Turning Data into Growth: How Mindgruve Is Redefining Performance Marketing

About Mindgruve

Mindgruve is a modern media, commerce, and data technology company built to help brands accelerate growth through data-driven marketing, creative, and commerce solutions. With more than 500 experts worldwide spanning strategy, media, creative, commerce, data science, and engineering, Mindgruve delivers predictive, full-funnel solutions that connect marketing performance directly to business outcomes.

From Early Adoption to Lasting Impact

Mindgruve’s partnership goes back further than most. They’ve been running campaigns on the Microsoft Advertising platform since before it was called Bing! “From the beginning, we've viewed Microsoft Advertising as a source of high-quality traffic that delivers real, measurable results for our clients,” explains Bridges. Through the years Mindgruve has had a front-row seat for the evolution of the platform. “It's been exciting to watch Microsoft continually innovate in how brands reach and connect with customers.”

Defining Moments in Mindgruve’s Growth

For Mindgruve, that growth opportunity often begins when clients do not yet have a Microsoft Advertising account. “It gives us the chance to show them that Microsoft offers unique reach to their existing audiences on a genuinely powerful platform,” says Bridges. “These clients are often surprised by how effective it can be, and time and again we've been able to prove that Microsoft Advertising drives meaningful leads and sales for their business. That success builds trust, and that trust grows our relationships.”

“Microsoft's import tools have been a game-changer for speed to market.” Joey shares. For clients that already have search accounts built on other platforms, Microsoft’s import tools allow Mindgruve to quickly bring over existing campaigns and account structures. “The ability to quickly import existing campaigns and account structures means we can launch on Microsoft Advertising in a fraction of the time. For our clients, that translates into an additional stream of high-quality traffic, along with the leads and sales that come with it, almost immediately.”

Joey also describes the acquisitions of Macarta, Icon Commerce, Levelwing, and Ameo as pivotal milestones in Mindgruve’s evolution. “Each expanded the company’s capabilities, geographic reach, and expertise, helping transform Mindgruve from a leading U.S. agency into a global organization positioned at the intersection of commerce, media, and data.”

Microsoft Advertising in Action: Precision Targeting, Faster Action, Real Outcomes

Microsoft Advertising is a critical part of Mindgruve’s search strategy, providing access to valuable audiences that are difficult to reach elsewhere. “Microsoft's ability to leverage LinkedIn data has helped us find and reach customers we simply couldn't identify on any other platform,” explains Joey. “That data connection is a truly unique offering that no one else in the market has, and it's helped us solve targeting challenges that would otherwise be out of reach.”

Search insights have proven especially valuable to remain agile in an ever-changing landscape. “They [search insights features] give our team clear visibility into top searches and emerging trends, so we can move quickly and take action across our portfolio.” Microsoft Advertising’s LinkedIn audience integrations, robust offline conversion capabilities, search insights, and import tools help Mindgruve improve targeting, accelerate speed to market, optimize performance, and connect media investments to real business outcomes

That value came to life in Mindgruve’s work with Canter Power Systems, which had no Microsoft Advertising presence before June 2025 and was facing lead-quality challenges elsewhere. “We built their Microsoft program from the ground up, generating the first closed sale within 20 days of launch. Within six months, the campaign delivered more than 1,100 leads, $11.9 million in sales value, and a 70% lead-to-appointment conversion rate—surpassing industry benchmarks and creating measurable business impact at scale,” explains Bridges.

AI, Innovation, and Sightline

Mindgruve views AI as both an operational accelerator and a growth engine for clients. Across the organization, AI helps streamline complex workflows, improve efficiency, and enhance decision-making. Joey shares, “By reducing manual processes and eliminating workflow bottlenecks, AI allows our experts to spend more time on strategy, innovation, and high-value decision-making.”

A cornerstone of Mindgruve’s approach is Sightline, their proprietary AI-powered marketing and business intelligence platform. Joey shares, “Sightline combines marketing data, business data, predictive modeling, MMM, attribution, audience intelligence, and data science expertise to help brands understand not only what happened, but what is likely to happen next.”

What’s Next

“We're incredibly excited about what's ahead.” says Joey. “A major focus for us is expanding Microsoft Performance Max campaigns across our entire client portfolio. Where we've already put Performance Max into practice, we've seen strong results for our clients, and we're eager to build on that momentum as the platform continues to evolve.”

Mindgruve is also focused on helping brands succeed in a world where AI increasingly shapes consumer discovery, decision-making, and commerce. “Internally, we're continually exploring how advances in AI can enhance strategy, analytics, content development, automation, personalization, and client service. Our goal is to transform emerging capabilities into scalable systems that improve the quality, speed, and impact of our work,” Bridges explains.

Together, these priorities reflect Mindgruve’s broader vision for the future of performance marketing: combining platform innovation, AI-powered intelligence, and measurable business strategy to help brands adapt as discovery becomes more dynamic. By expanding proven Microsoft Advertising capabilities while building new approaches for AI-driven search and commerce, Mindgruve is positioning clients to capture demand wherever it emerges and turn that opportunity into sustained growth.

Making a Difference

For Mindgruve, impact starts with its people. They invest in professional growth, encourage continuous learning, and foster culture built on integrity, accountability, and excellence.

Mindgruve’s commitment also extends beyond the business. Joey shares, “Our employees are empowered to champion causes they care about, and Mindgruve provides support to help turn those initiatives into action.” From Operation Santa and San Diego Food Bank food drives to fundraising efforts supporting those affected by the Maui wildfires, they strive to make a meaningful difference in the communities they serve.

The Team Behind the Work

Behind the work is a search team that is deeply passionate about the craft. Joey explains, “Our team is passionate about paid search, and that enthusiasm shows up in everything we do. We genuinely enjoy the craft, whether we're debating match types, testing new strategies, or optimizing performance.”

Through its focus on data, commerce, media, and AI-powered intelligence, Mindgruve continues to help brands turn complexity into opportunity. As a Microsoft Advertising partner, the company is demonstrating how strategic innovation, disciplined execution, and a people-first culture can create measurable results for clients and lasting value for the broader community.

About Microsoft Advertising Partner Celebration

The Microsoft Advertising Partner Celebration is an exclusive event recognizing the exceptional and innovative work of Microsoft Advertising Partner Program members. Enrolled partners from around the globe tell their story of growth, innovation, and excellence for a chance to become a Microsoft Advertising Celebrated Partner in one of three awards. 

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Find more information at https://microsoftadvertising.com/msftadspartnercelebration or by reaching out to partnerwithmsftads@microsoft.com.