First USA Becomes Exclusive MSN Credit Card Advertiser In Largest Web Advertising Deal Ever
In the largest Internet advertising agreement ever signed, Microsoft Corp. last week announced that First USA Inc., the largest Visa and MasterCard lender in the United States, will purchase a staggering $90 worth million of advertising on Microsoft's MSN Online Service. The agreement gives First USA exclusive rights to advertise its credit cards across most of the MSN family of Internet products and services for five years.
While AOL is still the undisputed online leader, in the past month, according to Media Metrix, the reach of the MSN network has increased from 30.1 percent to 34.1 percent of all online users. Microsoft also claims that MSNBC, MSN Hotmail, the MSN CarPoint online automotive service and MSN Gaming Zone have remained the most popular sites among consumers in their respective categories.
First USA will use the full breadth of the advertising offerings on MSN, as well as new ad types created jointly with Microsoft's online sales and marketing team.
"First USA is continually searching for new and exciting ways of reaching potential customers with compelling credit card offers," says James Stewart, the firm's executive vice president of partnership and Internet marketing. "MSN, as one of the preeminent distribution points on the Web, gives us excellent visibility for our products and services."
"Among our top considerations for developing large-scale agreements like this is providing our customers with access to great products and services, and First USA is a blue-chip company with top-quality products," adds Charlotte Guyman, general manager of online sales and marketing at Microsoft. "This agreement underscores the great value MSN provides to companies looking for broad reach with a quality audience to promote their brand and products to consumers online."
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