Google losing the Ad Marketplace?

Microsoft has been selected as Netflix's advertising and sales partner in another market-turbulent move.

On Tuesday, July 13th, Microsoft's Chairman & CEO Satya Nadella confirmed this news via Twitter.

It is the latest example of Google's losing battle in the advertising market as Microsoft celebrates this triumphant partnership.

Here is a brief timeline of the shift in the marketplace:

In February, The Trade Desk announced the deprecation of Google Open Bidding from its platform. Catherine Patterson, General Manager of Publisher Development at The Trade desk provided us with an official quote regarding this decision.

As advertisers become increasingly aware of Google's Open Bidding platform, we've been working to create a more competitive and fair auction. Our new tool, OpenPath, provides publishers with an objective benchmark for their media spend and allows them to integrate directly with advertiser demand on our platform. In addition to deprecating Google Open Bidding, we received tremendous support from both the buy and selling side after deplore Google Open Bidding. Other partners are following suit in deprecating Open Bidding—a big step toward a more competitive and fair auction!.

Fast forward a few months, two other DSPs, Yahoo, followed suit of the Trade Desk and removed Google Open Bidding in June.

On the same day as the Microsoft and Netflix announcement, Digital Turbine also announced its new, unified brand after its round of acquisitions of AdColony, Fyber, and Appreciate. These are mobile ad platforms and ad technology on the DSP side.

It shows that companies in this space are moving away from Google Open Bidding and towards a more open ad exchange model.

It's Microsoft's turn to shine:

Microsoft has quietly made strides in the marketplace the last few years. However, their most recent efforts in the past year have shown they’re ready to take more real estate in the ad marketplace.

In December 2021, Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Xandr from AT&T. The goal of this acquisition was to help accelerate the delivery of its current digital ad and retail media solutions. The Xandr acquisition was a unexpected move into the open web for Microsoft, who had previously?known for staying in the Search and Native ads space.

This move demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to developing solutions that are relevant and useful for consumers, as well as advertisers. Additionally, it shows their willingness to take risks on new opportunities that may be less profitable than their previous areas of focus. As a result of these changes, Microsoft is currently known as a more progressive company whose products are innovating at an accelerated rate—which is good news for anyone wanting to reach new customers through digital marketing channels!

Netflix, the leading streaming provider, is looking to partner with a major ad platform as it rolls out its first-ever ad-supported subscription offering.

Netflix has been at the forefront of creating original content, and that's what makes this partnership so exciting for marketers. Consumers haven't taken well to Netflix's new ad-supported subscription offering, but advertisers will be delighted by the benefits that come with it.

So what's in it for marketers? In its early stages, we know that Microsoft advertisers will have access to the Netflix audience (and all of its demographics and behaviors) through Connected TV inventory. It is a huge opportunity for brands to expand their presence on a highly viewed platform – the additional audience targeting and potential segmentation of its demographics and behaviors will also help you create a more sophisticated, targeted approach to video ads.

As marketing budgets become more scrutinized due to rising costs, more accurate and relevant targeting is a must in every advertising effort. And, the additional ad platform helps spread available inventory further – helping keep CPMs and CPCs at bay (for now).

Netflix chose Microsoft as its preferred partner because of the company's expertise in handling the needs of both ad-supported streaming services and their members. The company's COO, Greg Peters, stated:

"We have a lot to learn about what it takes to create a new ad-supported offering that meets the needs of our members. Microsoft has the proven ability to support all our advertising needs as we together build a new ad-supported offering. More importantly, Microsoft offered the flexibility to innovate over time on both the technology and sales side, as well as strong privacy protections for our members."

Summary:

If you haven't considered Microsoft as a potential ad platform for your brand yet, now is the time. With its ever-changing expansion of offerings, Microsoft now supports multiple brand objectives that are outside of its initial core offering of Search.

Will we see more brands take a stand against Google in the ad marketplace? Probably. While Google is still one of the important players on the open web, other platforms and technologies are finally getting their chance to shine – where marketers are the end winners in this.

With an ever-growing number of products and services available via search engines and other platforms, it’s no wonder why marketers are shifting their focus away from Google and towards these new opportunities.