...Microsoft also created the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) Group. This new business group will be responsible for building Microsoft’s monetization engine to serve the advertiser and publisher community. The APS team will assume responsibility for building and marketing all ad platforms, including Atlas, DRIVEpm, MSNDR and Microsoft® AdCenter, along with emerging media types such as in-game and mobile ads, and the agency arm Avenue A ¦ Razorfish. The APS group will be run by Brian McAndrews, CEO of aQuantive, who will report directly to Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services Division (PSD).

“Today we take a significant step forward in our ability to capture share of the $40 billion online ad opportunity and the larger $600 billion ad market, which is rapidly shifting to the world of online and IP-served platforms, including TV and gaming,” Johnson said. “The addition of aQuantive’s technologies and people to the Microsoft portfolio is a core, strategic investment and step forward in our plans to become one of the top two online advertising platforms in the industry.”

Microsoft Creates Advertiser and Publisher Solutions (APS) Group [microsoft.com]

Microsoft's $6 Billion aQuantive Deal Goes Through [webmasterworld.com]