Microsoft Advertising rolls out Multimedia Ads on Beta Version

Something new for the advertising industry, the tech giant Microsoft rolls out Multimedia Ads on a beta version staple. With this move, we see that Microsoft might be eyeing a big jump into the advertising industry, blowing horns with Google Adsense.

Developing a product or building up a company from the ground up can be a harrowing task on its own. Filled with its fair shares of ups and downs, brutal arguments with colleagues, and long meetings, you deserve to showcase what you offer to the rest of the world after having undergone all this. Now unless you didn't already know, advertising is a tricky thing.

If you have the money to spare, go crazy by all means, blow it on billboards, magazines, newspapers and web ads, but again that’s only if your cup runneth over with funds. For most of the businesses out there that are just finding their feet and each penny counts. So how does one navigate in a situation like this? Especially if these are uncharted waters for you?

Since we live in the golden age of technology, where everyone is connected to everyone, why just not take advantage of that and focus on the smaller subset of people that can be actual potential customers rather than selling a newspaper ad to an older audience. For most of the internet, ads are yet to evolve into something more than a simple text or a malignant popup and to take care of this Microsoft finally unveiled its much-anticipated Multimedia Ads platform.

In a statement released, Microsoft Advertising stated, “To help your Multimedia Ad stand out even more and provide exclusivity, there will only be one Multimedia Ad on a page, for just one advertiser at a time.” The beta programme is now available worldwide.

These advertisements allow new marketers to be the only ad type in a SERP (Search Engine Results Page ), and the enhanced visual component (Images) will bring more attention to your ad. Multimedia Advertisements are photo visual ads that appear at the top of the search results pages. The ad format allows you to use machine learning to blend your own graphics, headlines, and ad copy to display the best-fit ad for the searcher and specific queries.

What will these ads look like?

Yes, Microsoft has provided some sample ads on their website that we'll be posting here, this is what they’ll look like.

Mainline ad examples (4:1 aspect ratio): Image - Microsoft

Mainline ad with enhanced site links (4:1 aspect ratio): Image - Microsoft

Right rail ad examples (1.91:1 aspect ratio): Image - Microsoft

So how does one go around setting up ads for their business?

We hear you ask, well if you are just a bit familiar with google ads you’ll find Microsoft multimedia ads taking a similar approach that won’t leave you scratching your head.

Multimedia Ads can be accessed in the Ad type dropdown on the Create an ad page.

The whole ad creation wizard screen is intuitive with a minimalistic eye-candy approach slathered all over it, keeping it simple and germane all across seems to be the common theme here.

Since you might not have all of your resources prepared for this beta, Microsoft Advertising allows you to create ads automatically and immediately using your existing picture and text materials. AI/ Machine learning would be used to speed up the introduction of Multimedia Ads for your business.

Get additional details on how to set up Multimedia Ads

At the end of the day, Why should we keep an eye out for this?

Well, Multimedia Ads allow search marketers to be the only ad type in a SERP. That means you get a fair amount of real estate on the screen with no other ads to distract the audience. All eyes on you, and the added visual element definitely makes your ad distinguishable from the rest so you don’t get lost in a haze of other ads to your left and right that make your ad all hazy and not really interesting.