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InMobi expands partnership with Microsoft Advertising into Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Africa
MUMBAI: The leading provider of content, marketing, and monetization technologies InMobi on Tuesday announced an expansion of its partnership with Microsoft Advertising to support enterprise and strategic advertisers in southeast Asia, middle east, and Africa. They will offer marketers an integrated solution to power their campaigns built on the search and native display capabilities of Microsoft Advertising and the mobile ad tech capability of InMobi’s advertising platforms.
InMobi and Microsoft have been in a strategic partnership since July 2018 to help enterprises accelerate their digital transformation by providing them with insights, audience, and engagement platforms for a connected world. The partnership was expanded in 2019 as InMobi added the Microsoft Advertising products and solutions to its offerings in India.
Speaking of this association, Microsoft Advertising APAC vice president Nick Seckold said, “Over the last two and a half years InMobi has done a wonderful job establishing Microsoft Advertising’s Indian footprint while doubling revenue over the same period. InMobi’s extensive knowledge and expertise of the digital advertising ecosystem in India combined with their trusted client relationships has delivered significant growth despite the effects of the pandemic. InMobi’s successful track record in India has led Microsoft Advertising to extend their coverage across southeast Asia where they will be tasked with building close relationships with advertisers and agencies to grow the business in the region.”
Microsoft Advertising’s EMEA and LATAM vice president Mark Richardson said, “Microsoft Advertising are thrilled that InMobi will further expand their representation of our full suite of advertising offerings to strategic and enterprise clients in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa as part of our continuation to expand our sales and marketing efforts into this region. Microsoft Advertising offers advertising solutions that reach people across Microsoft properties including Bing, Microsoft News, Edge, and Outlook as well as on partner sites like AOL and Yahoo.”
As part of the expansion, the Microsoft Advertising business at InMobi general manager Rohit Dosi will take up additional responsibilities for growing the Microsoft Advertising business across southeast Asia, middle east, and African markets and leading the global relationship with Microsoft.
“The extended partnership between Microsoft Advertising and InMobi will enable marketers to deliver a unified brand experience to customers by bringing together the best of search and native display platforms across both organisations,” he said.
“We are positioned uniquely to bring Microsoft Advertising to marketers in southeast Asia, middle east, and Africa through our deep appreciation of marketers’ needs, a keen understanding of the markets, and a customer-obsessed team,” Dosi added.
Talking about the benefits of this partnership, Angara vice president of marketing Ankit Maheswari said “The InMobi team is pivotal to the success that Angara witnesses with Microsoft Advertising. Their proactive approach has time and again enhanced campaign efficiency, driven innovation, and delivered healthy returns for the brand. We are looking forward to replicating this success across multiple geographies and markets and going from strength to strength with InMobi as a partner.”
On the promise of the expansion, Commerce Pundit digital marketing head Anand Mistry shared, “In the last two years, the partnership with the InMobi team has consistently enabled us to grow business and maximise ROI for our clients on the Microsoft Advertising platform. The strategic inputs and executional excellence from InMobi have not only added value to our client’s business but also deepened Commerce Pundit’s relationship with them. The comprehensive insights shared by the InMobi team on search, shopping and native display have been pivotal in exploring and scaling our business across new locations globally. We are excited to see the partnership reach new heights in the future!”
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Lego brings Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, Vinicius together
Campaign clocks 314 million views ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026 buzz.
MUMBAI: Four legends, one frame and not a single tackle in sight. Lego has pulled off a crossover few thought possible, uniting Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior in a single campaign ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 only this time, they’re building dreams brick by brick.
Titled “Everyone wants a piece”, the campaign features the quartet assembling a Lego version of the World Cup trophy, before placing miniature versions of themselves atop it, a playful nod to football’s ultimate prize. Shared widely across social media, the ad carries a pointed disclaimer: it is not AI-generated, a subtle but telling signal in an era where even reality is often questioned.
The numbers tell their own story. The campaign has already crossed 314 million views on Instagram across the players’ accounts, with fans hailing it as a rare, almost nostalgic moment particularly for the reunion of Messi and Ronaldo, whose last shared campaign ahead of the 2022 World Cup became one of the platform’s most-liked posts.
Beyond the film, Lego is extending the play with exclusive, player-themed sets tied to each of the four stars, part of a broader football-led programme designed to ride the global momentum building towards 2026. The idea, as echoed by the players themselves, leans into the parallels between football and play experimentation, creativity, failure, and triumph.
Messi described the sets as a way to bring on-pitch moments into an imaginative, hands-on world, while Ronaldo called the transformation into a Lego figure a rare honour, blending sport with storytelling. Vinícius, meanwhile, struck a more personal note, recalling childhood moments of building with Lego and framing creativity as a universal language that transcends borders.
The timing is no accident. With the 2026 World Cup set to run from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, and featuring an expanded 48-team format, global anticipation is already building. Argentina, led by Messi, will enter as defending champions, adding another layer of intrigue.
For Lego, the campaign does more than celebrate football, it taps into its mythology. Because when icons become figurines and rivalries turn into play, the beautiful game finds a new kind of pitch. one built, quite literally, by hand.
