Yahoo

questions and answers.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Google Inc Vs Yahoo Inc - Strategies : Summary of Case Studies
Yahoo Inc: Yahoo, an internet portal, operates search, directory and programming services for navigating the increasingly complex environment of the world wide web. Like many internet-related firms, Yahoo makes all its money from advertising revenues. Yahoo’s major competition comes from other search engine firms such as Google. Yahoo’s service philosophy is to minimize the amount of time that users must spend at its site. As a service provider, the firm Yahoo believes that before the new product is released to the outside world, it needs to be more robust than the typical internet software beta. The market risk of broad, public testing is too high; users who try a new service once and have a poor experience with it are unlikely to return. Further it is assumed that once a new service is released, innovative features will be copied by competing firms like Google. These factors made Yahoo to adapt delayed development cycle compared to other competitors as Google. So, Yahoo’s development/ service process is based upon “slow” release of softwares to users as a new product becomes progressively more robust. Apart from helping to quickly scale services in response to demand fluctuations, the Yahoo setup also has benefit in more effective experimentation. With such a setup, Yahoo also has the flexibility to tailor the customers that first try a new service. Yahoo has high risk of experimentation and external testing as compared to Google. The competition between Yahoo and Google is Smart Player Vs Smart player. What makes the game between these two players is
1. Source of turbulence :Customers , Internet users, Competitors, Technology

2. Flexibility required in product/service development
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Time to complete the projects Response time relevant to text and context is small

3. Sequential product development
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Concept –design – prepare- produce Experimentation is required

Google Inc: Google started as a small search company over the web, went adding new features for its users and has evolved into the world's no.1 search engine. It is now on the verge of scaling even more

heights with its email service. When Google entered the online search market, Yahoo was the market leader. In a short span of time, Google has become the best search engine by eating into the market share of Yahoo and other players. Since its inception, Google has been successful in giving its competitors a run for their money. Its innovative strategy to generate revenue by placing advertisements on sites which contain information related to those ads has indeed made Google highly profitable. Google's popularity among Internet surfers was mainly because of its superior search technology. Having improved its reputation as the most reliable and useful search engine, Google surprised everyone by announcing the launch of Gmail, its email service, with a massive storage space of 1GB and was quite successful in attracting users of Yahoo and Hotmail. One of the special features is the speed at which Gmail works. Through Gmail, users can enjoy a faster and more efficient service. A Gmail user need not store the messages in separate folders as all the mails corresponded are grouped into a conversation. This kind of feature is not provided by Yahoo. Google even came up with search technology for Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) enabled phones and other handheld devices. Google pioneered the concept of Ad Words and Ad Sense, and thus created a sensation in the field of online advertising. The innovation is major strength, in case of Google. The smart strategies they played right from the start have wondered Yahoo. Apart from searching information and answering queries, Google has been offering various features for its users. Recently, it has partnered with world's top most universities like Harvard, Oxford and some others to digitize their libraries. It has acquired Keyhole Corporation - a map service provider, for Geographical Information System (GIS) applications. Revenue Model Yahoo Vs Google: The difference between Google and Yahoo is the revenue factor. Yahoo gets its revenue from Yahoo mail, ads, and some other features where as Google gets almost 85% of its revenue from ads. Google’s technological innovations and focus on user-friendliness to its popularity. Google’s unique business model has made it one of the rare dotcoms to earn profits. While most search engine companies spent a lot of money on marketing to build their brands, Google, focused solely on building a 'better' search engine. Opportunities for Google are more as compared Yahoo: Google has been generating enough revenue from its Ad Words, Ad Sense and Gmail service. Its IPO has been successful. Recent reports suggest that Google wants to increase the storage space in Gmail from 2GB to 10GB. Once this happens, its competitors like Yahoo will be left in a quandary, diminishing their power in the market. They are already struggling to keep pace with the fast and vast Gmail. In the years to come, Google can expand its business horizon by developing its own operating system, thus challenging Microsoft's top position in the global software market.

Challenges for Both Yahoo and Google: Although, Google may seem invincible, it has some challenges ahead. In recent studies, Google topped the "Customer Experience Rankings" list of search engines followed by Yahoo, MSN. Since then, both Yahoo and MSN have brought significant changes in their operations. Yahoo and MSN both made significant gains in several key areas, largely closing the perception gap with Google. So, Google needs to work towards offering better features than its competitors so as not to lose loyal search users to the competitors Yahoo and MSN Search. The storage space of 10GB in Gmail is a definitely a cause of concern for competitors. Nevertheless, Google has to check out if it is technically feasible before promising the same to the users. Even if it is feasible, there is no guarantee that this service will not be charged in the coming years once Google realizes that the users are totally hooked to Gmail and they have no place to go.

Conclusion: Yahoo’s Orientation
As the world is getting more competitive every day, no company can rest assured of its success. Every company, whether it is big or small, has to put continuous efforts to come up with innovative business ideas in-order to achieve the ultimate objective of being profitable. So is the case with Google. Analysts predicted in 2003, that Google would soon compete with Yahoo for the top slot in the online destination turned out to be true. Google came up with many other features on its search engine, many innovative ideas like Blogs, Ad Words, and video search. Inorder to move up the ladder, Google has to strike the right chord. What is it that will elevate Google's status further? What's more in the offering from Google? These are the major questions that Yahoo has to look for and they have to orient in the same direction if it wants to be at the top. Yahoo needs to be more innovative, flexible/fast to capture/retain the market. References: http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/Google1.htm http://www.icmr.icfai.org/casestudies/catalogue/Business %20Strategy1/BSTR064.htm • Living on Internet Time: Product Development at Netscape, Yahoo, NetDynamics, and Microsoft, Harvard Business School Case Study
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posted by FIVE ELEMENTS at Tuesday, May 16, 2006

The Google Story is a significant phenomenon. It's commendable for an organization to grow so much with superior technology (Superior Search Engine Technology). But it's not just the technology that will lay the future of its business strategy. It will be innovation I believe. The culture encourages this innovation and the processes that reduce the time for a (project) to be converted into a full-fledged venture is extremely fast. This follows retaining smarter (PHDs) employees.

