Microsoft suspended its advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the US in May and recently expanded it to a global hiatus, according to an internal chat transcript seen by Axios.
Between lines: Unlike the many advertisers who recently joined the Facebook boycott, Microsoft is concerned about where its ads are displayed, not Facebook’s policies. But the move still means that another big advertiser isn’t spending on Facebook right now.
What they are saying “Due to concerns we had in May, we suspended all media spending on Facebook / Instagram in the US and subsequently suspended all spending on Facebook / Instagram worldwide,” said Microsoft’s chief marketing officer. Chris Capossela, in an internal Yammer post, in response to an employee question
- The transcript does not specifically say what content Microsoft opposed having its ads appear alongside, but as examples of “inappropriate content” it cited examples of “hate speech, pornography, terrorist content, etc.”
- Capossela said the company has been in touch with the leadership of Facebook and Instagram about what it would take for Microsoft to return as an advertiser: “The timeline for resuming our media spending depends on the positive actions they take, but I hope our pause will. continue until August. “
- A source confirmed the accuracy of the published material. Microsoft declined to comment further.
The panorama: Capossela made it clear that Microsoft is not participating in the largest boycott effort.
- “Our experience tells us that the most impactful means of achieving genuine change in the long term is through direct dialogue and meaningful action with our media partners, including the suspension of actual marketing dollars,” Capossela wrote. “We have also learned from experience that it does not help our customers, our media partners or Microsoft to publicize our media spending strategy, but to work directly with partners on positive change.”
- Microsoft previously paused spending on Google’s YouTube due to similar concerns, but has since returned to advertising on the video platform.
By the numbers: In 2019, Microsoft spent more than $ 115 million on Facebook ads, according to advertising analytics company Pathmatics.
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