Publishers Collaborate on New Microsoft Advertising Offering

Today Microsoft announced the creation of the Publisher Leadership Council, a group of Web publishers who will consult on the development of Microsoft PubCenter, its next-generation advertising platform for digital media publishers.

PubCenter is to be built on the existing
The Publisher Leadership Council includes members from IAC, Dow Jones Online, The New York Times, Time, and Viacom. The group will have a hand in determining the product's design and features.

"Digital media publishers have diverse needs and face many challenges,” said Scott Howe, corporate vice president of the Advertiser & Publisher Solutions Group at Microsoft. "This initiative is validation of our commitment to partnering with the industry to meet those challenges together. Some key features of PubCenter are still on the whiteboard, and we’re giving our partners a pen."

Publishers welcome the opportunity to play a role in the creative process. "As an industry, we’re forced to rely on many disjointed tools and systems, and the quality of the data we receive can suffer as a result,” said Nada Stirratt, executive vice president of Digital Advertising at Viacom's MTV-Networks.

"Data is critical to managing, measuring and meeting the needs of our advertisers and audience, and enhancing the overall value we deliver," added Stirratt. "By collaborating with Microsoft, we’re in a strong position to help address these needs and, together, chart the industry’s future."