Carter, General Manager of Partnerships of Microsoft Advertising, will share three important strategies for how brands can build trust, brand love, and loyalty through purpose and inclusion. Register here.
2. On demand: Join us for a masterclass on how marketers can partner with their research teams to measure the impact of inclusion on advertising performance.  Kelli Kemery, Global Market Research Manager of Microsoft Advertising, will lead this informative session for measuring the psychological impact of inclusive advertising. Register here.
3. Additional sessions:
   • September 29, 8:00AM EDT/5:00AM PDT: Ravleen Beeston, Director of Sales, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), Microsoft Advertising, will speak on a panel on Rebuilding with Purpose
   • October 7, 11:30AM EDT/ 8:30AM PDT: Kelli Kemery, Global Market Research Manager, Microsoft Advertising, will join Burcu Agma from Publicis/Performics on a session entitled “Is your advertising so relevant you are missing out on sales?”
   • October 8, 10:00AM EDT/7:00AM PDT: Jeff Nienaber, Senior Director of Microsoft Advertising, will speak on a panel on “The Future of Marketing.”

Integral Ad Science (IAS) has been chosen to be the first to provide brand safety across the Microsoft Audience Network

With consumers spending more time online than ever before, it is crucial for marketers to make connections with their respective audiences in high-quality, trusted environments in order to get strong returns from their media investments. In a time when performance and efficiency are top of mind, Microsoft Advertising is partnering with IAS to give advertisers the most accurate and comprehensive coverage to ensure their message makes the maximum impact.

The Microsoft Audience Network reaches millions of customers through Microsoft owned and operated sites like MSN, Outlook.com and Microsoft Edge, as well as trusted third-party publishers. With IAS’s pre-bid integration into the Microsoft Audience Network, advertisers will now have an additional layer of brand protection to deliver their messages confidently in trusted environments. The integration, which comes at no added cost to marketers, will automatically filter out high-risk inventory before the bid is even placed, further enhancing the Microsoft Audience Network’s offerings of contextual native placements. To learn more about this exciting news, read our blog post.

Unwrap new holiday insights on the retail content hub

In preparation for the holidays, Microsoft Advertising has launched a global retail content hub which includes the latest Microsoft Advertising insights, retail industry insights, consumer behaviors, and product tips, to help advertisers prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season and beyond. These rich insights provide recommendations for each major market, as well as outline cross-border opportunities. A few highlights from the retail content hub:

Holidays 2020 insights guide

How do you plan for a holiday season during a pandemic? You start early. With online shopping already at elevated levels compared to this time last year, we can expect e-commerce and search to be at the forefront for consumers this season. At the same time, we know search and shopping habits have changed, so be ready to take advantage of trends like buy online, pick-up in store (BOPIS), and the shift towards purchase conversions on desktops. Learn about these insights and more in the holidays 2020 insights guide.

Holiday checklist

Did you know that 39% of consumers start their holiday shopping before November? Or how about that 68% of shoppers plan to continue buying after December 25? There are plenty of key dates during the holiday season that you can prepare for using the planning calendar and checklist. Also learn about specific products and tools to driver higher ROI and make your life easier this season – find it all in the holiday checklist.
 
Sources:

1. National Retail Federation, ‘2019 Winter Holiday Trends.’
2. National Retail Federation, ‘3 ways consumers are continuing to shop after the holidays.’

Check out the new global retail content hub!