Yahoo! signs Sainsbury’s to sponsor Answers social search service

Yahoo! has signed Sainsbury’s as the first sponsor of its recently launched Yahoo! Answers service.

The supermarket chain is to sponsor the "food and drink" section of the site from now until the end of the year. As part of the deal, Sainsbury’s will add daily questions, covering topics such as healthy eating to simple suppers and romantic meals for two. Recipes will also be added to the site, with users able to discuss and make their own suggestions.

Yahoo! Answers launched its service in the UK earlier this month with the brand’s largest marketing campaign in five years. Known as social search, it is one of a collection of new online services aiming to improve the way people search for information on the internet, alongside Digg and Google Answers.

Blake Chandlee, media sales director for Yahoo! UK & Ireland, says he is confident that other advertisers will follow Sainsbury’s in its sponsorship.

The new deal will extend to other parts of the Yahoo! online network, with recipes and menus available for download through its instant messenger service. Users will also be encouraged to visit the food and drink section of Answers from the Yahoo! homepage and its e-mail service.

The deal was brokered by PHDIQ, and the creative was designed by AKQA.