Covering stories from blog.ad-ition.com and other relevant classified media news.

This episode’s covered news bits include a discussion on Cox and its purchase of Adify, a few words on the Newsday sale, KBB’s to 10 coolest vehicle list, and of course updates on the Microsoft/Yahoo! bid.

 

 Standard Podcast [21:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Adify, Cablevision, Cox, Microsoft, newspaper podcast, podcast, Rupert Murdoch, Yahoo

There is no need to rephrase, reposition or re - anything. This TechCrunch article on the Microsoft Yahoo saga is perfect. Furthermore, I really don’t want to spend all week blogging about this and TechCrunch, tonight anyway, has just made it easier.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Microsoft, TechCrunch, Yahoo

We have been loosely following the Yahoo/Microsoft story, as we didn’t want to over saturate you with details of the saga. However, as we promised on our last podcast, and given the key date’s arrival and dismissal, we will keep you posted on our blog with hopes of keeping you current on what is going to happen next.

Well, as the Saturday April 26^th date marking the deadline for friendly negotiations between Yahoo and Microsoft has passed, today saw the stock of both companies fall. Shares of Yahoo closed at $26.43, off 1.38 percent from its Friday close. Microsoft shares closed at $28.99 per share, down about 3 percent from Friday’s close.

Our eMedia podcast laid out what Microsoft stated their next steps were going to be if Yahoo missed the friendly negations deadline; direct discussion with Yahoo shareholders or walk away from the deal completely.  No matter how you look at it, both options could have a negative effect for Jerry Yang and crew.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Microsoft, Publishers, Yahoo

A lot of negative press has surfaced pertaining to Yahoo!’s failing revenue performance in 2007, but what must be said about what they are now doing well, is their gaining mind share through all of their recent press activity.

The most recent update from Yahoo is that they now are testing an ad program that will temporarily carry Web search advertising from Google. Although Yahoo swears up and down that this by no means is a hint to a longer lasting deep relationship with Google, you can’t help but wonder what this will do the current Microsoft – Yahoo negotiations. Is this a play by Yahoo to show Microsoft that they are a valued partner to other search heavy weights in the market place? Will this prompt Microsoft to up its bid?

The Web search-advertising test will be limited to no more than 3% of Yahoo’s search queries and the test is scheduled for an ‘undetermined’ temporary time frame. During the test period, you will be able to see Google ads displayed alongside Yahoo search results performed in the US only.

In a related statement, the Yahoo board said it “is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value, including exploration of potential commercial business arrangements.” What I think they were really trying to say is, this move should make Microsoft wake up and see that their proposed $31 per share is, as they have been saying all along, way too low.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Google, Google Ads, Microsoft, Yahoo, Yahoo search

Although Yahoo!’s AMP is still months away, the company has begun to drop teasers, giving us a taste of what this new online advertising system will mean to publishers and advertisers.

The AMP system will apparently make it easier for Yahoo!’s publishing partners to sell ads online, place ads on their own sites as well as on Yahoo and gear/target advertising by demographic profile, geography and online behavior.

As we have often encouraged Yahoo to do on the blog, they have begun to exercise their relationship with their newspaper partners in the consortium, by giving them the chance to get in on AMP early on in its release cycle. As many of the newspaper publishers have been privy to what the new ad network can do, many of the newspapers are slated to be among the first users of AMP.

Yahoo’s development of AMP is its way of competing with other search giants, as their competitors find ways to improve their Ads Network – primarily Google and DoubleClick.

Hilary Schneider, Yahoo’s executive vice president for global partner solutions, said that AMP was “about opening Yahoo’s capabilities to the entire Web.”

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: AdNetwork, AMP, Yahoo

Covering stories from blog.ad-ition.com and other relevant classified media news.

This episode’s covered news bits include a report covering the business of repossessed bus tours, Yahoo! and Quadrant One, Yahoo! and Light Pole, the success of online Q&A sites and how that could be applied to a publishers property, and the popularity newspaper Websites among even non-readers of print.

 

 This Week's eMedia with ad-ition (ep.3) [26:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: podcast, quadrant one, repossessed bus tours, Yahoo

Yahoo! has updated their display ad options for its newspaper consortium, by adding behavioral and geo-targeting across its network of newspaper publisher sites.

Newspaper sales reps are able to sell behaviorally targeted ads on not only their own sites, but on any newspaper site belonging to the Yahoo! newspaper consortium. The targeting process is determined using 350 standard Yahoo! audience segments, as well as customized behavioral segments.

Currently, there are about 20 newspaper sites testing the cross-sales product and that number is expected to expand to 50 in a month’s time.