Comparing Microsoft and Google from the standpoint of comparing 2 technology behemoths would be ideal. Although from the stand point of internet/web companies (not software giants)
Type: Public On the web: http://www.yahoo.com Employees: 13,900 Employee growth: 2.2%

Yahoo! wants to spread some cheer to Internet users around the world. A leading online portal, Yahoo! draws people to its network of websites with a mix of news, entertainment, and shopping, as well as the revitalized Bing search engine (powered by Microsoft). The company also offers registered users personalized Web pages, e-mail, and message boards. Yahoo! publishes content in more than 25 languages. It generates most of its revenue through advertising and online marketing sales, but it also charges fees for premium services (such as personals and music) to about 8.5 million users. Additional fee-based revenues include royalties, licenses, and mobile services, as well as broadband Internet access. Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2009: Sales: $6,460.3M One year growth: (10.4%) Net income: $598.0M Income growth: 40.9% Officers: Chairman: Roy J. Bostock President, CEO, and Director; CEO, Yahoo! Search Marketing Group: Carol A. Bartz EVP and CFO: Timothy R. (Tim) Morse Competitors: AOL Google MSN
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/yahoo-inc
Type: Public On the web: http://www.corp.aol.com Employees: 6,700 Employee growth: (4.3%)

Everybody's favorite spinoff is still serving America online. Formerly a subsidiary of Time Warner, AOL was spun off to shareholders at the end of 2009. AOL operates a Web portal serving users with an array of content and entertainment, including news, sports, games, music, video, and maps (MapQuest). It also boasts interactive services such as e-mail and instant messaging. Its ad-supported content business operates through its AOL Advertising (digital

advertising), AOL Media (digital publishing), and AOL Ventures (new projects) units. Search services are provided through a deal with Google. The company still offers dial-up Internet access services for a monthly fee to some 5 million subscribers in the US. Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2009: Sales: $3,257.4M One year growth: (21.8%) Net income: $248.5M Officers: Chairman and CEO: Tim Armstrong EVP and CFO: Arthur (Artie) Minson EVP Corporate Communications: Tricia Primrose Wallace Competitors: Google MSN Yahoo!
http://www.answers.com/topic/aol
Type: Public On the web: http://www.google.com Employees: 19,835 Employee growth: (1.9%)

If you've never Googled, you probably aren't finding what you want online. Google operates the leading Internet search engine, offering targeted search results from billions of Web pages. Results are based on a proprietary algorithm -- Google's technology for ranking Web pages is called PageRank. The company generates nearly all of its revenue through ad sales. Advertisers can deliver relevant ads targeted to search queries or Web content. The Google Network is a network of third-party customers that use Google's ad programs to deliver relevant ads to their own websites. Google subsidiaries include YouTube and DoubleClick. Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page each have nearly 30% voting control of the firm. Key numbers for fiscal year ending December, 2009: Sales: $23,650.6M One year growth: 8.5% Net income: $6,520.4M Income growth: 54.3% Officers: Chairman and CEO: Eric E. Schmidt Director; President, Technology: Sergey Brin President, Enterprise: David J. (Dave) Girouard

Competitors: AOL MSN Yahoo!
http://www.answers.com/topic/google
Type: Business Segment On the web: http://www.msn.com

You might say that MSN opens many windows to the Internet. MSN, a part of Microsoft's Online Services Group, is a leading provider of Internet content and services. Its msn.com Web portal provides a wide range of news, information, and entertainment content, as well as online shopping and a search service powered by Bing, Microsoft's search engine product. MSN also offers communications services such as its MSN Instant Messenger and the Web-based e-mail service Hotmail. All total, the MSN portal draws an audience of more than 100 million monthly users in the US. Its global reach includes some 50 country-specific sites in about 20 languages. Officers: President, Online Services Group: Qi Lu Director Business Development: Business Services Competitors: AOL Google Yahoo!
http://www.answers.com/topic/msn-technology

Yahoo defends mobile strategy as industry competition tightens
By Dan Butcher July 8, 2010 Yahoo has been extending its mobile reach Facing competition from Google, Microsoft, Apple and even Facebook, Yahoo Inc. still has many assets, but analysts are split as to whether they all add up to a comprehensive mobile strategy. Yahoo claims that it gets approximately 600 million unique monthly visitors on the Internet, consistently making it the No. 1 or No. 2 site based on time spent, and that brand loyalty does

cross over to the mobile Web. And, while it is strong in the areas of mobile display advertising and mobile content, some worry that Yahoo is not creating a synergy that is greater than the sum of its parts in the mobile space. “The mobile space is a cluttered market already, and the penetration of smartphones and consumer interest in using mobile services and active data usage are increasing,” said Josh Martin, senior analyst of wireless media services at global wireless practice at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA. “From a larger perspective, Yahoo has lost market share over the last few years in general. “It is not the dominant player and it has to exert effort to remain relevant in mobile and in general,” he said. “Local content is important, but the most important is to make money, and Yahoo has demonstrated that it knows how to make money, sometimes better than others. “With mobile local search, partnering with Nokia and launching apps, Yahoo has tried many things, and those various efforts are important, but they have not coalesced around a brand identity in the mobile space, and that’s a challenge—Yahoo is well known online and abroad, but tying everything together has been a challenge.” Irv Henderson is vice president of mobile and local product development at Yahoo To its credit, Yahoo has been keeping busy in the mobile space, making it clear that it is a high priority for the company. Yahoo’s mobile initiatives encompass the mobile Web, free ad-supported applications, as well as mobile search. The company is especially bullish about the prospects for mobile advertising for this year and beyond (see story). Last month in New York, top Yahoo and Nokia executives announced a worldwide strategic alliance to extend the reach of both companies’ online and mobile services (see story). Yahoo debuts a new mobile rich media ad unit Yahoo’s planned acquisition of Associated Content Inc. is a move that validates the importance of providing high quality, locally relevant mobile content for consumers and advertisers (see story). In the mobile search arena, Yahoo faces challenges in its quest to gain market share from competitors such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing, even after it formed a revenue-sharing agreement with the latter (see story). Part of its mobile search strategy is extending its reach into the applications space (see story). Recent campaigns from Paramount/DreamWorks for Shrek Forever (see story) and Fidelity Investments (see story) have showcased Yahoo’s mobile ad network.

