DAYTRADING YAHOO!

[NovoMira]

Yahoo runs mobile phone advertising in 18 nations

Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:02AM EST
By Eric Auchard

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc. said on Sunday it has signed up top corporate advertisers to use its advertising system to run brand ads on mobile phones in 18 countries, marking a major diversification beyond computers.

The Internet media company has begun offering its brand advertising to reach mobile phone users across markets in Western Europe, South Asia and the Americas, capitalizing on its prowess in supplying Web advertising to computer users.

Yahoo said it has signed up major advertisers including Hilton's Embassy Suites, Infiniti, Intel Corp., Nissan, Pepsi & Co, Procter & Gamble Asia-Pacific and Singapore Airlines will be initial advertisers on Yahoo's mobile advertising system.

The Sunnyvale, California-based company already offers online marketing services to a large majority of the top 100 U.S. advertisers. By expanding onto mobile phones, Yahoo aims to help corporate advertisers run coordinated campaigns that reach both computer and phone audiences, an official said.

"This is really about Yahoo staking out its leadership in the emerging space on the mobile phone," said Steve Boom, Yahoo senior vice-president for mobile and broadband.

Yahoo is the world's top provider of Web display ads such as online banners, commonly used for brand advertising.

It is seeking to become the early mover among Internet companies in mobile phones, racing against Google Inc. which over the past two years overtook Yahoo in ad revenues the two companies receive in the overall market for Web search.

Yahoo is betting that as most mobile phones now come with higher-resolution color screens and Internet browsers, the mobile advertising market is poised to explode, Boom said.

"We have the three legs of the stool," he said. "We are not only building the advertising platform. We are actually building the advertising relationships with it. We also have the audience," he said.

The new service is available in Western Europe in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and in the Americas in United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

It also plans to offer the advertising service in Asia-Pacific markets including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Advertisements will run along the top of Yahoo's home page on the Internet screens of mobile phones. Consumers can click on the interactive ads to learn more about an advertiser's offer or call the advertiser directly for details.

Yahoo Japan Corp., the company's joint venture with Softbank Corp. has been running ads in Japan for several years in what ranks as one of the world's most advanced mobile technology markets.

Yahoo's latest moves build on an exclusive partnership deal it struck in November with Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone carrier, to provide corporate brand ads in Britain. Yahoo also introduced display ads in the United States in November.

Over the past year, Yahoo has also announced several enhancements to its mobile Web home page to make it faster and easier for consumers to search the Web, check e-mail, instant message, or check on news or sports.

The latest announcements were made ahead of Europe's major annual mobile phone conference in Barcelona this week.