Microsoft to Offer Display Ads On its U.K. Mobile Portal

Microsoft announced Monday the availability of display advertising across its MSN U.K. mobile portal. Using technology created by Microsoft’s Advertising and Publisher Solutions Group and recently acquired ScreenTonic, the network will display text and banner ads to mobile users in the U.K.

Alex Marks, head of U.K. marketing for Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, in an interview with ClickZ News, described the move as an extension of advertising opportunities available through MSN U.K.

“As technology evolves, people will want to consume more digital media on the go and it’s important that Microsoft is keeping up with them” he said. “Some advertisers may wish to launch campaigns across multiple platforms, but others may want to make use of the more personal nature of a mobile device.”

Among the first companies to use the service will be Yell.com, SanDisk and perhaps most notably, Nivea Visage.

“It’s good to see FMCG [fast moving consumer goods] companies investing in new media, whether on mobile or elsewhere” said Marks. “It shows courage for a brand like Nivea Visage to take that step, in an area that is perhaps wary of digital media.”

“We were keen to invest in a high-impact and creative ad campaign that would really get mobile users excited and engaged with the Nivea Visage brand,” said Poppy Wilson, account manager at Carat Digital who conceived and negotiated the campaign. “Nivea have progressively been putting much more of a focus on digital media, and see it as integral to their communications.”

Although acknowledging that the next 12 months would see significant expansion in the area, Marks was dismissive of claims that 2008 would emerge as the elusive “year of mobile.”

“I don’t think we’re ever going to see a huge explosion of activity in mobile like we have with social networking in 2007” he said. “I think we’re more likely to see a slow, but continuous growth.”

Instead, Marks hinted that the relationship between mobile and social networking could play a large part in shaping the year ahead.

“2007 was a huge year for social networking, but the mobile phone arguably started everything with text messaging. I think that social networking married with mobile could result in something really quite interesting.”

Microsoft currently offers mobile advertising services in Belgium, France, Japan, Spain, and the U.S.

The ads will conform to the Mobile Marketing Association standards outlined in September last year, which specify banner sizes and text limitations for mobile ads.