Most recently, Yahoo extended its Mail and Messenger applications for Android devices and debuted HTML5 mobile Web sites for the iPhone and iPod touch (see story). But do all of these various assets add up to a coherent mobile strategy? Yahoo serious about mobile While CEO Carol Bartz has taken her share of public relations hits, Yahoo remains arguably the world’s biggest digital content company, with a vast email network and widely read financial and sports news. “Our vision is to take basically any connected device and empower anyone with a connected device to get the most out of their world by getting the most out of their services, the core experiences that define Yahoo,” said Irv Henderson, vice president of mobile and local product development at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. “We want to make sure we take that connected experience and make it relevant for the more than 600 million users we have on PCs globally, driving deeper connections between the PC handoff and mobile handoff,” he said. “We see this as being a normal transition for users. “We are looking at emerging experiences being defined because of connected devices, and we’ve made significant investments around local, with significant product announcements around local experiences that are mobile-first for us.” Competitors such as Google and Microsoft have tried their hand at manufacturing handsets and have not met with much success, signaling that perhaps Yahoo was wise not to try to become an original equipment manufacturer (see story). Instead, Yahoo has focused on partnerships, most recently with OEMs Nokia and Samsung. “[Another aspect of our mobile strategy] is distribution, and we have a long history of partnerships, recently with Nokia and Samsung, and we also announced a partnership with Alcatel for distribution of their phone,” Mr. Henderson said. “Partnerships are an important part of how we execute our strategy,” he said. “We’re platformagnostic—we look across Android, iPhone, RIM, Nokia and Samsung to reach our audience on whatever device they sit on today regardless of where they are in the world.” Yahoo claims to have 45 million mobile Web users in the U.S., and has applications for various smartphone platforms. Its applications for Android are the latest. “The Android implementations are consistent with that first part of the strategy, mobilizing our core services,” Mr. Henderson said. “We’re executing our strategy by getting out on platforms that are scaled like Android and emerging platforms like HTML5, with which we can do really clever things.

“We’re making sure our experiences on mobile devices are really nicely implemented as users migrate to smartphones and tablets, and tying those back to the PC,” he said. Yahoo is currently focusing on mobile content, specifically applications and its mobile Web site, and monetizing that inventory with mobile advertising. “We sit in a unique place, because we are our own largest customer, because we control our product experience,” Mr. Henderson said. “In our HTML5 site for Mail, we have an elegantly implemented advertising experience. “The partnerships we have on the advertising side are compelling product implementations for product solutions that delight our customers,” he said. “They strike a nice balance between making a great user experience and meeting the needs of our advertisers.” Yahoo sees a bright future for HTML5, and has been investing heavily in it, enabling more creative mobile ad units. “HTML5 is very compelling, providing an almost app-like experience based on how fast it is, with background caching and updating, as well as information, photo and media management,” Mr. Henderson said. “Clearly there are some really awesome and compelling things that can be done in HTML5 from an adoption perspective. “Yahoo Messenger was implemented on iPhone and is extremely successful, and we expect same level of success on iPad,” he said. “Increasingly though, there is the notion of discovering an icon on a user’s homescreen that opens into an HTML5 experience. “The definition of ‘app’ is changing.” Yahoo wants its PC and mobile platforms to feed off each other, so that consumers can access its content wherever they are, and advertisers can try to reach those consumers across Yahoo’s inventory. “We are seeing demand for cross-platform buys, particularly as experiences on connected devices become more and more compelling,” Mr. Henderson said. “As part of the mobilization of Yahoo, we increasingly see the blurring of the lines [between PC and mobile] and we’re focusing on cumulative engagement. “We’re seeing it more broadly, more holistically about engagement beyond PCs to connected devices users take with them, and advertisers are doing the same,” he said. Mr. Henderson that a focus on emerging markets is another key aspect of Yahoo’s mobile strategy. Here is a video focusing on Yahoo’s mobile strategy, as well as its Android applications and HTML5 launch:

Sum greater than its parts? The key for Yahoo is to tie all of the various elements of its strategy together to create a synergy. “Finding out what works and what doesn’t work is important, but the various departments are not talking to each other well enough—they need to tie everything together more effectively,” Mr. Martin said. “Google has done a good job with that—Android tying to desktops and the various parts working together to make a sum greater than its parts. “Yahoo must leverage their various resources and services they have available,” he said. “They are pretty wide reaching, but they are not using them properly.” The reality of the marketplace is that Yahoo will always be compared to competitors such as Google. “Android is going to be a real problem for them,” Mr. Martin said. “Search in general on the mobile device seems to become less important with the rise of apps, but Google is the de facto search engine for all of those [Android-based] devices, and they’ve proven that they’re better at making money in search than Yahoo. “It’s an uphill battle for Yahoo, because there are lots of strong competitors [in the mobile space],” he said. “They’ve been putting out fires for a while now. “Yahoo has 3 million Latitude members, but it hasn’t separated itself from the pack in terms of local search.” Mr. Martin does approve of Yahoo’s focus on partnerships. “The Nokia deal good, because it lets Yahoo do what they do best—email—and lets Nokia do what Nokia does best—mapping,” Mr. Martin said. “They have to develop more of those relationships, including carrier relationships, because everyone else has got a bigger play in the market and a direct conduit to the end user, and Yahoo might get boxed out on some of those platforms. “Yahoo must not just be the default [search engine] but create a compelling experience for consumers on the mobile device, integrating with mapping, integrating with news, leveraging their acquisition of Associated Content,” he said. “There’s a lot that they can do, but it requires a visionary at the top.” Other analysts have taken a sunnier view of the progress that Yahoo has made in the mobile space. “Nokia has fantastic Maps solutions and content, so that is a move forward for Yahoo,” said Julie Ask, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, Cambridge, MA. “It makes sense for them to find best-of-breed partners where they don’t think they are the No. 1 or No. 2 in the market.”

Yahoo has phenomenal reach today, according to Forrester. “I haven’t heard them talk much about their mobile numbers—how many page views or ad impressions per month on mobile—but I’d have to assume they have one of the largest mobile ad networks,” Ms. Ask said. “They have some great applications already—one of them is Yahoo Fantasy Football,” she said. “Yahoo ‘gets’ multichannel from a media perspective. “Multichannel customers are more engaged—they visit more often and view more pages.”
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/ad-networks/6748.html

1st see story above

Yahoo puts into place ambitious mobile advertising strategy
By Dan Butcher March 29, 2010

Sketch-a-Search A senior Yahoo executive discussed the company’s mobile strategy in an exclusive interview with Mobile Marketer. Yahoo’s mobile initiatives encompass the mobile Web, paid and ad-supported applications, as well as mobile search. The company is especially bullish about the prospects for mobile advertising for this year and beyond.

