Sunnyvale, California — Based on the success of its association with the Newspaper Consortium, Internet pioneer Yahoo over the weekend has struck a local advertising and content partnership with Gannett that it says will allow the media company’s newspapers and TV stations to sell Yahoo inventory as part of their digital ad offerings to reach up to 80% of audiences in each market.
Under the terms of alliance, through a phased switch-over beginning this quarter through 2011, Gannett’s 81 newspapers and seven of its broadcast sites nationwide will be able to package Yahoo ad space with their own online inventory using Yahoo’s APT platform for delivering targeted display ads.
“Local advertising continues to be an important area of focus for us, and Yahoo is committed to helping local businesses reach high quality target audiences,” said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president, Yahoo Americas.
“This association significantly expands our local offering and gives advertisers the technology and scale they need to reach online consumers.”
The deal is the result of Yahoo’s Newspaper Consortium which was introduced in November 2006 and now comprises of more than 800 members including The San Jose Mercury-News, New Haven Register and The Dallas Morning News. So far, the consortium has sold more than 40,000 ad campaigns onto Yahoo totaling more than $100 million in sales to date, according to Lem Lloyd, vice president of channel sales at Yahoo.
“It is really in the last 18 months that we have accomplished this up and running,” said Lloyd, acknowledging the time it has taken to get local newspaper ad sales forces up to speed on its APT system and selling advertising into Yahoo. With the Gannett alliance (which doesn’t include USA Today), he added that Yahoo is now working with partners that represent 75% of the country’s newspaper circulation.
Through the APT platform, local advertisers working with Gannett will be able to reap benefit of Yahoo’s audience targeting tools based on geography, user demographics and behavioral factors in ads that appear on Yahoo properties from mail to sports to news. “So now Gannett’s thousands of local representatives can put together digital ad solutions that involve newspaper and broadcast assets plus Yahoo,” said Lloyd.
“This partnership builds on the strength of Gannett’s growing digital business and powerful local brands,” says Gracia Martore, president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Gannett.
“Working with Yahoo will allow us to offer targeted advertising messages with unmatched local audience reach.” Sales reps can offer these tools on Gannett sites, Yahoo sites and the sites of other publications using ATP.
Lloyd, however, highlighted that that on-the-ground training is a key part of the Gannett deal. “It is not our goal to work with every local media co. out there,” he said. “We are more about strategic relationship and putting muscle behind that deal to make it work. This is a big commitment from Gannett and from us.”
Gannett’s properties include CareerBuilder, USA Today, and more than 80 local MomsLikeMe sites.