Sunnyvale, California — In what must be regarded as an intelligent move on the part of internet pioneer Yahoo to further demonstrate the company’s commitment to the creative community, Yahoo!, the premier digital media company, early this week announced that it is the “Official Sponsor” of the Short Film Program at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 19-29, 2012 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.
As a sponsor, the Sunnyvale-based company said it will premiere a number of shorts films from the Festival at Yahoo! Movies, the company’s leading online movie destination that caters to about 27.5 million users per month. Viewers will also be able to vote for an audience award, which will be presented to the winning filmmaker at the Short Film Awards party taking place during the Festival.
Additional details of Yahoo!’s sponsorship will be disclosed at a later date.
However, this important event was announced at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity when Ross Levinsohn, executive vice president of Yahoo! Americas, during an on-stage dialog with Robert Redford, founder and president of Sundance Institute, as well as Ben Silverman, founder and CEO of Electus.
The conversation focused on the power of online brands that can distinguish themselves from the masses by offering premium, branded, content. Kudos to Yahoo! for acknowledging this opportunity, and no doubt similar other announcements will be underway from other top tier festivals in the near future.
“Yahoo! offers premium content experiences to both consumers and advertisers,” said Mickie Rosen, senior vice president, Yahoo! Media Network. “Partnering with Sundance, an iconic institution that promotes talent and creativity not only bestows the level of prestige associated with that festival to the Yahoo! Movies site but also reinforces our commitment to the creative community, and, certainly there is no doubt that short films play well to a wide audience online and via mobile communications devices.”
“The Short Film Program at the Sundance Film Festival has proven itself as a launch pad for great storytellers whose work impacts audiences in exciting ways,” said Keri Putnam, executive director of Sundance Institute. “Yahoo!’s sponsorship dramatically extends that impact to millions of users around the world. The Festival and its filmmakers appreciate the support and additional exposure Yahoo! will provide.”
For further information about Yahoo! at the Cannes Lions festival, visit yadvertisingblog.com or advertising.yahoo.com.