“Mobile advertising went mainstream in 2009—2009 a breakout year for mobile advertising, and I expect continued aggressive growth,” said David Katz, vice president of North America at Yahoo Mobile, Sunnyvale, CA. “We and everybody else in the industry saw big jumps in revenue last year, but we still haven’t cracked the code on the right mobile ad units. “For a long time we’ve been saying next year is the year of mobile advertising, but this year we’re saying last year was it, 2009 was the breakout year,” he said. “What’s next is getting much more creative about mobile-specific advertising experiences. “While we’re all starting to make a lot of money, mostly with experiences that look like PC Internet ads, that is going to change in the next 12-to-18 months as we take advantage of things like device location.” KFC is targeting college hoops fans on Yahoo's Tourney Pick'Em mobile Web portal Mr. Katz had a sit-down meeting with this writer at the International CTIA Wireless 2010 Conference last week in Las Vegas. As a current example of Yahoo’s mobile strategy in action, quick-serve restaurant giant KFC and Southwest Airlines are driving college basketball fans to their respective mobile sites via banner ads within Yahoo Sports’ “Tourney Pick’em” mobile portal (see story). “We’ve worked a lot on cross-platform buys—in fact, most of the RFPs that Yahoo sees now have mobile in them,” Mr. Katz said. “Last year, our fantasy football app was completely crossplatform, with advertisers such as Subway, Toyota and Southwest Airlines taking advantage of mobile and online inventory. Last month the Olympics dominated Yahoo's mobile search queries “Similarly, with our recent Olympics mobile Web site, cross-platform was definitely a trend, and it’s something where we think we have a pretty big advantage because of the huge amount of traffic we see in both channels,” he said. “We’ve integrated our sales force such that the people that sell PC advertising at Yahoo can also sell mobile advertising. “We also have a mobile specialist force to help them do that, but online advertisers don’t have to talk to different people if they also want to buy mobile inventory.” Search frenemies Last month, Microsoft and Yahoo received clearance for their search agreement without restrictions from both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission, and will now turn their attention to implementing the deal (see story). “The deal with Microsoft involves them powering the back-end of our search portal, supplying us with the classic set of links,” Mr. Katz said. “What we want to focus on is the user experience of search.

“Now that we don’t have to worry about core plumbing, we can focus on delivering fun, engaging, useful user experiences,” he said. “These new apps are examples of the differentiation we think we will be able to deliver consistently.” New search apps At CTIA Wireless 2010 last week, Yahoo released two iPhone applications—Yahoo Sketch-aSearch and Yahoo Search—to make search more engaging for consumers while delivering relevant and powerful information (see story). “Other search apps use GPS, city names or ZIP codes to describe location, but none of those are the way people actually tend to think about location,” Mr. Katz said. “We launched the Sketch-aSearch local search experience that addressed that need by letting users narrow their search by tracing a circle with their finger on the iPhone’s touch-screen. “Right now it is restaurants and hotels, but we will be adding more and more local information and rating information from Yahoo users that will integrate natively with the iPhone,” he said. “Yahoo has been in the local business for quite some time, and we will be leveraging that content for both Sketch-a-Search and our mainline search app. “Both apps are free, and we haven’t launched advertising in either yet, but we absolutely intend to over time—we’re extremely excited about mobile local search advertising, and we’re doing very well monetizing queries.” Local mobile search Local and mobile have a natural affinity. “Local is going to be of huge importance for Yahoo,” Mr. Katz said. “For Sketch-a-Search, we asked ourselves ‘How do you look at local through the lens of mobile?’” “Mobile search results should be actual stuff that you care about blocks away from you,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities to use location—it can be when you’re near a certain point, and there’s also a lot of opportunity pairing location with a time of day. “We do some of that today, but with location information that isn’t very granular—we’ll continue to get more granular.” While these new applications are currently only available for iPhone, Yahoo intends to release versions for other smartphone platforms as well. “In 2009 most of our apps were for iPhone and BlackBerry, and in 2010 we’re adding Android to the mix—you should see Yahoo apps for Android fairly soon,” Mr. Katz said. “Yahoo is platform agnostic—we go where our users go, and the proliferation of smartphone platforms is a good thing if it gets people using mobile Internet-enabled phones,” he said.

In addition to standard banner ads, Yahoo plans to monetize the applications with paid search listings, and over time, pay-per-call ads, local promotions, coupons and other offers. The company has also offered click-to-download-in-the-App-Store advertising for more than a year—banners that tie directly into Apple’s iTunes. Yahoo also has integrated with MovieTickets.com and corresponding click-to-buy-movie-tickets banners. Mobile video ad units are in development, although Yahoo has been running rich-media mobile ad units for almost a year. “Advertisers love those rich-media ads, mostly expanding ad units, and mobile video is something there’s a lot of excitement around,” Mr. Katz said. “We’ve added mobile video to the front page of our mobile Web site, and there’s been lots of excitement from advertisers. “User adoption of mobile video, while accelerating, is still pretty nascent, and advertisers are eager to see those numbers grow,” he said. “Advertisers, in general, are definitely looking for experiences that get the user involved and engaged with the content on the page without disrupting the experience. “You’ll be seeing some new Yahoo rich-media ad units that are unique and innovative, but all of that stuff still emerging, and our first priority is getting the user experience right.” While Yahoo’s bread-and-butter for mobile local search is national or multinational brands and retailers with bricks-and-mortar locations, Mr. Katz said that he eventually sees small businesses playing a bigger role. “There is an opportunity for smaller merchants, but the challenge has always been bringing them into the system,” Mr. Katz said. “One of the best ways to do that so far has been partnering with folks with local sales forces, and over time you may see self-service interfaces for local merchants. “Uptake among SMBs for classic sponsored search has been mixed, as there’s the impression that it is still fairly complex for the average mom-and-pop shop, so it’s up to us to make it easier for them," he said. “A challenge we need to address for all advertisers, large or small, is to present mobile search in a way that’s easy to buy—it can be hard for advertisers to specify all of the GPS locations they need to buy.” Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/search/5800.html 2nd see story above

Nokia, Yahoo partner to extend reach of PC, mobile services
By Dan Butcher May 25, 2010 Yahoo's Carol Bartz and Nokia's Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo at a press conference in New York NEW YORK - Yesterday in Manhattan top Yahoo and Nokia executives announced a worldwide strategic alliance to extend the reach of both companies’ online and mobile services. Building on more than five years of collaboration on both PCs and mobile devices, Nokia will tap Yahoo’s email and instant messaging platforms as part of its attempt to crack the North American market, while Yahoo will leverage maps and navigation services powered by Navteq, a subsidiary of Nokia. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the executives said that there are no plans for a Yahoo-branded Nokia handset. “Nokia’s Navteq unit will bring innovation to maps and navigation,” said Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. “We haven’t been focused enough on our maps platform and this changes that—it’s an increasing part of Yahoo’s DNA and we see it as core to our business, but we’ll partner with others when we need to add strength to our offering “By using Nokia’s Navteq digital maps and navigation technology, we can provide the best experience for our users,” she said. “Yahoo lost its focus on maps a couple of years ago—we chose to invest in other areas—but this really allows us to provide what is considered needed services around location and navigation to serve local communities. “Nokia’s Navteq technology allows us to focus on our strengths, including search and content— Nokia is very interested in the North American market, and we have 78 percent Internet penetration in this market, so it’s very synergistic.” Nokia is focusing on integrating its mobile phones, smartphones and mobile computers with services through Ovi, including music, maps, applications and email. Nokia's Navteq specializes in digital mapping and navigation services, including location-based advertising. Yahoo recently signed a similar deal with one of Nokia’s biggest competitors, Korean handset manufacturer Samsung (see story). While the partnership between Nokia and Yahoo does not extend into the advertising realm, meaning the two companies will continue to compete in that space, location data gleaned from Navteq could help Yahoo’s targeting capabilities.

