Microsoft adCenter Terms and Conditions

The changes take effect on April 30, 2007

[herb]

Is this new, did I miss an earlier announcement?

- Microsoft may use matching criteria other than keyword searches
to display your advertisements.

- Microsoft may display your advertisements on its network of
advertising channels operated by the Microsoft network of
participating websites and other distribution outlets.

- The payment and reporting terms in your adCenter agreement have
been clarified to describe your rights.

Your continued use of the Microsoft adCenter program will be deemed your consent to the new Microsoft adCenter Terms and Conditions.

[mardomania]

no, this is new as far as i know. what does this mean? especially "other than keyword searches".

[simey]

Looks like an attempt to increase ad-servings at the expense of 'targetedness'.

bye-bye )

[benevolent001]

Yes i too got this email , we have to wait for while to get some clarifications for each of these points , while reading these it seems MS is forcing some terms and conditions

i would like to see some official explanation for these in simple english

[TravelPixel]

Yes we got this email and im not too happy about it.

What exactly does it mean - I dont read any options about being able to opt out.

What if the 'other networks' are low quality? Can we opt out of them?

Very vague to say the least

[sem4u]

Hmmm...I don't really like the sound of this. Is there an option to opt-out of these new ways of having your ads shown?

I haven't received any email about this yet. Maybe it does not apply to UK accounts at the moment?

[bigjohnt]

what it means is that they couldn't sell their content distribution, so it is now bundled into their search product.
Plummeting ROI will ensue.

First they auto-opt you in to content, and you have to go in and opt out - if you are aware. Then the choice is taken away.

I gave them a chance, and some of YAhoo's budget.
This is unacceptable.

Bu-bye.

[fabfurs]

Paused all accounts until I see how this plays out. Received the same email, doesn't taste right.

[adCenter411]

Hi everyone, I hope to clarify some confusion around the new adCenter Terms & Conditions. We’ve updated our T&Cs in order to more efficiently deliver new adCenter services to our advertisers. Some of the text in the new T&Cs ("Microsoft may use matching criteria other than keyword searches to display your advertisements" and "Microsoft may display your advertisements on its network of advertising channels operated by the Microsoft network of participating websites and other distribution outlets") allows you to participate in current and future adCenter services, such as Content Ads. As we develop and launch new products, you may need to modify your adCenter account to adjust your participation to your desired level (i.e. turn-off participation, modify bids, etc.). We intend to keep you informed about new ad products or services and any significant changes to your service. For example, as we continue to offer our Content Ads product to new participants, we will email advertisers in advance to notify them about how they may turn-off content advertising.

I hope this helps.

Thanks!
adCenter411

[TravelPixel]

Excellent thanks for that reply Adcenter - its reassuring.

Why not just make it clearer in the initial email instead of making it sound as though you are forcing the new features?

Anyway, look forward to examining the new networks!

[jim2003]

One thing advertisers should note is that MSN will decide to opt you into content ads at their convenience. You must then go in and turn off content ad for each ad group 1 by 1. It would be much better if you had to opt in to content or their was a global opt out. If I am wrong about this I hope adcentereu or adcenter411 will correct me.

[mardomania]

Hi adCenter411,

I'm not quite sure if we're on the same page.

I wrote MSN support about the revisions to the T&C. Specifically I wanted to know more about the statement made: "Microsoft may use matching criteria other than keyword searches to display your advertisements."

This is what they told me. By the way: i didn't tell them I didn't want this feature on my account. I just wrote asking them to explain what the "other matching criteria" might be. Here is MSN reps email response:

<snip>

sounds like to me broad match has changed...and MSN is going to show your site in keyword searches if THEY feel its related to your site.

Can you verify if this is true, adCenter411?

[edited by: werty at 7:24 am (utc) on May 3, 2007]
[edit reason] Removed Email Excerpt - Please See TOS #9 [/edit]

[TrustNo1]

"As we develop and launch new products, you may need to modify your adCenter account to adjust your participation to your desired level. For example, as we continue to offer our Content Ads product to new participants, we will email advertisers in advance to notify them about how they may turn-off content advertising."

That's just backwards, not the way you do things. It's not something we should have to turn off, it's something we should have to opt in for in the first place.

[wruppert]

Definitely hate being opted-in automatically. I was thinking of ramping up MSN buy, but not now. Content networks are a disaster for me.

[mitchy231]

I agree. It is the exact same for me. What a waste of time it was to have to opt-out of the Content Match.