Microsoft Advertising brings cash back incentives to ads

Microsoft Advertising this week announced several new features at their yearly summit event, Microsoft Advertising Elevate 2022. The announcements include:

Cash back promotions. The biggest announcement at Elevate was the addition of cash back promotions. Microsoft has been working feverishly on Edge and Rewards, and this has now matriculated into ads.

This is a new ad offering that will incentivize shoppers via a rebate upon purchase. Microsoft will choose the “right amount of cashback for the right ad and right user” allowing for advertisers to gather the best possible return on ad spend. There was no information on where the cash back comes from – either Microsoft Rewards or the advertiser, but this does appear to be dynamic.

Ad Creator. Creating eye-catching ads may soon become easier with Microsoft Advertising’s new Ad Creator. This will allow advertisers to find stock images, pull images from your site and also edit photos directly within the tool.

This should save time (and money), making it easier for advertisers to leverage imagery.”We see that visual ads can lead to more engagement, quantified by higher click-through rates (CTRs),” Microsoft said.

Other considerations. Microsoft has also strengthened its commitment to multimedia ads and vertical ads, which are newer ad types. The visual search ad type, multimedia ads, helps advertisers grab attention and Microsoft shared that the security solution ADT “decreased overall cost per click (CPC) and achieved a 9.5x higher ROAS.” Meanwhile, Microsoft said vertical ads will soon include financial advisors, doctors and clinics, legal service providers, and mortgage lenders.

For more, see the full release from Microsoft.

Why we care. The cash back promotions is an enormous benefit for retail advertisers. The visual tag within the ad stands out and should increase CTRs. With the new Ad Creator, Microsoft is further cementing its lead in visual ad options. The ability to edit photos within the tool is a unique (and welcomed) change. Advertisers should be hopeful with the new innovation that Microsoft is bringing to the table and should definitely take a deeper look at the platform.