Facebook and Microsoft have recently confirmed that they reached an agreement in which Facebook acquires the Atlas Advertiser Suite from Microsoft. A leader in campaign management and measurement for both marketers and agencies, the Atlas ad serving solution has been around for many, many years, and is widely used at a global scale.
The rationale for Facebook’s latest purchase is thoroughly explained on Facebook’s blog ((Facebook to Acquire Atlas from Microsoft)), where Brian Boland, Director of Monetization Product Marketing, says:
“Today’s marketing environment is much more complex than it was just a few short years ago. Marketers and agencies struggle to understand how their efforts across different channels complement and strengthen each other. Consequently, they are forced to adopt siloed marketing strategies for each channel, leading to poor and inconsistent end-user experiences.
This challenge also provides an opportunity. If marketers and agencies can get a holistic view of campaign performance, they will be able to do a much better job of making sure the right messages get in front of the right people at the right time. Atlas has built capabilities that allow for this kind of measurement, and enhancing these systems will give marketers a deeper understanding of effectiveness and lead to better digital advertising experiences for consumers.
Many marketers that advertise on Facebook today use Atlas, and Atlas has been an approved partner for measurement since June. Today’s agreement brings us closer together in a way that benefits both Facebook and Atlas’ agency and marketer clients. Atlas clients should not see any change to the service they receive today, and we will continue to innovate and invest in the Atlas platform.”
Facebook ensures current and future Atlas users that they will continue investing in the platform and enhancing its current offering. Atlas, connected to the Nielsen and Datalogix platforms already in use at Facebook, will have all capabilities to assist advertisers and agencies in measuring and analyzing their ad spend uniformly.
From the Microsoft side, we hear that, simply put, “We needed to sharpen our focus and concentrate on identifying, building and executing on the things that are core to our vision for the future as our entire company transitions to a devices and services model. The continued investment in third party ad serving technology like Atlas, while important, is less of a strategic pillar for our business than it once was.” ((The Story Behind the Story: Why We Sold Atlas to Facebook))
In terms of logistics, Atlas will continue to operate from its current location in Seattle. Facebook does have an engineering office in Seattle and is said to look into investing and expanding the Seattle engineering and product teams.
