MUMBAI: Microsoft Corporation India today announced the appointment of Ybrant Digital Limited as the sales house for the cities outside Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore even as it plans to expand to Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Goa.

Microsoft Advertising’s existing sales partner, AIDEM Ventures, will continue to drive sales in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bangalore.

Microsoft India country director advertising and online Neville Taraporewalla said, “The growth of the Internet is enabling digital lifestyles at a pace never seen before and resultantly we today live in an era of consumption on the go and increasing online conversations. Interestingly, tier II cities are emerging as huge growth drivers and this presents an opportunity for us to enable businesses to engage with their audiences in an effective and interactive manner, like never before. Our tie up with Ybrant Digital is well positioned to help us in this direction, and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.”

Ybrant Digital chairman and CEO Suresh Reddy said, “Ybrant is delighted to provide businesses an option to advertise with premium media properties owned by Microsoft. Together with Microsoft we will ensure maximum ROI on the advertising rupee spent by our advertisers across the region.”

The digital advertising market has grown in the recent years crossing the $166 million mark in 2011 and is expected to reach $273 million by 2013, according to ZenithOptimedia in its July 2011 report. Internet is increasingly being consumed in smaller towns and cities. In fact, of India’s total Internet population of 112 million, non-metro cities account for approximately 68 per cent, according to IAMAI, I-Cube.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in India, Ybrant Digital holds offices in 20 countries, including US, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, Serbia, Israel, China, India, and Australia, and with representatives or partners in Spain, Greece and Netherlands.