Microsoft Launches Multimedia Ads

Multimedia Ads: If you regularly follow our blog posts, you will have noticed the theme of digital advertising transitioning into a more visual environment.

The digital landscape is without a doubt changing and here we explore the new offering from Microsoft.

Microsoft has jumped on the band wagon and has introduced visual story telling into their ad formats. This means they will now show images and video content at the top of search results pages.

Please note that multimedia ads will not replace your text ads.

This innovation will be rolled out across Windows 11, Bing search, Microsoft Start and additional platforms to provide a better browsing experience for search customers.

The all-new multimedia responsive ad format will utilise machine learning to combine headlines, descriptions and images to create and deliver high impact visual ads.

Microsoft claims that ‘visuals communicate information 60,000 times fasters than text.’ And that ‘content with imagery results in 50% more recall’ therefore this is an important move for Microsoft following the shift in consumer behaviour online.

Again, it is privacy changes that will be at the helm of this transition. With GDPR affecting the way users search, it is now becoming more vital to hand back control to consumers by allowing them to tailor their online preferences on individual platforms such as Google, Bing and many more.

Microsoft ads shows how users can select their preferences in the image below. Once their preferences are updated, users will be shown enriched image and video ads relating to topics and search that is relevant to them. This will present the user with a bespoke search experience and make them feel that their personal needs are being accounted for online, making them feel more valued.

So how will your search results now look in Microsoft?

Below is an example presented by Microsoft showing the search process following the introduction of multimedia ads.

What does this mean for advertisers?

Without a doubt, this revolutionary way of searching will create stand out for your brand. The all-new storytelling approach really allows consumers to engage and interact with your brand like never before.

The multimedia ads will be shown to the right-hand side of search results or in the mainline at the very top of the search results.

Advertisers can also include sitelinks within their multimedia ads to provide depth and additional content to their adverts as shown below.

How do I compete against competitors?

Microsoft has stated that there will be just one multimedia ad per page at any one time.

Creating Microsoft Multimedia Ads:

Microsoft AI technologies build visually rich ads for you by integrating images, headlines and descriptions directly from your existing image assets. In time, Microsoft will also create a hub to upload your stock images within a library to be utilised for multimedia ad campaigns.

The current ‘Ad Creator’ means advertisers can create ads from existing content, recommended content (based on Microsoft machine learning and recommendations) or users can create an ad from scratch.

Ad Creator allows advertisers to edit existing images themselves by adjusting size, background blur, colours and filters to create the necessary look and feel of their ad campaign.

Whichever option is selected here, these features reduce the need for external creative companies saving advertisers time and money.

What to be aware of:

Within your Microsoft ads account, Microsoft will collate recommendations based on your account assets and allow you a 7-day period to apply or dismiss these changes.

Be warned that if you do not dismiss these recommendations, they will be auto applied to your account.

Therefore, be sure to ‘opt out’ of auto apply within your account to prevent these changes being made automatically.

When running multimedia ads, we also recommend checking your bid adjustments to ensure these are in line with existing spend parameters.

Microsoft recommends specifying a minimum default value bid. Bid adjustments can be made at campaign or ad group level. These are presented as percentages that can be increased/decreased in line with your budget. Always check these settings when enabling a new campaign.

Conclusion:

Beyond Clicks feel that this is a positive step for Microsoft and agree that this launch will increase brand visibility and show case brands more effectively.

We welcome the Microsoft editing tool that allows for creative speed and flexibility.

Pilot tests have shown an increase of 85% in conversions following the introduction of multimedia ads for some brands which is encouraging. However, it is important to watch for any automatic updates Microsoft implements to your campaigns once multimedia ads are enabled.

For more information on Microsoft multimedia ads, click here or contact Beyond Clicks for more information.