Black Friday Sales 2012

Everyone knows of MicroSoft purchasing aQuantive for $6 billion earlier in the summer. The move foreshadows MicroSoft’s newest direction online. MicroSoft says the move to buy aQuantive is not a fluke, and to expect online advertising to become a major player in their overall business strategy.  Expect 25% of MicroSoft’s business functions to directly or indirectly come from online advertising.

The online advertising market continues to grow at a rapid pace, and with major players Yahoo and Google participating heavily in online advertising, it should come as no surprise that MicroSoft wants to compete with the major players. Google has made their own purchase this summer when they bought DoubleClick for a little over $3 billion. Yahoo is the only major player who hasn’t made a purchase of a noted advertising agency. The next few years should be interesting as the online advertising battle heats up.