CMO Today: Key Questions Hang Over Verizon-Yahoo Deal
July 26 2016 - 8:19AM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Shields
YAHOO QUESTIONS : Now that everyone has had a moment to digest
that one-time digital media titan Yahoo is about to join AOL as a
part of Verizon Communications, folks in the advertising industry
have some tough questions, reports CMO Today. First and foremost,
does this combination really create a new entity that can
effectively take on Facebook and Google, the two companies that are
part of nearly every digital advertiser's menu? As much as the ad
community would like a third viable player, that is unlikely to
come to fruition, at least on day one, say marketers, given that
neither Yahoo's or AOL's share of media budgets is anywhere close
to that of Google or Facebook. Another pressing question: Once the
deal closes, how fast can Verizon push Yahoo and AOL through the
necessary but painful integration, including deciding which ad
technology to prioritize and which employees stay or go? It isn't
like other digital media brands like ascendant Snapchat are going
to stop innovating in the meantime.
MISSED ENCOUNTERS: As advertisers chew over Yahoo's future
inside Verizon, it's amazing to look back at the company's once
vaunted, but ultimately calamitous, history. For example, check out
this chart chronicling Yahoo's stock price, which peaked long, long
ago. But even more brutal, if you're a Yahoo investor (or worse,
co-founder) are all the moments when Yahoo could have dramatically
altered its history. There was turning down Microsoft's $45 billion
offer in 2008, not paying enough to buy Facebook a few years later
and taking a markedly different path from Google, which focused
relentlessly on the technology that served its search ad business.
Ultimately, Yahoo's enduring problem, one that is arguably still
not solved, is a lack of identity, reports The Wall Street Journal.
It was no real surprise in the end that Yahoo was sold to Verizon,
but it was rather shocking to see that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is
sticking around , at least for now, reports USA Today.
TWITTER TV: Watch out ESPN. Twitter is pushing further into the
live sports business. Not only is the social media company planning
to stream live NFL games this coming fall, but now Twitter has
inked a deal to deliver one out-of-market MLB and NHL game once a
week, reports WSJ. Twitter can now claim streaming deals with four
major sports leagues as well as the Pac-12 network. Now before you
get too excited, think about how often most sports fans tune into
watch out-of-market hockey or even baseball games on TV -- let
alone the web. (Yahoo has similar rights, and when was the last
time you streamed a random live hockey game there?) Still, sports
is a smart association for Twitter to dabble in as it strives to
become the live digital water cooler. And the more sports it
offers, the more experience and know-how Twitter gets in live
events, and the more viable it becomes as a digital partner.
AD CHOICE: What does the trade-off between advertising and
content look like in an era where people increasingly stream their
favorite shows without ads? The mission at TrueX, an ad tech firm
that 21st Century Fox acquired in late 2014, has been to give
people more choice -- essentially letting them watch a limited
number of ads in exchange for an uninterrupted episode. But it's
not easy to get the web video industry to adopt such a radical
model. Now the consumer goods giant Mondelez, which makes Oreos and
Ritz crackers, says it's making TrueX a big part of its digital ad
plans going forward, reports Ad Age. Details are few, but the
marketer says its interest in choice-driven ads goes beyond this
deal. It wants to fix video-on-demand advertising -- a growing
sector of the TV market where the ad experience has left many
consumers and advertisers wanting.
Elsewhere
Longtime Discovery Communications ad sales chief Joe Abruzzese
plans to retire at the end of 2016, after 46 years in the media
business. [ CMO Today]
Verizon Communications executive Marni Walden is considered to
be on a short of list of possible candidates to be the next chief
executive at the wireless giant. For now, she's leading the
company's aggressive push into digital media. [ WSJ]
Food Network has ordered a series created by YouTube cooking
enthusiast Hannah Hart, seeking to leverage the social media star's
online popularity. [ Hollywood Reporter]
Dentsu Inc.'s Dentsu Aegis Network has acquired the independent
ad firm Gyro, which specializes in business-to-business
advertising. [ CMO Today]
Nike is taking some heat for its new video ad featuring a group
of babies in cribs who are depicted as growing up to become
athletes like LeBron James and Serena Williams. According to the
outcry on the web, it reminds some people of children being forced
to work in sweatshops. [ Business Insider]
Outerwall Inc., which owns Redbox movie-rental kiosks, is going
private. The company has agreed to be acquired by private-equity
firm Apollo Global Management LLC for roughly $895 million. [
WSJ]
Nintendo Co. brought the hype surrounding "Pokémon Go" back down
to reality, warning investors that the massive mobile game will
only contribute modestly to its bottom line. The company's stock
took a big hit. [ WSJ]
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 26, 2016 08:04 ET (12:04 GMT)
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