Global demand unlocks a world of opportunity for Microsoft app developers

Microsoft’s partnership with Verve generated a new ad revenue stream for Windows 10 apps with consistent quarterly growth.

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increase in annual Windows Store traffic
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Category: Publisher

Solution: Brand+ Marketplace

Region: Global

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"Verve is one of Microsoft’s most valued partners in the advertising business. Over the past year alone, we have expanded our footprint to serve ads in 15 of the top Windows markets worldwide using Verve’s Brand+ Marketplace. Verve has been excellent at building a great working relationship with Microsoft based on trust and impressive results. They completely understand our mission to help developers succeed and have been a supportive app monetization partner every step of the way."

Vijay Rajagopalan

Head of Engineering, Developer Monetization Platform at Microsoft

Opportunity

Microsoft’s goal was simple: find an app monetization partner who shared their commitment to the success of Windows 10 app developers. While Microsoft was already working with other monetization solutions, they needed a fresh, new source of revenue to maximize ad earnings for its app development partners. The company was looking for a global monetization solution that could offer high yields with consistency, transparency, and reliability. By collaborating with Verve, they found a partner who could deliver all three by focusing on the unique needs and priorities of Windows app publishers.

Solution

Verve’s Brand+ Marketplace (formerly Smaato) established a unique position within the Microsoft advertising ecosystem as one of the first partners to release a Windows 10 ad SDK. The SDK could be directly integrated as part of the client-side ad mediator in Windows apps, expediting monetization for app publishers on multiple levels.

Microsoft also took advantage of private marketplace deals that allow publishers’ inventory to be spotlighted in custom deal packages. The flexibility to participate in both open auction and private deals was essential to meet the varying needs of 100,000+ publishers in the Windows app store.

Results

Once Microsoft adopted the Verve Brand+ Marketplace, Windows app developers had immediate access to Verve’s global demand network and began earning better rates for their ad inventory. The geographic reach and scale of Verve’s Brand+ Marketplace was essential in meeting Microsoft’s need for global fill, and Verve’s demand continuously drove the best results for Microsoft in the following key regions: US, UK, Italy, Mexico, and South Africa.

The Microsoft-Verve partnership yielded outstanding ad revenue growth for Windows app developers. Since launching with Verve’s Brand+ Marketplace, app monetization revenue for Microsoft’s developers averaged 20% growth every quarter. The key metrics behind this growth — greater fill rates and higher eCPMs — continue to exceed Microsoft’s goals, and Verve regularly places within Microsoft’s top three monetization solutions for the total amount of ads served.

About Microsoft

While many people think of Microsoft purely as a software company, it’s also a large app developer and publisher with a global community of engaged users. In addition, Microsoft facilitates third-party developers from 120 countries around the world to publish ad-enabled apps within the Windows app store. Today, this digital marketplace has delivered 7.5 million hours of store engagement since the launch of Windows 10.

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