Yahoo CMO Savitt to lead video and news push
Yahoo CMO Kathy Savitt has been tasked with firing up the company’s video and news offerings following a management shake-up that has led to her becoming one of chief executive’s Marissa Mayer’s top aides.
The promotion sees Savitt become the company’s content chief assuming responsibility for products including Yahoo News and Yahoo Screen, a video platform with original and licensed programs.
She will work closely with Mayer according to the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo’s chief executive announced she would be taking a bigger role in expanding the company’s advertising proposition following OO Henrique de Castro departure from the business in January.
It puts Savitt at the tip of the online portal’s charge to reclaim lost digital ad revenues from Google and Facebook. Yahoo extended its news offering with the launch of a news aggregator app earlier this week (24 February) and has also signed deals with companies such as Starcom to better manage the ad load on its pages.
Prior to joining Yahoo in 2012, Savitt set up social commerce site Lockerz. She has also held senior roles at Amazon, advertising network Interpublic Group (IPG) and clothing brand American Eagle Outfitters.
Yahoo is hoping its upcoming advertising drive, which includes a string of new tools and content services for brands, can breathe new life into its revenues. The company’s fourth quarter advertising revenues fell 5 per cent year-on-year to $1.02bn (£597.7m), while total revenue slid by 6 per cent to $1.27bn (£759.1m).
The online company previously told Marketing Week that a stronger mobile offering will help kickstart its turnaround efforts and claimed 2013 was the year it “figured out mobile advertising formats”.
The announcement comes as Yahoo denied having any prior knowledge of British agents spying on its users webcam images. Surveillance agency GCHQ reportedly hacked the company to view British citizens as they used its Yahoo webcam chat service.