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Blog post

The value of overlapping audiences

January 05, 2022

As the holidays wrap up and life returns to our “new normal,” many of us will strive to balance work, personal relationships, and life in general. Our hybrid work lives involve multitasking as the new way of living, and while these new lives can be more complex, they also allow for more flexibility and choice. People are booking trips for spring break between meetings, ordering groceries as hunger settles in before lunch hour, and quickly purchasing gifts for loved ones while completing their work projects.

Many of us are living these hybrid lives on Windows devices. In October, Microsoft launched Windows 11 to help improve productivity and multitasking. While Windows 11 empowers people to do and achieve more, it also empowers advertisers to reach their audiences at multiple touchpoints in the purchase journey.

The value of the Microsoft Advertising and Windows audiences

The Microsoft Advertising audience on Microsoft Bing, Outlook.com, AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft News (MSN.com) and numerous Microsoft properties and premium publisher partners totals more than 1 billion people globally,1 and most of these people are also on Windows devices.2 Advertisers wanting to increase the reach of their most highly relevant audiences need look no further, as the Microsoft Advertising audience is both expansive and differentiated.

The Microsoft Search Network reaches people when they’re conducting research—both personal and professional—while the Microsoft Audience Network reaches people when they may be reading the news, checking their work email on Outlook.com, or browsing premium sites and stumbling upon new content. With more research being done on the Microsoft Search Network and more browsing on the Microsoft Audience Network, Microsoft Advertising enables advertisers to reach their customers during work, during life, and when work and life blend. Add new Windows 11 features and there are more opportunities and helpful ways for advertisers like you to reach shoppers.

Leveraging the reach of Microsoft Advertising enables advertisers to meet their customers where they browse, email, and search. Nearly 70% of MSN users have also searched on Microsoft Bing, almost half of Outlook.com users have also searched on Bing, and nearly 73% of users who’ve opened a new tab in the Microsoft Edge browser have also searched on Bing.3 By reaching people across all these work/life activities, your brand can stay top of mind and be there when consumers are ready to transact.

The value of the overlapping audience who uses Windows devices and visits Microsoft Advertising properties

While a portion of each audience is unique, there’s a lot of overlap — 64% of people in the US who use Windows devices also visit Microsoft Advertising properties.4 These people have a higher propensity to purchase, which makes them more valuable to advertisers than the average internet user. But that’s not all.

Facts about people who use Windows devices and visit Microsoft Advertising properties:4

  • 64% state learning new skills is important to them.
  • 57% are between 16-44 years old.
  • 51% have a college degree.
  • 19% are planning to buy a laptop.
  • 21% are entrepreneurs or interested in entrepreneurship.
  • 25% are more likely to be planning to purchase pet insurance.
  • 20% are more likely to be senior decision-makers.
  • 61% are more likely to be early tech adopters.
  • 15% are more likely to value contributing to their community.
  • 13% are more likely to state that helping the environment is important to them.

Advertising on Microsoft Advertising gives you access to a diverse audience. With changing consumer behaviors comes changing marketing and advertising needs, especially as it pertains to reaching new types of audiences. By advertising on our properties, you can reach emerging consumer personas (like Empowered Activists) both authentically and effectively.

Products to help advertisers reach their customers across work and life

With the lines between work and life promising to continue to blur even more, Windows 11 and Microsoft Advertising provide an easy, relevant, and integrated way to reach people in both environments and at the intersection. Set up your campaigns today!

  • The Microsoft Audience Network provides reach and scale across the consumer journey. People exposed to Microsoft Audience Ads engage with brands at a higher rate, and in one brand study, we saw a 4.4x lift in conversions when people were exposed to Microsoft Audience Ads.5
  • Remarketing ads in paid search deliver your message to people who have previously visited your website when they search on Microsoft Bing and/or Yahoo. This helps you reach them throughout their hybrid working days.

[1] Microsoft internal data and comScore data, March 2021.
[2] Microsoft internal data.​
[3] comScore Media Matrix, Cross-Visiting Monthly Shared Audience, Total Audience, U.S., December 2020. Properties: Microsoft News, Bing Web, Outlook Web.
[4] GlobalWebIndex, U.S., Q3 2021.
[5] Microsoft internal data, February 2021. Lift metrics represent an average of all advertisers with completed lift studies to date.

Authors

  • John Cosley

    SENIOR DIRECTOR, BRAND MARKETING, MICROSOFT ADVERTISING

    John Cosley

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