What we walked into01The assumption
MSN left Google demand on the table, and we challenged that. In 2016, MSN — one of the largest premium publishers in the world — ran its monetization without Google demand. The reasoning was defensible: protecting direct sales and existing programmatic relationships mattered more than another demand source.
But defensible isn't the same as tested.
What we proposed02The challenge
We made the case that Google demand could be added without touching what worked — and proposed proving it small. Tests began in a handful of EMEA markets, Türkiye and Kuwait among them.
What we did03The work
- 01A waterfall that doesn't compete with itself
An architecture that enables Google demand without conflicting with MSN's direct sales or existing programmatic strategy.
- 02Creative filtering to a premium standard
Advanced filtering to comply with Microsoft's Creative Acceptance Policy — premium demand under premium standards.
- 03Price floors optimized daily
Every weekday, across 400+ ad units. At MSN's scale, a floor left alone for a week is revenue left on the table.
- 04Identity, done early
PPID on every ad request, display included, with PPS added where applicable — worth another +10% in video inventory performance in the privacy-first era.
- 05Advisory beyond the auction
As web performance became a revenue factor, our analyses went to their teams alongside the monetization work.
What changed04The result
The pilot's numbers ended the debate. From a few test markets, the setup expanded to all 80+ countries MSN operates in — the US, UK, Canada and the European markets included.
Nine years later, we manage billions of impressions every month for MSN. The relationship keeps compounding: nine years of tested assumptions buy you the next room, and we continue to bring product alphas, betas and new opportunities to the table.
The biggest revenue decisions aren't features you enable. They're assumptions you test.