Shutterstock has entered into a partnership with Microsoft to give brands access to the stock photography company’s library of images for use in ads. The API integration with Microsoft Advertising will give advertisers on the Microsoft Audience Network
FREE ACCESS to millions of commercially licensed images.
Advertisers are able to search, preview, and apply any Shutterstock image within Microsoft Advertising, meaning they don’t have to leave the ad creation workflow. These completed ads can then be served natively across Microsoft-owned and -operated sites including MSN, Outlook.com, and Microsoft Edge; and on select premium publisher partners such as CBS Sports, Everyday Health, Fox Business, the Atlantic, Apartment Therapy, and Reuters.
One of the big questions is what will photographers be paid for these free giveaways to advertisers. I asked Shutterstock public relation and they said, “Contributors will earn royalties for the platform license which, similar to subscriptions on
shutterstock.com, is based on the earnings level they are at.”
Offset and footage will not be available in this Microsoft API (application program interface).
“Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing environment, businesses of all sizes are strapped for time and budget and looking for ways to remain top-of-mind with their audience,” said Stan Pavlovsky, CEO of Shutterstock. “Microsoft’s suite of advertising offerings empowers businesses to increase ad relevance and deliver targeted visual messages that achieve their marketing goals.”
Following a trial of the integration in closed beta, the feature is now available to advertisers in the UK and US, with expansion to other markets coming later in the year.