Yahoo has been emphasizing location and ramping up its mobile advertising strategy (see story). All about location-based services As part of the alliance: • Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo’s maps and navigation services, integrating Ovi Maps across Yahoo properties, branded as “powered by Ovi” • Yahoo will become the exclusive, global provider of Nokia’s Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat services, branded as “Ovi Mail / Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo” • Nokia and Yahoo plan to work on an ID federation between their services, beginning by letting people to use their Ovi user IDs across select Yahoo properties to access online and mobile content Here are the two executives discussing the partnership at yesterday's press conference in New York: Global reach play Together, Yahoo and Nokia will continue to court consumers, developers, carriers and advertisers. The companies plan to take advantage of their respective global distribution networks and brand recognition across consumer audiences. Select cobranded service offerings are expected to become available from the second half of 2010, with global availability expected in 2011. “We are two powerful consumer brands working together to bring better services to potent billions around the world,” said Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia, Espoo, Finland. “This is part of our strategy to partner with companies with key complementary strengths to continue to build an ecosystem that benefits us all.” Mr. Kallasvuo said that Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger are No. 1 in the U.S. on both PC and mobile devices, and that 300 million Yahoo users send 100 billion email messages a month and a billion instant messages a month. “Yahoo has a strong record of integrating these services seamlessly on mobile devices, and with Ovi Email and Ovi Chat powered by Yahoo, we expect to offer even better email and messaging services than ever before,” Mr. Kallasvuo said. “The partnership will help our respective global distribution in markets in which we each have tremendous potential, and for Nokia one of these is this one, North America. “We are the leader in our industry yet we do not lead in the biggest market in the world, the U.S. market, and this is one step we are taking to change that,” he said. “We expect this alliance to be a crucial step to expand our Ovi Mail and Maps services.”

Both companies stressed the fact that the partnership will help both companies attain scale in key areas. “Ovi Maps is now a force on the Web as well as mobile, and we will continue to innovate on that platform and make it an even better platform for developers and gain mindshare in the North Amercian market when it comes to location-based services,” Mr. Kallasvuo said. “Better scale will help us both to be stronger,” he said. “The alliance with Yahoo makes a lot of sense to me strategically, operationally and financially.” Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/software-technology/6355.html 3rd see story above

Yahoo acquisition proves custom mobile content is king: Examiner.com exec
By Dan Butcher May 24, 2010 Southwest Airlines has had success reaching sports fans who visit Yahoo Mobile Yahoo Inc.’s planned acquisition of Associated Content Inc. is a move that validates the importance of providing high quality, locally relevant mobile content for consumers and advertisers, according to the Examiner.com’s top executive. Acquiring Associated Content is part of Yahoo’s push to enhance its social, mobile, local and media offerings by combining Associated Content's approximately 380,000 contributors with Yahoo's partnerships with content brands and its team of editors. Mobile Marketer’s Dan Butcher interviewed Rick Blair, CEO of Examiner.com, Denver, CO. Here is what he had to say:
What is Yahoo’s strategy behind the acquisition of Associated Content? This is an exciting time for the media world, as there is clearly a need and thirst for content that speaks to consumers’ lifestyle interests.

From our viewpoint, when you couple that with deep local perspective, it’s a powerful proposition. Rick Blair is CEO of Examiner.com

We view this as another strong indicator that a market opportunity exists for those who want to step forward and fill the void that traditional media has created, but in a new social media orientation. Content is and will continue to be king and, in our opinion, this move further advances Yahoo's editorial offerings and validates the use of low-cost, crowd-sourced content. What challenges will Associated Content address for Yahoo and its partners and customers? What are the synergies? From what we have read, AC has a good model that allows depth into several topical areas in scalable format. Whereas Examiner.com has gone deep into local as well as topical, the need for all major news providers is to have more content that gives consumers authentic information appealing to their needs. As a leading media network with local, professional/amateur writers—we call them Examiners— generating more than 3,000 articles a day centered on consumers’ interests within and about their communities, we have a unique perspective on this industry and unmatched local reach. By its acquisition, it initially appears Yahoo has solidified that our industry has appeal and value at a high level. In my opinion, one of the major challenges for Yahoo will be maintaining quality standards of the content as the business expands. Here at Examiner.com we have implemented a stringent application and vetting process to ensure we meet that standard as well. We have a system that enables Examiner.com to tier Examiners and identify, program, display and distribute the best content, as well as train and develop Examiners so overall quality of content improves. We combine technology with human touch points throughout our entire process, starting with the contributor application, which garners a 45 percent acceptance rate. We are all interested to see how Yahoo approaches this with AC. We are extremely happy for Luke Beatty and the AC team. They have been working hard at creating a strong product, and it appears those efforts have paid off. How will Associated Content help Yahoo create new services and revenue streams? The strength of a system like AC, similar to our own, is the ability to produce custom content, whether it is for a brand or cause, on a grand scale.

