Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) and WPP’s
(NASDAQ:WPPGY) GroupM, 24/7 Real Media and WPP Digital today announced a
strategic partnership that will enable WPP agencies to buy digital
display advertising across the Internet more efficiently than ever
before. The partnership will initially involve a collaboration between
Yahoo! and WPP’s GroupM and 24/7 Real Media.
"More and more, we see the need for agencies and media and technology
companies to work together to create a new level of value,”
said Mark Read, WPP's Director of Strategy and CEO of WPP Digital. “We
are very pleased to have established this partnership with Yahoo! which,
enabled by our earlier acquisition of 24/7 Real Media, will turn this
vision into a reality."
As part of the agreement, WPP agencies, working through 24/7 Real Media,
will develop a proprietary media trading platform that connects to
Yahoo!'s Right Media Exchange. WPP agencies will work with 24/7 Real
Media to integrate their proprietary targeting capabilities into the
platform and develop custom trading strategies, which can be seamlessly
executed via the Right Media Exchange on a highly targeted and
cost-effective basis.
“As marketers take new approaches to
understand and engage consumers, we are thrilled to partner with a
powerhouse like WPP to evolve and grow their digital practice with our
next-generation solutions," said Hilary Schneider, EVP of Global Partner
Solutions for Yahoo!. "We are committed to providing the technology,
insights and media expertise required to deliver the most relevant
audiences across the web and to power the seamless conversation with
consumers that drives greater brand awareness, consideration, intent and
most importantly – action.”
WPP will also work with Yahoo! to develop a WPP marketplace, giving
WPP's agencies even greater access to inventory, visibility across the
market and insight into value. WPP intends to draw inventory for the WPP
marketplace from Yahoo!'s owned- and-affiliated networks and 24/7’s
Global Web Alliance. The marketplace would also be open to third-party
publishers.
"This partnership with Yahoo! will give our agencies and, in turn, our
clients, an advantage in securing more relevant, high-quality digital
media inventory. And, it will be aggregated to our bespoke needs, at the
best value for our clients," said Irwin Gotlieb, CEO of GroupM.
About WPP
WPP is a world leader in communications services. Through its operating
companies, the Group provides a comprehensive range of advertising and
marketing services to national, multinational and global clients. For
more information, visit www.wpp.com.
GroupM is WPP's media investment management arm - comprising leading
media agencies MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia, MindShare Worldwide and MAXUS -
which focuses on the intelligent application of volume and scale in
trading, innovation and quality of services.
24/7 Real Media, a member of WPP, is a leading global digital marketing
company which empowers advertisers and publishers to engage their target
audiences with greater precision, transparency and ROI. Using its award
winning ad serving, targeting, tracking and analytics platform, powerful
search marketing technology and global network of specialized web sites,
the company has turned the art of reaching audiences across virtually
any digital medium into a measurable science.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most
trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on
powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and
developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo!
is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit
pressroom.yahoo.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties concerning Yahoo!'s strategic partnership with
WPP’s GroupM, 24/7 Real Media and WPP Digital
(including without limitation the statements contained in the quotations
from management in this press release), as well as Yahoo!'s strategic
and operational plans. Actual events or results may differ materially
from those described in this press release due to a number of risks and
uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among
others, the possibility that the expected or planned implementations of
the partnership described may be delayed, may not ultimately be
implemented, or if implemented may not be successful; and that the
anticipated benefits to Yahoo!, WPP’s GroupM,
24/7 Real Media and WPP Digital, marketers and consumers may not be
realized. More information about potential factors that could affect
Yahoo!'s business and financial results is included under the captions,
"Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations," in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, which are on file with
the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
