Just when it seems the drama couldn’t get any worse for Yahoo, something else happens. The most recent turn of events involving Yahoo’s now former CEO Scott Thompson and his resume scandal has the once highly regarded tech company in even deeper turmoil.
How could a company that was previously considered a leader be dead to so many now? According to Kevin Ryan, the CEO of Motivity Marketing, the problems for Yahoo began with its troubled search ad platform Panama. As he explained to us, Panama put the company’s search business in danger, which led to Yahoo “throwing in the towel on search” and partnering with its rival Microsoft.
In order for Yahoo to stay afloat, Ryan suggests that it re-invest in its search business. Although the company is currently trying to re-invent itself as a media company, Ryan doesn’t think “another HuffPo” is the answer. He believes that, by focusing on search again, Yahoo could better serve its users and, eventually, its advertisers.
Ryan also told us that there are opportunities for Yahoo in social. Both Google and Bing have yet to completely succeed in social, which leaves open doors for Yahoo. Ultimately, he believes Yahoo should make drastic changes internally in order to streamline its processes.
While Ryan is hopeful for Yahoo’s future, he said that only time will tell what may come of the company.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on May 20th, 2012. Comment. 
Yahoo is partnering with the Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 19- 29, in order to bring the event to a mass audience. WebProNews spoke with Sean Phillips, the Yahoo Head of Movies and Kids, who told us that the partnership was similar to the approach the company took with the premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
During the festival, Yahoo will showcase 11-12 short films on Yahoo Screen. In addition, it will be giving an Yahoo Audience Award, which will give the audience the opportunity to interact and have a voice. Furthermore, Yahoo’s omg! NOW program will include exclusive on-site coverage of the festival.
Phillips told us that the partnership was a further effort from Ross Levinsohn, the EVP of the Americas at Yahoo, to rebrand the Yahoo as a media company. He went on to say that “it was a dawn of a new time” and that it brings the company “completely together.”
Phillips also said that we should expect more partnerships from Yahoo going forward in 2012.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Jan 15th, 2012.
Yahoo and Gannett recently announced that they were expanding their partnership to include all 19 of Gannett’s broadcast markets. The companies had previously partnered on all of the 81 Gannett local publishing organizations and just some of its broadcast markets.
The extended partnership will not only further Yahoo’s reach, but it will also give local advertisers access to Yahoo’s targeted ad solution. Lem Lloyd, Yahoo’s VP of North America Channel Sales, told us that the companies hope the extended alliance will have the same success that their previous partnership has had.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Sep 6th, 2011.
In spite of the innovations and features that Bing has brought to search, it appears to be struggling on the paid search front. WebProNews spoke recently with Mark Ballard, the Senior Analyst at the Rimm-Kaufman Group who said that the company needed to ramp up its platform for advertisers.
Microsoft and Yahoo partnered in a search alliance 2 years ago in an effort to better compete with Google. However, neither company has shown a tremendous amount of improvement.
Ballard told us that he was pulling for Bing but that it needed to make some changes to better meet advertisers needs.
Filed under Internet Marketing by on Aug 4th, 2011.
Although it may be hard for some to believe, Yahoo was actually a big threat for Google, Microsoft, and other Internet companies not too many years ago. In addition to Yahoo Search, many of the company’s properties were looked to for inspiration.
However, as Sage Lewis of SageRock Digital Marketing Agency explained to WebProNews, this “doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.” According to him, successful Internet companies take risks, innovate, and are passionate about what they do.
Yahoo, on the other hand, has undergone a search deal with Microsoft, numerous management changes, layoffs, and has also closed many properties in recent years. Lewis believes that this series of events, among others, led to Yahoo no longer being a “courageous, frontier-leading company.”
Filed under Internet Marketing Reviews by on May 21st, 2011.
