Microsoft selects its two new ad agency partners

Microsoft began a search aimed at consolidating its ad agency partners back in January 2014. On April 30, Microsoft announced the winners of that contest.

Interpublic Group (IPG) is now Microsoft's agency for advertising and global deployment. Dentsu Aegis is the new agency handling media planning, media buying and search advertising, officials said.

Microsoft formerly was a top-tier Interpublic Group client, but shifted more of its ad work to other agencies in recent years. AdAge had predicted earlier this year that the likely top players in Microsoft's ad review were expected to be WPP and Publicis Groupe.

According to AdAge, Microsoft has a $1.3 billion marketing budget for the U.S. alone, that it spends on TV and other creative and digital media.

Microsoft's Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela, is the current Microsoft central-marketing chief reporting to CEO Satya Nadella. Capossela currently holds the Microsoft ad-budget purse strings. Chief Strategy Officer and "Scroogled" campaign mastermind Mark Penn was in charge of the Microsoft ad budget at the time Microsoft's ad-agency search began.

Microsoft is believed to be planning to move away from product-specific ads toward broader consumer- and business-focused ones, going forward.