I8 months after signing the deal with Walla Communications and a few months after the agreement ended, Microsoft is again switching digital media partners. Microsoft has chosen WEB3 Group as its partner to sell advertising space and media for its Israeli digital assets, including the VoIP and messaging service Skype, and MSN channels.
WEB3 Group, which operates in the new media field and develops advanced advertising solutions in Israel and around the world, was founded in 2006, and has 100 employees. The company shareholders are Shahaf Bar-Geffen, Paz Dror, Shai Beres, Jacob Nizri, and the South African media corporation Village Media. Among the company’s clients are Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL), Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), Clalit Health Services, and Tnuva Food Industries Ltd., and El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL), to name a few.
WEB3 Co-CEO Shai Beres said, “We are very proud to represent one of the largest companies in the world. Our partnership with Microsoft will help advertisers reach their target audiences effectively, on a range of devices.”
Microsoft EMEA Director Bela Papp added, “We are heading out on a journey, the goal of which is to help local brands use technology to stimulate their audiences with innovative digital advertising. This partnership emphasizes Microsoft’s commitment to, and belief in, expanding and advancing advertising deals in the region.”
The partnership with WEB3 comes following the end of Microsoft’s partnership with Walla. Previously, Microsoft tried its luck with the MASA venture, which held great promise, but did not succeed in getting off the ground. In this venture, Microsoft teamed with Nana10, and an advertising entity was founded that sought to challenge Ynet and Walla’s duopoly in the local Internet market, and included the sale of advertising space on Facebook’s homepage as well. The two companies have since split, and Facebook has decided to take control of the reins itself, and to advance advertising on the popular social network through Israeli representatives in Ireland, and, recently, the establishment of a local Israel sales office.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 23, 2014
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