Microsoft inks Facebook ad deal

Filed under: Web services, Microsoft, Social Software

Microsoft inks Facebook ad deal

by Jordan Running Aug 23rd 2006

The New York Times is reporting that Microsoft has inked a deal with Facebook to provide and sell ads on the social networking powerhouse. You'll recall that earlier this month Google inked a similar deal with MySpace to the tune of $900 million. The terms of the Microsoft-Facebook deal were not disclosed, but it is known that starting this fall Microsoft will be Facebook's exclusive ad provider at least until mid-2009, and Microsoft has stated that it would provide "graphical ad placements as well as automated text-based advertisements targeted to content, and over time, aggregate user behavior on an anonymous basis." Some analysts are describing the deal as a "consolation prize" after Microsoft's loss of MySpace to Google, but a Microsoft's Steve Berkowitz insists that it's "not comparable to the MySpace deal because we focused on the right economics for both parties."

Tags: ads, advertising, deal, facebook, microsoft, socialnetworking

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