As everyone is still seeking the best way to connect brands to consumers via online content, I assume Yahoo will utilize AC to expand their advertising networks around topically relevant content. How will this affect Yahoo’s mobile initiatives and the mobile space, in general? From what I have read, in the past few months, Yahoo has made significant strides in how it approaches mobile advertising, and with local content from AC now in the mix, they will be able to target and provide new value to their overall mobile strategy. From my perspective, the acquisition of AC will continue to advance Yahoo’s mobile initiatives, and will shed light on the opportunities available to capitalize on the two, local content and mobile, for the entire mobile community. At Examiner.com, we also recognize the value of our local content, and the inherent opportunities the mobile device can provide, as we’ve been laying the groundwork for some extremely innovative applications and mobile integration that will set the bar high. Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/6343.html 4th see story above

Is Yahoo toast in mobile search?
By Dan Butcher March 9, 2010 Three-headed search monster A breakup of its stand-alone mobile group and a shakeup of its wireless carrier relationships for mobile search are challenges Yahoo must overcome to gain market share from competitors such as Google and Microsoft. Yahoo’s CEO Carol Bartz recently broke up the company’s mobile group and spread out the employees across other departments, leading to the departure of several senior executives. In addition, T-Mobile USA discontinued its search deal with Yahoo, instead tapping Google as its default mobile search provider, although Yahoo is still the default on the carrier’s European networks. “These deals [between search engine providers and carriers] are primarily about revenue share and who is providing a good deal,” said Julie Ask, San Francisco-based vice president/principal analyst at Forrester Research.

“Mobile search revenue is relatively small today both as a percentage of total paid search revenue as well as mobile marketing spend,” she said. “That said, search is a relatively popular activity for cell phone users, especially within the browser. “One of the challenges of mobile is that there is still relatively little inventory, so it is hard to spend a lot of money—given how little inventory, it is also challenging to break it up into eversmaller pieces, say, by using location as a filter.” Julie Ask is vice president/principal analyst at Forrester Research However, mobile search is an invaluable tool for brands and retailers. “Search is powerful because it shows intent—intent to buy, get a slice of pizza, or whatever,” Ms. Ask said. “The mobile commerce market is growing, but there is still relatively little that people purchase on their cell phone and it is hard to prove ROI and the number of influenced sales.” Mobile search advertising, especially with the rise of smartphones with GPS, is very effective at driving consumers to bricks-and-mortar locations. Josh Martin is senior analyst of wireless media at Strategy Analytics And despite the fact that it is the early days, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo all understand the stakes. As smartphone penetration increases and brands start to realize the potential of mobile search, revenue will grow quickly. Three-way battle for market share Last month, Microsoft and Yahoo received clearance for their search agreement without restrictions from both the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission, and will now turn their attention to implementing the deal. Yahoo is transitioning its algorithmic and paid search platforms to Microsoft, with Yahoo becoming the exclusive relationship sales force for both companies’ premium search advertisers globally (see story). While the deal is designed to help both companies compete more effectively with Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are still competing in many areas, including the battle to form relationships with carriers to be the on-deck default search portal. “The first thing I think is really interested fragmented nature of existing relationships and how it is impacting overall handset distribution,” said Josh Martin, senior analyst of wireless media at Strategy Analytics, Newton, MA.

“These relationships seem to an extent forged at a time when smartphones were not necessarily going to come with an embedded search engine tied to a particular provider, but the market is shifting,” he said. Google is the default search engine for Apple’s iPhone, which runs on AT&T’s network AT&T recently announced that it will go with Yahoo as the default search engine for the Motorola Backflip, the carrier’s first smartphone based on Google’s Android operating system, and many other Web-enabled handsets from AT&T already have Yahoo as the default browser. Microsoft’s Bing is the default search engine for Verizon Wireless, which is the No. 1 carrier in the United States in terms of the number of subscribers. Most Sprint and T-Mobile USA subscribers now have Google as their default search engine. Search-engine branding Does a consumer’s preference for Yahoo Mail, Microsoft’s Hotmail or Google’s Gmail determine which search portal they tend to use? How much brand loyalty is there when it comes to search engines? Does online loyalty translate to mobile loyalty? “If a carrier switches out its default search engine, will consumers care or notice? Probably not,” Mr. Martin said. “How many users will go in and change the default browser setting? Probably not many. “These carrier deals are clearly a boon for the search providers that are preinstalled on Webenabled handsets,” he said. “Mass-market consumers are buying these devices now, and there’s a good chance that the default search engine provider will remain the search engine provider for the life of the phone.” Who holds the cards in these negotiations? Who has the leverage? “Someone like a Yahoo or a Microsoft probably does’t have a ton of power in negotiations with carriers, because they need to get on handsets,” Mr. Martin said. “They have no alternative, so carriers hold a lot of sway. “Microsoft will have more influence when Windows Phone 7 launches,” he said. “If you develop a handset that consumers are salivating over, you have the ability to demand things. “Middle of the road smartphones such as the HTC Droid Eris [based on Google’s Android OS], you have less leverage, but if you’re HTC, do you really care who your search engine provider is?”

Handset manufacturers partnering with different carriers and operating systems, carriers partnering with different handset manufacturers and search providers, search providers launching operating systems…it is enough to make your head spin. Consumers have made it clear over and over again that they appreciate choice. And while fragmented, the current mobile environment does provide that. “There’s a fine line that has to be walked—as we’ve seen with regulatory environments, if you too closely associate certain aspects of the platform with your operating system, you can get into trouble,” Mr. Martin said. “A little fragmentation in the mobile search space could be good for Google and Microsoft, because it is proof that there are options for consumers,” he said. Yahoo's rebuttal Cory Pforzheimer, senior manager of corporate communications at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA, provided the following statement: Yahoo seeks to be the center of people’s online lives. We have been more tightly integrating our mobile business into the company’s DNA as we create the best possible user experiences for our consumers and partners regardless of device or access point. As the adoption of Yahoo’s mobile services continues to grow globally, mobile continues to be a key priority for the company. Mobile is a key priority for Yahoo, as we are at the forefront of innovation and the development of personally relevant Internet experiences for consumers globally. With more than 80 carrier partnerships for our award-winning mobile search experience, including the recently announced partnerships with O2 in Germany and Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, we are displacing our largest search competitor as the trusted partner of choice. As long-standing partners, T-Mobile USA and Yahoo will continue to work together on a variety of significant initiatives, including the recent partnership for Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger and prominent placement for category leading services including Yahoo News, Yahoo Sports, Yahoo Finance, Flickr and weather, all of which will be available from T-Mobile’s Web2Go portal. Yahoo remains the exclusive mobile search service for millions of consumers across T-Mobile's European footprint. Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].

Comments on "Is Yahoo toast in mobile search?"

