In a deal that reminds us of the close links between Microsoft Corp. and Facebook, the world’s most popular social network is acquiring a marketing software suite from the world’s biggest software company.
Atlas Advertiser Suite is already an approved partner for campaign measurement on Facebook and is used by many marketers to manage their campaigns too, Facebook said in a release yesterday. For users, the transition should be seamless, and future updates to the software will be made by Facebook, including changes to the user interface.
The Atlas software team will remain in its Seattle home and work with the Facebook engineering and product teams there.
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Microsoft Advertising directors said the move did not diminish their commitment to online advertising.
“As a result of the commercial relationship, we will be building on an already strong partnership with Facebook for the benefit of both companies and their respective long-term visions,” writes Dave O’Hara, of Microsoft Advertising writes in a blog post. “For Microsoft, it represents a great opportunity to build on our strengths and to enhance our partnerships as we help develop the advertising ecosystem.’
Facebook has worked with third-party software vendors in the past to allow paid campaigns to be managed on the social network. But now it will be able to develop a desktop suite of its own and offer management capabilities that go beyond what is offered on its Web site.
Source: Facebook Newsroom