• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 9, 2025

Microsoft Advertising, ahead of this year’s National Retail Federation (NRF) conference to be held next week, announced two platforms to give retailers strategic technology to drive advertising. One uses a new revenue model the company calls cost per sale basis.

Those platforms -- Curate for Commerce and Sponsored Promotions by Brands (SPB) -- are both running in limited beta with launch partners Kohl's and ad agency Publicis.

Curate for Commerce -- now in a pilot phase with a handful of retailers -- enables the retailers to use first-party data to target shoppers with what the company calls "relevant ads from non-endemic partners” across the web, as well as offering a dedicated support team to source and manage advertising relationships on behalf of retailers.

Kohl’s, which started on its journey a few years ago to build its in-house ad media network, Kohl's Media Network (KMN), became one of the first to use Curate for Commerce to enhance its commerce media programs and deliver value to new advertising partners. Curate for Commerce is available in a pilot program today.

Retailers can struggle with securing the resources and headcount to support new revenue streams, and may lack the established relationships needed to drive demand.

This platform addresses these challenges by monetizing first-party data, requiring minimal investment, as well as supporting advertisers beyond their traditional market.

Microsoft also developed a cost-per-sale basis revenue model that it will use in Sponsored Promotions by Brands (SPB) platform, the other new platform running in closed beta. SPB aims to help brands engage shoppers across Microsoft Edge, Bing, and various retail partner websites.

It creates personalized, data-driven experiences aimed at driving better results in two areas of a retailer's properties. The ads will appear on search and product description pages of a retailer's website. 

SPB, available later this year, uses a cost-per-sale basis revenue model, meaning there are no costs incurred to the advertiser unless a shopper buys the promoted product. The advertiser is not required to set a campaign with each retailer because they are able to set one campaign and reach a broad network of retailers.

Ad agency Publicis has at least tested SPB. Steve Bartholomew, vice president of digital investment at Publicis, says the cost-per-sale model has been a way to guarantee results for us as the advertiser, while providing value to consumers as they receive discounts through Microsoft Advertising’s program.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) 2025 Retail's Big Show takes place next week at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.