1. Howie G says: March 10, 2010 at 1:28pm
I wouldn't be worried if I was Yahoo. Mobile Search is a bit over hyped. The fact is while there will be a niche for search on mobile phone sized devices most search will be done via Tablet computers. The reason being if I had a choice of surfing the web when eating lunch by myself would I choose a small screen phone....or a tablet? Same for video. Same for games. Same for reading. Mobile Phone size stuff is only because the next size up does not exist and when it will....phones will go back to being phones and specialty use devices like GPS or quick searches and maybe social network updating. http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/search/5612.html 5th see story above

Yahoo redesigns mobile search experience with two new apps
By Giselle Tsirulnik March 26, 2010 Sketch-a-Search At CTIA Wireless 2010, Yahoo Inc. released two iPhone applications – Yahoo Sketch-a-Search and Yahoo Search – to make search more engaging for consumers while delivering relevant and powerful information. Yahoo first revolutionized mobile search in 2007 with the launch of Yahoo oneSearch, which delivered answers, not just Web links. This consumer experience signified a tipping point in the industry as Yahoo fundamentally changed the way consumers used search on their mobile phones. “Mobile search is a huge focus at Yahoo! and a key priority for the company as we develop the next generation of Internet services across PC and mobile,” said Cory Pforzheimer, spokesman at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. “We are focused on making our industry leading mobile Internet services and applications available to the broadest audience possible across the widest selection of devices. “In addition to providing our consumers with rich and personally relevant services, we enable our advertisers to extend their brand reach across PC and mobile to engage with their key audiences,” he said. “Consumers are looking for unique search experiences that are more intuitive and we want to be sure to deliver on that front.”

Since the launch of oneSearch Yahoo has partnered with more than 80 leading carriers and original equipment manufacturers around the world to deliver a mobile search experience to millions of users. Yahoo Sketch-a-Search Yahoo Sketch-a-Search makes search even easier, without typing keywords or thinking about search terms. Consumers simply draw a boundary on their phone's map to discover local businesses within that location. Yahoo Sketch-a-Search delivers local content without people needing to know the neighborhood. Initially available for restaurant searches in the U.S., Yahoo Sketch-a-Search will launch additional local categories on an ongoing basis and extend to international markets in the near future. Key features include: • Sketch and Discover: Use a finger to draw a circle, line, or any shape to get a bird's eye view of what's nearby in a specific area or on a specific street. • Location Awareness: Defaults to a person's current location, remembers previous locations, and allows people to search for a specific city or an area of interest. • Robust Local Content: Filter restaurant results by cuisine, ambiance, and star rating. Click on restaurants to read reviews, browse photos, get directions, or make a phone call -- all directly within the app. • Shake to Clear: Shake the device or click on the Sketch icon to start a new Sketch-a-Search. Yahoo Search iPhone app Maximized for speed, the Yahoo Search iPhone app revolves around an innovative interface that delivers contextually relevant results quickly and efficiently. Features include embedded maps, localized query suggestions that display as consumers type, intelligent search history, voice search, and content and information from Yahoo and other sources that appear directly in the results. The Yahoo Search iPhone application is available in 22 markets across North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and will continue to roll out to additional locations. Key features include: • Fast Results: Get results, detailed summaries at a glance, and instant, local suggestions that display as you type with Yahoo! Search Assist.

• Local Shortcuts: Refine results based on your location with embedded maps and location-aware technology. Then call a business or get directions with a single click, all without leaving the results. (Currently available only in the U.S.) • Rich Local Content: View photos, ratings, phone numbers, and more from Yahoo! Local, Yelp, and Citysearch. • Rich Results: Get the answers you're looking for -- not a list of meaningless links -- with search results that are infused with specific, helpful information from Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Movies, and other providers. • Integrated Voice Search: Don't type -- just speak your query, making input easy and fast. • Intelligent Search History: Get quick access to recent searches and local businesses. • Shake to Clear: Shake the device to start a new query. “Yahoo is pushing the bounds and defining the future of the Internet, mobile and search experiences,” Mr. Pforzheimer said. “These two apps are just a sample of the continued innovation and investment coming from Yahoo so stay tuned for more. “We’re redesigning the consumer experience to make search simple, fun and fast,” he said. “Based on early feedback, our mobile search experiences are delighting users. “We see enormous potential in location aware search advertising and are very excited to offer brands unique opportunities to engage with consumers in new and meaningful ways.” Senior Editor Giselle Tsirulnik covers advertising, messaging, legal/privacy and database/CRM. Reach her at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/search/5787.html 6th see story above

Paramount, DreamWorks animate Shrek campaign with mobile rich media
By Dan Butcher June 4, 2010 Yahoo debuts a new mobile rich media ad unit Viacom subsidiaries Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks used mobile rich media advertising as part of the multichannel campaign to promote the summer blockbuster Shrek Forever After.

Timed to coincide with the film opening on May 21, the Shrek Forever After campaign targeted iPhone on the Yahoo mobile homepage at http://m.yahoo.com and the Yahoo Movies mobile portal at http://m.yahoo.com/movies from May 20 to May 22. The studios tapped a rich media mobile ad unit that Yahoo recently debuted to boost ticket sales for the movie’s crucial opening weekend. “We want to push the current boundaries of mobile advertising by showcasing experiences built in HTML5 to deliver ad experiences that are fun and compelling for both users and advertisers,” said Alex Linde, director of mobile advertising at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA.
“We understand that the ad experience starts before the click and we’d like to make maximum use of the canvas we have,” he said.

Mediaedge:cia (MEC), a global communications planning and implementation agency, placed the Shrek mobile ad buy with Yahoo. Yahoo banner creative for the Shrek campaign A new class of mobile display ad The Yahoo rich media ad unit features animation. On Yahoo’s mobile homepage, the top of Shrek’s head is visible along the bottom of the iPhone screen. If a consumer taps on his dome, Shrek pops up to fill the screen, with “Tickets” and “Showtimes” icons on his forehead. Another tap directs the user to a microsite, where they can watch the trailer or buy a ticket for a local theatre via Fandango. On the Yahoo Movies mobile page, tapping Shrek’s head also causes it to fill the screen, where the user can tap again move to the microsite. This rich media unit is the first of Yahoo’s new class of interactive mobile display advertisements that leverage HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript with the goal of delivering more engaging experiences for the company’s advertisers and users. Here is a screengrab of the Shrek ad on Yahoo Movies mobile portal: Another ad unit was deployed as part of the campaign, an animated banner featuring Shrek and the tagline “The Final Chapter 3D” and the call-to-action “Tap to play trailer & get showtimes.” Mobile display ads generally take the form of static banners across the top and bottom of the screen.

