Microsoft’s grand plans to provide free software and services over the internet are predicated on generating ad revenue via adCenter (still in beta) to catch up with Google and Yahoo by offering what they don’t – ads targeted by gender, age, ZIP code, time of ad delivery and so on . Microsoft is betting on personalization as the way to boost its online ad sales and outflank its rivals by combining the context of what is being read or searched for, with demographic details on who is doing the searching.
For now, adCenter is limited. “Today, it’s keyword,” said Joanne Bradford, Microsoft’s chief media revenue officer. “We believe in the future it will be about display, video and all that is advertising.” source
