Yahoo opens cross-device programmatic platform to other publishers

Citing eMarketer, Rico Chan, vice president and general manager of Yahoo Hong Kong and INSEA sales, said that research in Asia shows that “over 70 per cent of advertisers will be buying programmatically in 2015” and will constitute more than “20 per cent of the total digital spend”.

The clear opportunity has spawned numerous programmatic options in Asia, with each platform and provider boasting its own “premium inventories” and features. Against the backdrop of a competitive market, Yahoo has had to consider its offering carefully.

“We used to offer a managed service for programmatic, where users were segregated into segments and then inventory would be purchased for the Yahoo network,” said Chan. “Now we can marry our own data [Yahoo] with affiliate partners and external sites to extend our reach and insights.”

Along with strategic partnerships with more than 200 publishers and sites, YAM+ will also include real-time bidding and dynamic creative ad displays. When asked if the setup is similar to a demand site platform (DSP), Chan said: “Yes, you will be able to aggregate inventory like a trade desk.”  

According to Yahoo, the advantage of YAM+ lies in the data. In Hong Kong over “4.6 million Hong Kong users navigate, search and shop on Yahoo properties, with in-depth user profiles”. Coupling first-party data, such as CRM and membership data, with third-party and mobile data, “ads will be delivered based on their purchase intent at the right time”.

For identifying, tracking and understanding user behaviours across devices, Yahoo has introduced Flurry Persona, an acquired technology that allows ad managers to “see people's identifications and devices and match it to their desktops identities” with the aim of cross-device targeting.

Beyond real-time functionality, pre- and post-campaign planning features will allow marketers to list objectives, set budgets and identify “what works and doesn’t work” Chan explained.

In addition to the Ad Manager Plus announcement yesterday, Yahoo Hong Kong disclosed that it will be introducing a Traditional Chinese beta version of Tumblr soon, as well as a new Yahoo mail, which integrates email and news-reading.