Yahoo! forms creative ad unit
Yahoo! has created a new creative advertising unit to focus on editorial, video and other digital ad formats as it looks to keep pace with Facebook and Google in the competition for display advertising revenue.
The new division, dubbed Yahoo! Studios, has been formed following last year’s strategic review and subsequent restructure of the UK sales team.
It consists of planners, strategists, creatives and editorial staff and has been designed to provide brands and agencies with more innovative digital ad solutions through creative content and online video.
Krane Jeffrey, head of Yahoo! Studios UK and former sponsorship director at Carat, says it is hoped the team’s formation will help the platform create the “perfect balance” between advertising and editorial, which will encourage more long-term relationships with its clients.
“The division was set up to help permeate creativity throughout the organisation and allow it to manifest itself in what we do for advertisers.
“It’s not just about banners and buttons any more, we have that whole art piece when it comes to our ad solutions,” he adds.
Yahoo!’s display ad revenue was down 4% year on year to $546m in the three months to 31 December.
Total revenue slipped 3% to $1.17bn in the period, although revenue from the EMEA region increased 3.8% to $110bn.
Yahoo! was the second biggest platform hosting display ads in the UK in 2011, with a 5.2% share, according to comScore. The biggest display advertiser in the region last year was Facebook, with a 30.5% share.
Separately, Yahoo!’s chairman Roy Bostock and three other directors are stepping down from the company’s board as part of a wider staff overhaul.
Earlier this month the company also restructured its European marketing department, resulting in the departures of vice president of marketing Jamis Tipple and marketing director Andrew Cocker, as the company looked to place more focus on regional activity and content-led advertising.
The reshuffle came within a month of Yahoo! appointing ex PayPal boss Scott Thompson as its CEO, replacing Carol Bartz.
