Microsoft has taken its first step in integrating data from LinkedIn into its advertising platform, by introducing Microsoft Audience Network (MSAN).
The company markets MSAN as a platform that is powered by Bing's AI, which focuses on audience segments. It aims to help businesses connect to consumers showing interest in specific topics throughout their buying journey across search, web and apps.
This advertising option is built on top of Bing Ads platform, but goes beyond the search engine to enable marketers extend their media purchase into other Microsoft-owned products, such as Edge, MSN, Outlook and others.
MSAN extends marketers campaigns through what Microsoft calls "Audience Ads". Based on cost per click, it's the first Microsoft product that integrates LinkedIn data to assist it in reaching the correct targeted audience with the most ideal message.
MSAN combines that data with "tens of billions of intent signals", including continuous signals from Microsoft’s massive consumer online services.
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"It’s a first foray for Microsoft Advertising where we’re beginning to use, as part of the Microsoft Graph, the profile data from LinkedIn," said Steve Sirich, general manager of Bing search ads at Microsoft. "The profile data is around professional experience, industry and company."
MSAN here stands between Microsoft Consumer Business unit and Bing Ads, as well as other Microsoft offerings that are relate to ads.
For marketers, MSAN is not about optimizing a media spend by channel, but to understand customers and their interests and preferences through data and other intent signals, and integrating all that with Microsoft Graph.
"The Microsoft Graph leverages search and web activity as well as Microsoft demographic and LinkedIn professional profile information to create a unique dataset with rich knowledge of consumers' interests and preferences," explained Microsoft.
And for those that concern privacy, Microsoft claims that MSAN handles all data securely:
"We continue to be deeply committed to privacy and to earning the trust of our customers. We anonymize and secure all data in our advertising systems, prioritize brand safety, and do not allow targeting based on any sensitive categories."
Microsoft has been expanding AI to more of its products, so it's no surprise that the company continues to leverage the technology to its ad platform.
Initially, the service is available for users in the U.S., UK, Canada and Australia.