Microsoft unveils Mobile Advertising SDK for Windows Phone 7

Microsoft introduced its Mobile Advertising SDK for Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Advertising Exchange for Mobile, enabling display ads for applications based on the software giant's nascent operating system. According to Microsoft, the software development kit allows Windows Phone 7 developers to leverage the new Mobile Advertising Exchange, which the firm touts as the industry's real-time, bidded ad exchange for mobile devices--the platform "enables multiple ad networks to bid on mobile inventory at the exact moment when an impression is served, increasing yield and reducing waste," writes Microsoft Mobile Advertising global director for product planning and marketing Raj Kapoor on the Microsoft Advertising Blog. Kapoor adds that in addition to Microsoft's own sales force and adCenter marketplace, the company is also working with multiple third-party ad networks including Millennial Media, WHERE, InMobi and MobClix to complete technical integration prior to WP7's commercial launch.

The Mobile Advertising SDK also boasts a simplified self-serve signup process, making it easier for developers to abbreviate the WP7 app creation cycle and incorporate ads into their efforts. Microsoft notes the SDK enables ads with "zero lines of code" thanks to a test mode requiring no onboarding or account login, as well as boasting easy ad control integration via familiar developer tools (like Visual Studio 2010) and ad performance-tracking tools. The SDK is available for download here.

For more on Microsoft's mobile advertising efforts:
- read this Microsoft Advertising Blog entry

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