LONDON (Brand Republic) - Microsoft鈥檚 MSN is launching a free service for advertisers to help them plan pan-European online ad campaigns through the portal.
The Media Center service, accessible on MSN鈥檚 website, provides information such as the cost of various formats of online ads, audience profiles and internet penetration in different markets.
The Media Center launches in France this week and will roll out across Europe in the coming months, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. A similar service already operates in the US.
The move underlines the difficulties now faced by the online advertising market, as many websites do not publish competitive information such as ad rates. However, a growing number of companies are publishing information in an effort to attract advertisers. Yahoo! and Excite for example, have posted ratecards on their sites.
With MSN鈥檚 service, advertisers can enter the demographic details of their target audience and find out what section of MSN best reaches that audience and which European countries would be the most appropriate.
A spokeswoman for MSN in Europe said that buyers would still be able to negotiate ad rates, and there would still be potential discounts for loyal customers.
www.msn.com