Following the breakup of Yahoo/Telemundo, Portada caught up with both players to see where things stand presently and where they are going in 2009 and beyond. Asked how the separation of Yahoo and Telemundo going to affect the Hispanic online advertising market, General Manager Armando Rodriguez tells Portada, “From Yahoo!’s perspective, we are excited about the growth and new opportunities of online advertising as a whole. Advertising platforms, technology, and even clients’ needs have changed a lot in the last few years and we are confident that Y! has the reach and advertising solutions to drive growth.
He says the company is looking to maximize the company’s scale, technology and platform throughout the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets, in order to deliver in three key areas:
1) Delivering an open platform: Providing industry-leading platforms
that attract the most publishers and developers
2) Being a partner of choice: Offering advertising solutions that allow
advertisers to effectively reach their audience
3) Being the essential Starting Point: Providing users with the best
Front page, e-mail, search, and community experiences online. We can reach all Hispanics wherever they may be (in the U.S. and the Americas) and we can also use leading edge technology such as IP targeting and behavioral targeting to reach them
After the dissolution of Yahoo Telemundo, Yahoo’s Hispanic destination is once again Yahoo! En Español, as it was before the partnership.
While that sight is currently live, Rodriguez says the most significant branding changes will be evident by mid-month. “The transition is part of a phased out approach which includes the rebranding of Yahoo! Telemundo to Yahoo! en Español with the addition of new site features.”
It will continue to offer its audience all of the popular content and services from the Yahoo! network including Front page, Mail, Answers, Yahoo! Video, Flickr, Yahoo! Pop, among others. Yahoo! is not partnering with any other companies for the relaunch, but will remain open to all content providers, including those who we have collaborated with it in the past including Telemundo, MTV, People en Español, Sony Music, Warner Music and EMI. Rodriguez tells Portada that this is in line with Yahoo!’s Open, Starting Points and Partner of Choice strategies.
Strong Demand for Branding and Mobile Distribution in ‘09
Looking into 2009, Rodriguez says the company continues to see steady demand from advertisers. “Yahoo’s ability to offer display branding, display performance and search, allows us to capture online dollars although the advertisers needs may change,” Rodriguez tells Portada. “We have seen growth in our performance business while key branding advertisers are still investing on the Yahoo! network.”
According to Rodriguez, mobile is one of Yahoo!’s big bets for 2009. “We are excited about our regional LATAM partnerships with Movistar and America Movil about the key services that we have launched like Yahoo! oneSearch and Yahoo! Go. In 2008, we sold several mobile advertising campaigns in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil and are forecasting growth in 2009.” Yahoo! just last week launched Yahoo! Onesearch in Uruguay.
U.S. Hispanic/Latam Sales
Rodriguez tells Portada that there is also some cross-over in ad-sales between U.S Hispanic and Latin America: “We have several advertisers that are leveraging the Yahoo! network to reach US Hispanic and LATAM consumers. Also, since we are combining our business across the region under the Yahoo! Latin America and U.S. Hispanic umbrella, we are uniquely positioned to provide advertisers with an all-encompassing solution that allows them to reach all Hispanics regardless of geographic location and language preference.”
He adds that Yahoo! recently launched Yahoo! Publicidad, a comprehensive resource site created exclusively for current and prospective advertisers in the U.S. Hispanic market and throughout Latin America. Rodriguez says the site is designed to provide Yahoo! advertisers with the resources they need to launch campaigns that successfully and effectively reach target audiences in the U.S. Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela.