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Microsoft-Netflix’s Ad Partnership: New Opportunity For Marketers?

Microsoft-Netflix’s Ad Partnership: New Opportunity For Marketers? 5
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read

The giant streaming service platform, Netflix, announced Microsoft as their global advertising technology and sales partner on 13 July 2022. This came after Netflix disclosed in an interview while discussing its first-quarter earnings that it was planning to roll out an ad-supported subscription plan, in addition to its existing ads-free plans.

After years of rejecting the inclusion of an ad-supporting tier, Netflix is now open to offering a subscription plan that integrates ad services to keep the new users rolling in. To nip the issue of its slowing subscriber growth in the bud and boost its revenues, Netflix will soon provide viewers who are advertising-tolerant, the option to subscribe to an ad-supported plan at a lower price, tentatively by the end of 2022.

Among the companies in talks to help with ad-supported streaming, Microsoft came out to be the ideal partner for Netflix, given that Microsoft has no substantial ties to any streaming platform. Hence, its partnership with Netflix will give the tech giant the required breakthrough it needs into the streaming space. 

Microsoft might not be a well-known name in the online advertising market as compared to its competitors such as Google. However, the company strengthened its advertising capabilities with the acquisition of the digital ad tech platform, Xandr from AT&T. Due to this acquisition, Microsoft got the required technology to speed up the delivery of digital advertising solutions for the open web by combining its audience understanding, technology and global advertising customer base with Xandr’s large-scale, data-driven advertising platform.

The tech company is also known for its robust privacy protection policy for consumers and since Netflix always wanted to prioritise privacy, this could be the probable reason why Netflix chose Microsoft

How is Netflix – Microsoft Ad Partnership Beneficial For Marketers?

Partnering with Microsoft will help the streaming giant increase its subscriber base and earn revenue through ads. This will also give marketers who use Microsoft for advertising, access to Netflix’s audience of approximately 220.67 million subscribers and premium connected TV inventory. According to Microsoft, this will not only translate to more viewers having the option to access Netflix’s award-winning content, but advertisers will also receive a better-than-linear TV brand experience. 

Netflix has enough data to sell advertisements easily, thus, the new business will give a boost to Microsoft’s advertising division, which contributes 6% of the software company’s total revenue.

Other Paid Ad Avenues for Marketers to Increase Business Reach

The new ad-supported plan of Netflix, supported exclusively by the Microsoft platform, will be a great opportunity for marketers who want to increase their business reach. However, the Netflix-Microsoft partnership is in its early stages and the details of the subscription plan have yet to be revealed. While the plan is still being rolled out, companies can explore other paid ad platforms such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads and others.

1. Google Ads

Google Ads is one of the most popular online advertising platforms. You get to show your ads to the right people at the right time by setting your advertising goal and choosing the target audience. Relevancy is the key when you want to increase your business reach. Google Ads prioritises relevancy when showing ads to people with specific interests. You can also control how you spend your ad budget per month, per day and ad. With Google Ads, it is possible to know if someone clicked on your ad and track their further actions related to your business. This way you can check which ads are getting clicks and will be able to analyse where to invest in your marketing campaign.

2. Facebook Ads

Facebook is no longer perceived as just a social media network, rather, it has now evolved into one of the major platforms for digital marketing. Facebook, with its 1.96 billion daily active users, allows businesses to reach an even larger scope of consumers. Just like Google Ads, you can create custom audiences for each of your Facebook ads campaigns. Furthermore, advertising on Facebook is cheaper than traditional advertising channels. The ad campaigns are easy to set up and by adding CTAs to your Facebook page, you can expect more conversions.

3. Instagram Ads

Instagram ranks second after its counter-platform Facebook when it comes to active users. With ever-increasing opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience, Instagram lets you build a following for your brand and drive business success. If you have experienced growth through Facebook Ads, you can further expand your reach to its sister platform Instagram as they are connected through Facebook Ads Manager.

4. YouTube Ads

With over 2 billion monthly active users, advertising on YouTube can further drive your business. YouTube advertising follows a PPC model just like Google Ads, which means you only pay when someone clicks your ad, making it extremely cost-effective. YouTube Ads are highly targeted, hence, you can place your ads in front of a specific target audience. Moreover, YouTube advertising makes the audience feel more connected as they get to see your brand in action. Through video content, they get to better understand your product and service better and connect with people who represent the brand. Through YouTube ads, you can display your brand in front of more people, which means you will get more ad clicks and sales over time.

5. LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn, a professional social network, offers a great platform for targeting professional audiences that you might not find on other social media channels. You can direct campaigns at professionals and leaders within the same industry through LinkedIn Ads. Moreover, LinkedIn’s integrated statistics software makes it easy to track visits to your profile generated through ads. If you haven’t included LinkedIn Ads in your social media marketing campaign, now is the time to reap the benefits of it.

Upgrade Your Brand’s Marketing Campaign with Paid Ad Services

Paid advertising helps potential customers discover your brand quickly by letting you specifically target your audience, instead of making them find you organically. 

If you are looking to increase your brand’s reach in Singapore or overseas, we at First Page Digital, an SEO agency in Singapore, can help you grow your business by implementing the right marketing strategy. Through targeted advertising that involves Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, YouTube Ads and LinkedIn Ads, we can help you position your brand in front of potential customers. 

As an award-winning digital marketing agency in Singapore, we can be your partner in running a successful digital marketing campaign. Through our expertise, we design digital marketing strategies effective for businesses of different sizes to help them achieve their desired growth. Get a free strategy session now or contact us today to learn more about how we can help your online business reach new heights.

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