Bing Ads have appointed Minal Fofaria to lead its newly created EMEA Insights team, as the firm looks to boost search data to inform intelligent creative campaigns.
The strategic hire forms part of a broader investment by the business into a newly formed EMEA insights division, designed to empower marketers to unlock the full potential of search data to inform intelligent creative campaigns.
With a background in performance management and analytics across Microsoft’s search advertising division, Minal will oversee the development of insights across Europe for Bing Ads as the business continues to grow its global audience. Based in Microsoft’s London office, Minal will report directly to Tor Thompson, EMEA Regional Director for Bing Ads.
Reporting to Minal, the team – which currently comprises of six new insight managers and continues to grow – will work directly with Bing Ads’ EMEA sales teams across a range of key vertical sectors.
A team focused on retail and gambling (Kate Newton), travel and tech/telecoms (Sarah Essa) and finance and automotive (Phil Jones) will work alongside additional team members focused on audience insights (Akhila Sheshadri) and product insights (John Keegan). The team will work in partnership with brands to unpack Bing’s extensive search data, providing actionable insights to help inform search strategies and broader marketing campaigns.
Prior to joining Microsoft, Minal spent over six years in management and strategy consulting roles at some of the world’s leading consultancies including Oliver Wyman and CRA International. Here he built detailed knowledge across a variety of industry sectors spanning retail, healthcare, telecommunications and manufacturing.
Commenting on his appointment, Minal Fofaria, Head of Insights EMEA at Bing Ads said: “The continuing evolution of search, and the role it plays within the marketer toolkit, makes this an extremely exciting time. Search data holds a multitude of insights that can be utilised by brands to ensure they reach the right audience, at the right time, with the right content. Uncovering these for marketers allows us to help them keep a finger on the pulse of their consumers and react directly to changing behaviour patterns or purchase decisions.”
Ravleen Beeston UK Sales Director at Bing Ads said: “Minal’s appointment and the creation of our new vertical insights team reflects a best in class function to empower customers to unlock the potential of Bing as a platform. The decision to build a dedicated team here in the UK and across Europe embodies Microsoft’s continuing commitment to search advertising, and as we continue to expand our reach and scale, we are pleased to announce such an important addition to our growing market offer. As we extend our syndication partnerships, insights will play an ever increasingly important role to help businesses understand how to unlock the potential of search beyond the search box.”