InternetHow to Make Billions in Advertising

Microsoft aims high to transform itself into an advertising magnate.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer last week said his company aims to have as much as 25 percent of its revenues coming from advertising within a few years. Those comments, given during a keynote speech at the !MAGINE 07 trade show in Paris, didn't include details on exactly when that might occur. Nevertheless, the claim is not too surprising given Ballmer's well-known intention to shift the software giant to a "software plus services" business model. The question remains how the Redmond, Wash., company intends to accomplish that plan, especially since it has a considerable way to go. Microsoft last booked about $51 billion in annual revenue, only about $1.2 billion of which came from advertising, according to its most recent financial results. Still, the effort has been underway for years. Most recently, the company purchased online ad server aQuantive for $6 billion, a move designed to help it gain a larger footprint and more advanced technology in that arena. It also took over aQuantive's interactive agency unit Avenue A|Razorfish through the deal, making it a player in the agency space as well. Then, of course, there's the company's Internet Live Search engine which, like Google's, is advertising-supported. The same is true of Microsoft's new HealthVault Search, which it will use to fund its recently introduced HealthVault medical records storage and retrieval service. Microsoft also places ads on its MSN and Windows Live Spaces pages. Then, there's Live Hotmail... [ Read more on www.internetnews.com ]

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