Facebook has agreed to buy advertising technology from Microsoft following months of rumors. Atlas Advertiser Suite is expected to help give Facebook advertisers a better idea of how their campaigns are performing as well as allow them to compare ads running on Facebook to other campaigns on the net.
The social network pointed out in a press release that many marketers that advertise on Facebook already use Atlas as it has been an approved partner for measurement since last June. Facebook plans to build upon the suite's capabilities by improving the user interface and functionality in an effort to make Atlas the most effective, intuitive and powerful ad serving, management and measurement platform in the industry.
Facebook failed to disclose how much they paid for Atlas but we do know that Microsoft paid $6.3 billion to acquire digital ad agency aQuantive in 2007. Atlas was transferred to Microsoft as part of that deal although they wrote off $6.2 billion for it last year. AdAge previously believed the ad serving platform would sell for less than $100 million.
In an e-mail to The Verge, Microsoft advertising communications director Tom Philips said selling Atlas was part of the company's move to a greater focus on their devices and services model. Microsoft downplayed the importance of ad serving by claiming that digital advertising is not fulfilling its promise. He said that consumers don't want ads but instead want digital content and experiences that enhance what they are doing.