Friday, 25 April 2008

Microsoft to Sell Ads on Facebook India.

Microsoft said this week that it will be working together with Indian media marketing and consulting company NDTV Media to sell advertising exclusively on Facebook in India.

The advertising platform was initially launched in February 2008 with the existing Microsoft properties under the MSN and Windows Live Brand as well as three leading publishers - Bollywood Hungama, Equity Master, and HDFC Sec.

Microsoft, which has been the exclusive seller of advertising inventory for Facebook in US and certain international markets, will now provide display, rich media, contextual and video advertising solutions for Facebook in India. NDTV Media will bring advertisers to Facebook.

“We believe there is a huge market for social networking and internet services in India and a bigger opportunity for advertisers to reach out to specific target audiences,” said Rajnish, India Head – Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions.

Facebook continues to experience strong growth both in India and international markets; 59% of its users are outside the U.S. With an average of 250,000 new users registering each day, Facebook continues to be one of the most visited sites on the Internet and has seen a growth in excess of 200% year on year in India.

“We believe this ad platform will bridge the users of Facebook and the advertisers in India by bringing relevant advertising to them. We are extremely excited to be the sole representative of display inventory on Facebook and other partners that are a part of the MDAS Platform in India.” said, Niraj Dutt – COO of NDTV Media.

Microsoft’s Digital Advertising Solutions is a set of global advertising products and services designed to connect advertisers with their target audiences across multiple digital touch points. Advertisers can actively engage with their consumers through a suite of advertising products and platforms across the MSN network, Windows Live, Xbox, Microsoft Office and Live Search.