Although behavioral targeting has drastically increased the effectiveness of all display ads, it has been challenging to engage mobile users at the same level as desktop, according to Yahoo. With advancements in smartphone technology and the next generation of HTML5 browsers, it is now possible to display highly engaging and interactive rich media content on high-end mobile devices. While there has been a lot of buzz about HTML5, much of the investment has been focused on mobile Web development. Many mobile sites have been upgraded to feature compelling interactive content for smartphone users. However, from an advertiser point of view, banner campaigns remain the norm. Mr. Linde said that Yahoo believes the rich media experience starts before the click and encompasses the transition to an advertiser’s landing page. This new class of mobile display format is Yahoo’s attempt to bridge the gap between traditional banners and landing pages with creative executions of interactive ads. These Shrek ads were designed specifically to fit within Yahoo pages to offer the best experience for the user and meet the needs of the advertiser. Going forward there will be more ads that are tailored to the way people use mobile or that take advantage of particular attributes of mobile devices, according to Yahoo. Mr. Linde said that users like to “content snack” on mobile and ads that offer video or creative interactivity such as the Shrek rich media can be very successful. “The target demographic for this particular campaign was the movie-goer in the U.S.,” Mr. Linde said. “To reach this audience, the campaign ran leading up to and during Shrek’s opening weekend on Yahoo Movies and the Yahoo Mobile homepage. “As the movie has general appeal, we did not further segment the audience,” he said. Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/6459.html 7th see story above

Fidelity Investments pushes iPhone app via mobile banner ads
By Dan Butcher June 14, 2010 Investing in mobile Fidelity Investments is running a rich media ad campaign via Yahoo Mobile properties to promote its iPhone application to users of the smartphone. The Fidelity creative will run for a month across a range of Yahoo Mobile sites and uses an inpage animation anchored by a fixed banner. If the user changes the phone orientation from portrait to landscape, the creative shows just a short animation around the banner itself. “Fidelity is constantly looking for new ways to leverage digital channels to reach investors in innovative and engaging ways on their mobile devices,” said James D. Speros, chief marketing officer of Fidelity Investments, New York. As the smartphone market continues to grow, Yahoo expects to see more mobile publishers adopt the HTML5 standard to develop interactive and animated display advertisements on highend mobile devices. Media Planning Group USA LLC was the ad agency that made the buy on behalf of Fidelity Investments. Mobile Marketer’s Dan Butcher interviewed Alex Linde, director of mobile advertising at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. Here is what he said. What is Yahoo’s strategy behind the launch of the new rich media mobile ad unit? We want to test as many different kinds of ad creative as we can to help our advertisers understand the best way to reach their audience. The new capabilities of HTML5 browsers on iPhone and Android allow us to quickly develop fun and exciting ad experiences for our users as we seek to drive deeper engagement with brands. In the case of Fidelity the characteristic green arrow winds its way around the page before landing in the fixed banner position. When did the Fidelity campaign launch, and how long will it run? The Fidelity campaign launched on June 1 and will run for one month.

What are the various actions a consumer can take once clicking/tapping the Fidelity ad? The ad directs users to a microsite where they can download the free Fidelity application for iPhone. What is Fidelity’s target demographic for the campaign? How does Yahoo help them reach that audience? The target demographic for this campaign is the tech-savvy investor looking to create a watch list, track quotes and view charts and news from their iPhone or, in the case of Fidelity customers, to provide a clear call to action to install Fidelity’s iPhone app to view their positions, check their balances, view interactive charts and conduct trades. Here is a screen grab of the application: Associate Editor Dan Butcher covers content, carrier networks, manufacturers, and software and technology. Reach him at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/6535.html 8th see story above

Yahoo extends mobile apps to Android, leverages HTML5 to iPhone
By Rimma Kats July 6, 2010 Yahoo has been extending its mobile reach Yahoo is extending its mail and messenger applications for Android devices and debuting HTML5 mobile Web sites for the iPhone and iPod touch. In addition to its new services, the company is also introducing a Yahoo Search Widget for Android devices. The Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger Android applications are available globally for free download in the Android Market, supporting OS 2.0 or newer. “We’re focused on providing users with fast, feature-rich, and personally relevant Yahoo experiences on mobile devices across all browsing and applications platforms,” said Cory Pforzheimer, senior manager of corporate communications at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. By bringing our applications to Android as well as a Yahoo Search Widget to Android we’re expanding access for the hundreds of millions of users to easily access and share information on their Android phones,” he said. “Yahoo is committed to offering the most innovative mobile experiences to users globally, regardless of their device or platform.

“The applications provide users with the best communication experience for easily accessing and sharing information on Android phones.” Mobile message Consumers who use the Yahoo Mail application can receive notifications of new email messages, send emails to contacts from the Yahoo Address Book, as well as to contacts in the native phone address book, search email messages by sender, recipient, subject and keywords and upload photos as attachments directly from the phone’s camera or the photo gallery. In addition, users can view and download attachments, insert emoticons, manage and organize their messages, folders and spam and toggle between the Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger applications. The Yahoo Messenger application lets users message friends, check friends’ status updates and availability and update their personal status. Additionally, users can send instant messages to friends via SMS and send photos to friends directly from the phone’s camera. The Yahoo Search Widget for Android lets consumers access it with one click. The widget features a voice search, search assist for suggestions and recommendations and autolocate technology, which delivers locally relevant results to users. “Android is one of the fastest growing platforms in the marketplace; building apps on Android give users more access to consume and share the information they want on their mobile devices,” Mr. Pforzheimer said. “What’s more, we’ve optimized them for Android devices, creating a richer, more personally relevant experience for users. “We’ve also created QR codes that Android users scan and go directly to download the app,” he said. In September, Yahoo is extended its brand into the mobile channel with three new applications. The new applications include Flickr, as well as a BlackBerry and iPhone application for Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Fantasy Football (see story). HTML5 technology In addition, Yahoo Mail and Yahoo News for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch are built on HTML5. The upgraded service is available in 28 languages across 200 countries. HTML5 consumers can view messages, compose text messages, reply, search emails and access folders while offline.

Additionally, users can manage folders and create smart folders with messages from key contacts and surface photos and video attachments directly within the mail preview. “From a marketing and advertising perspective, you’ll see Yahoo use combination of WAP media on all major mobile networks and publishers, PC Media targeting some of the technology blogs and Android enthusiast sites, use of Yahoo Inventory – both on PC and mobile, and network integration across our sites,” Mr. Pforzheimer said. “Additional on and offline media campaigns and tactics will be rolling out in the near future,” he said. “The Yahoo Mail app for Android offers advertisers an opportunity to reach a highly engaged mobile audience. “Samsung is the inaugural advertiser with a rich media display advertising unit.” Final Take Rimma Kats, editorial assistant at Mobile Marketer, New York Editorial Assistant Rimma Kats covers media, television, research and social networks. Reach her at [email protected].
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/content/6726.html