Microsoft has recently made public statements demonstrating its intention to become a more serious player in the advertising business by providing ways for brands to communicate with consumers beyond existing banner ads and search ads.

In a session at the International Consumer Electronic Show (CES), Mark Kroese, general manager of marketing and strategy within the Entertainment and Devices Division, was quoted as saying that the off-browser focus areas include ads in and around video games, mobile devices, and video. These new advertising mediums represent about 25% of total online advertising spend, and have seen huge growth in recent times.

Figures quoted by Microsoft for the increase in ad spend from 2006 to 2007 included:

-- ad spend on gaming was up 32 percent,
-- ad spend on video was up 39 percent,
-- ad spend on mobile was up 54 percent,
-- ad spend on online search was up 17 percent,

This compares with traditional advertising media where spending has declined: radio was down 1 percent, newspaper down 2.8 percent, and ad spend on major TV networks was down 5.7 percent. (sources are eMarketer, Parker Associates, and Yankee Group).

Kroese said that Microsoft could reach more than 100 million “monetizable users each month” thanks to it games, video and mobile offering. He went on to note that this was more than the largest US cable operator.

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