Rapt solutions will provide Microsoft with advanced technology and services
for digital media publishers.
REDMOND, Wash., March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp.
today announced plans to acquire Rapt Inc., the leading provider of
advertising yield management solutions for digital media publishers. Rapt's
technology, along with its information and advisory services offerings,
will become key components of the Atlas Publisher Suite, part of
Microsoft's Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group. With the inclusion of
Rapt, the Atlas Publisher Suite allows Microsoft to provide its customers
with integrated asset and inventory management, forecasting, yield and
sales management, and ad delivery and operations.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO)
"Online publishers have a complex array of needs, and they require more
attentive and sophisticated partners to help them solve these challenges,"
said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher
Solutions Group at Microsoft. "With this acquisition, we are uniquely
positioned to help publishers succeed on all fronts. Our end-to-end
solution will include workflow tools, ad package and delivery, turnkey
distribution, content partnerships, and yield management and optimization."
A key product that will emerge from the marriage of Rapt's planning
capabilities and Atlas' campaign management capabilities is an integrated
publisher sales workflow solution. This solution will improve upon the
existing industry offerings for publishers' sales teams when used with
Rapt's existing pricing analytics, inventory management and business
intelligence products on top of Atlas' ad serving platform.
"The opportunity to join forces with Microsoft and to see our
technology flourish inside a much larger platform was too compelling to
pass up," said Tom Chavez, founder, president and CEO of Rapt. "We're
confident that, with Microsoft, we can continually improve publisher
results and aggressively grow our combined client base that already
includes over half of the top 25 U.S. publishers."
About Rapt
Rapt Inc. is the industry standard in advertising yield management
solutions. Rapt helps advertising supported businesses realize full value
from their media assets through a unique combination of technology,
services, and market insight. Rapt's technology enables media companies to
better price, predict, and provision advertising assets; Rapt's services
help drive best-practice yield strategy and operations; and Rapt's
information and data offerings deliver unique insight into supply, demand,
and value dynamics across the digital media industry. Rapt's client base
includes CNET Networks, Dow Jones & Company, Expedia, Fox Interactive
Media, Microsoft, MTV Networks, NBC Universal, The New York Times Company,
Reuters, USA TODAY, and others. More about Rapt can be found at
http://www.rapt.com.
About Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Solutions
Microsoft Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) provides world-class
advertising platforms and tools for advertisers, agencies and publishers.
Its mission is to make buying and selling media simpler, smarter and more
cost-effective across media and devices in the Microsoft network of
properties and beyond. The APS portfolio includes Microsoft adCenter,
Atlas, DRIVEpm, Massive Inc. and ScreenTonic. APS businesses span search,
display and emerging media including mobile, gaming, video on demand and
IPTV. More information can be found at http://advertising.microsoft.com.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize
their full potential.
SOURCE Microsoft Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.microsoft.com
Photo Notes:
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CONTACT:
pr.mspx./ /CONTACT: Red Consultancy,
+1-212-529-7700, aps@redconsultancy.com, for Microsoft Corp.
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