THE $6,46-billion web portal and search engine, Yahoo!, has tied up with former England soccer captain David Beckham as part of its World Cup marketing activity. Sports forms an integral part of Yahoo's marketing efforts even as the portal faces competition from big rivals such as Google and niche social and professional networking players like Facebook and LinkedIn. In an interview with Shelley Singh. Yahoo! executive VP and chief marketing officer, Elisa Steele, shares Yahoo's association with sports and how's she is driving the portal's vision to be at the center of users' online lives Excerpts:
You seemed to have bent it like Beckham. Tell us your association with football and Beckham?
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and as the largest online media company that reaches more that 600 million users globally, we are committed to ensure that we are the first place on the Internet for the FIFA World Cup fans.
Yahoo! developed 16 soccer microsites in eight different languages for fans to stay on top of the latest scores, watch video reports, and get an in-depth coverage of the event. In addition, we used our innovation to launch search shortcuts, tool bars,and fantasy soccer games, all centered on the World Cup.
The partnership with Beckham was a natural fit for Yahoo!. As an Internet leader, it made sense to team up with world's leading soccer star-David Beckham. our users want his fans,so it's a perfect synergy. The deal with Beckham includes exclusive content on Yahoo! soccer microsites; he is featured in our global marketing campaign, and after the World Cup, we will let fans connect directly with him via events and questions through Yahoo! products.
How successful have you been in your efforts at using sports as a marketing and brand building opportunity?
Yes, Yahoo! Sports reaches more than 20 million users each month - with content ranging from breaking news in college football to coverage of cricket to fantasy auto racing games. Yahoo! has held the top position in the sports category for more than 25 consecutive months. We demonstrate our commitment to sports by delivering a compelling sports offerings for fans across platforms - including PC, mobile and social networks. A great example is the way Yahoo! Sports was the number one destination for winter Olympics news and information. Our coverage surpassed competitors by keeping more than 32 million users connected to the Winter Games in Vancouver.
How does Yahoo! differentiate its marketing strategy for large screen and small screen users?
Yahoo! spans across the digital platform- no matter what device you are using... and Yahoo! delivers global online marketing experiences no matter what size screen you use.
As a brand, Yahoo! is getting stiff competition from Google, Facebook and LinkedIn. What are your plans to regain mass appeal status?
Yahoo! is a loved brand around the globe with a strong position in people's online lives. Yahoo! keeps people plugged into the topics we all care about - and maintains leading market positions in top categories around the world. Our key approach in our marketing campaign is to focus on the concept on delivering users a "Web of one" experience that is unique, personal, compelling, and rich from both a product capabilities and media content perspective. We are focusing on our products and properties. We are also tying our brand more into pop culture with a variety of additional experiences for airline seatbacks, cinemas, hotels, malls, fitness centers, and other out of home venues - all designed to capture users' imaginations and get them to try our new products. Overall, we are driving more people to search, use and talk about Yahoo! through experiential demonstrations of our ability to bring 'my world' and the world together.
From search to content, Yahoo! pretty much offers everything in the internet space. But in today's sharply-focused world, where brands are known for single and clear offerings, where does Yahoo! fit in?
People live online. It's the always-on place where consumers start and end each day - and where they spend countless hours in between. They come to connect and communicate with the people they care about. They come to consume information and entertainment-all the content they care about. And they come to search and find; to transact; and to get more done. Yahoo! helps them do these things in a trusted and sale environment. We aim to delivery personally-relevant consumers experiences each and every time, fueling our vision: to be the center of people's online lives.
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