Yahoo!’s partnership with the newspaper consortium spans multiple initiatives, including Yahoo! HotJobs, the distribution of headlines across Yahoo!, the adoption of Yahoo! Search on newspaper sites, cross-selling of advertising, etc…. Yahoo!’s biggest success however, has been seen with their HotJobs product, which today serves more than 425 U.S. newspapers. HotJobs has experienced 50% year over year traffic growth and has become the fastest growing Web site among the leading job boards, surpassing Monster.com (source: ComScore Media Metrix).

“Yahoo!’s continued momentum with the newspaper industry shows that current and new Consortium members value the opportunity to combine the newspapers’ own unmatched local news and deep local advertising relationships with Yahoo!’s leading technologies and extensive online audience,” Lem Lloyd, vice president, Newspaper Consortium for Yahoo!, Inc.. Funny, just last month analyst from the street put it the other way around. Analysts speculated that Yahoo! was going to need the relationship with the newspapers consortium to grow an untapped and viable part of their business. Although, newspapers see Yahoo! as their online savior, in many ways Yahoo! sees the relationship as the only thing allowing them to appropriately target and get local enough to compete with the other search giants and targeted search firms such as Double Click and Value Click.

Being able to compete in the ad space is an imperative for Yahoo!, especially given its 2007 financial overview data.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Behavioural Targeting, Geo Targeting Ads, Yahoo, Yahoo! Newspaper Consortium

With many traditional newspaper advertisers using search advertising to build leads and increase sales, it is important that publishers keep current on what the search giants are doing to enhance their standing in the search game. The most recent activity is seen with Yahoo’s change to their search platform, allowing advertisers to use Yahoo plug-ins on their sites. What this means is that users who turn on a Yahoo search plug-in, created by a Web owner/Advertiser, will see enhanced listings when the publisher’s site is returned on a Yahoo search results page. The enhancements range from images, video, deeper links to the site, and additional proprietor information.

“The experience is dramatically different, and very useful to searchers,” said Amit Kumar, director of product management for Yahoo Search.

The tools required to build the plug-ins will be released by Yahoo within the next few months and given the search craze adopted by traditional brick and mortar advertisers, the adoption of such a product should be rich.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: search, Yahoo

There have been many speculative news articles and blog posts covering the Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google saga, each with their own take of how the Microsoft bid for Yahoo will change the world. Up until now, I didn’t think any of those worthy of blogging (you, I am sure, have already read a lot on this topic, on your own), but last night I came across a blog post written by Google’s chief legal officer and then a retort from Microsoft’s legal counsel. Google, it seems, is taking the stance that Microsoft is looking to employ the same monopolistic behaviors with the internet that it once did with the PC and Microsoft, from what I can gather from the legal counsel response, indicates that with Google’s large search share, they are the once trying to control the Internet.

Something tells me this will be a long and drawn out ordeal, but if I was Yahoo! I would be feeling a little like the bell of the ball – “everyone wants to dance with me”

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Google, Microsoft, Search Monopoly, Yahoo

I tried tirelessly to blog about something else besides the Microsoft Yahoo bid, but I can’t seem to get away from it.

So, as many of you may already know, Microsoft made a bid for Yahoo late yesterday. Offering a whopping 45 billion to acquire the search mogul. For some, on face value this may appear odd, as Microsoft is third in the search game, being beaten by the obvious Google and Yahoo!. So, why is the third ranked search giants bid so attractive to Yahoo!? Their Monday earnings report should be a clear give away.

On Tuesday of this week, Yahoo! saw their stock price drop to a four year low. This was the cause of their Monday release, when they posted a lower than expected quarterly profit and announced the realignment of 1,000 jobs. To be exact, Yahoo! posted a 23% drop in revenue for Q4′ of 2007. With this, the timing appeared to be right for Microsoft to approach with the talk of acquisition. Note that this isn’t the first time this type of talk has spurred, but it definitely is the first time that the timing seemed right for both. As expected, since the announcement of Microsoft’s bid, Yahoo! shares have jumped by 48%.

Now the speculative part – what does this mean for publishers?

Many publishers have relationships with Yahoo! for either their automotive, employment or real estate categories. I suspect that these fronts will continue, but the possibility of adding on functionality will enhance - like Microsoft Live Expo.

If you are a publisher already facilitating an AdCenter (Microsoft) or Ad Network (Yahoo!) arrangement for your advertisers, you will probably soon be able to offer them the partnering network. Moreover, with the forces being joined, your advertisers may start to see better results than what they are accustom to with their Google AdWords program.

Not many of our publishers have delved into Social Networking to improve their products, but I guarantee you that if Microsoft and Yahoo! should join forces, it will be difficult to decline to dabble on the social front. Think Facebook!

It will be interesting to see how Google responds to this. I do find it funny that I haven’t heard anything from them. If anyone has a Google update pertaining to Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo!, please post it here.

written by Beverly Crandon \\ tags: Microsoft, Publishers, Yahoo