Blog post
Microsoft Advertising's new commerce media innovations unlock growth for brands and retailers
Introducing Curate for Commerce and Sponsored Promotions by Brands
Commerce media is no longer just an option; it's a fundamental part of business growth. As the opportunity continues to evolve rapidly for both brands and retailers, Microsoft Advertising is expanding our capabilities, introducing two exciting new innovations: Curate for Commerce and Sponsored Promotions by Brands (SPB).
Retailers often struggle with securing the necessary resources and headcount to support new revenue streams. Additionally, they may lack the established advertiser relationships needed to drive incremental demand, making it difficult to fully capitalize on their data and assets. Curate for Commerce addresses these challenges by providing a comprehensive solution that leverages Microsoft Advertising's expertise and relationships.
Curate for Commerce enables retailers to leverage first-party data and provide shoppers with targeted, relevant ads from non-endemic partners across the web. In addition to a seamless, end-to-end platform, Curate for Commerce offers a dedicated support team to source and manage advertiser relationships on behalf of retailers.
Curate for Commerce helps users meet and exceed goals in four valuable ways:
- Driving incremental revenue: Retailers can monetize their first-party data to seamlessly increase revenue for their commerce media program.
- Minimal investment required: Retailers can quickly drive revenue with minimal investment in technology or resources. By relying on Microsoft Advertising to handle deal operations and buyer relationships, retailers can mitigate risk and reduce operational burden. Microsoft’s dedicated support team can help activate new advertiser relationships.
- Unlocking a new audience of non-endemic brands: Curate for Commerce enables retailers to attract advertisers beyond their traditional market, expanding their reach. The platform offers controls to ensure that the non-endemic ads are relevant to shoppers, enhancing the overall shopping experience.
- Simplifying operations: Curate’s all-in-one platform serves as a centralized command center, streamlining data management, media, and monetization in one place. This helps retailers overcome market fragmentation and amplification challenges.
For advertisers, Curate for Commerce provides access to retailers' valuable first-party data. Unlike third-party data, which often lacks validation, retailer first-party data has high accuracy and reliability of customer information. These first-party audience packages are exclusively offered through Microsoft Advertising and the direct access to known customers allows advertisers to create more personalized and effective campaigns, ultimately improving their marketing efforts and achieving better results.
Top retailers are among the first to use Curate for Commerce to enhance their commerce media programs and deliver value to new advertising partners. This is available in pilot now, to learn more, Contact an Expert today.
"Previously the primary means of reaching retail 1P audiences is via sponsored placements on their eCommerce sites, and non-endemic advertisers didn't always have access to this inventory. Today, retailers recognize that there is an opportunity to enhance a shopper's experience off-site – Curate for Commerce offers a turnkey solution to generate ad revenue from advertisers who are seeking these known and valued audiences."
— Betty Chung, Head of Curation, Retail Media at Microsoft Advertising.
Sponsored Promotions by Brands (SPB) helps brands engage shoppers across Microsoft Edge, Bing, and various retail partners' websites. By embedding ads into key consumer touchpoints, SPB creates personalized, data-driven experiences that drive impact at scale.
Ad on search page on retailer's website on Microsoft Edge Image
Ad on product description page on retailer's website on Microsoft Edge
Advertisers using SPB do so on a cost per sale basis, meaning there are no costs incurred to the advertiser unless a shopper buys the promoted product. Additionally, the advertiser doesn't have to set a campaign with each retailer – they are able to set one campaign and reach a broad network of retailers.
Currently in closed beta, SPB will be available later this year.
“Sponsored Promotions by Brands was a fantastic way for our team to tap into the benefits of Microsoft’s retailer network for our CPG clients. The deep connection Microsoft Advertising has with retailers and the practicality of this pilot enabled our success, allowing our team to deliver beyond the sales targets we set out to achieve. The cost per sale model has been a fantastic way to guarantee results for us as the advertiser, while providing great value to consumers as they receive discounts through Microsoft Advertising’s program. It was also a relatively low lift for our team to activate with the great help of our Microsoft Advertising team, as the set up can contain multiple retailers under a single campaign for operational efficiencies. I am excited for the future of the Sponsored Promotions by Brands program as it continues to grow its reach across retailers and consumers.”
— Steve Bartholomew, Vice President, Digital Investment at Publicis.
Get started today
Curate for Commerce and Sponsored Promotions by Brands are just the latest ways we’re empowering the commerce media space. With the strength of Microsoft Advertising’s leading investments in market expertise, AI integrations, and extensive network of partners across regions, demographics, and channels, we’re ready to help you create better shopping experiences that your customers will love. And we’ll do it all while powering up your first-party data for even better results.
Learn more about what Microsoft Advertising can do for your commerce business. Then, take the next step and request a demo today.
