Save 50% on a 3-month Digiday+ membership. Ends Dec 5.
My view is that if Yahoo can win over entrepreneurs, it will help drive innovation. If they innovate, that will help win over consumers. You know what agencies flock to? Innovative companies that consumers flock to.
— Jeff Lanctot, chief media officer, Razorfish in “As ‘Tech’ Company, Yahoo Is Giving Ad Agencies A New Look: The Cold Shoulder.” (AdAge)
The age-old dilemma for all Silicon Valley tech companies is whether they’re really media companies. Google went through this debate ad nauseam in its early days. The challenge is these companies are both: They’re tech companies with media business models. Yahoo made the decisive turn to focus on its tech side when it passed over Ross Levinsohn for Marissa Mayer, a virtual unknown to Madison Avenue. Lanctot crystallizes why this tech-company-or-media-company debate is a false one. Ad buyers follow audiences. Yahoo’s relevance depends on that, whether it attracts that audience through hot mobile tech or through great content.
More in Marketing
Amid economic pressure, brands usher in Black Friday by trimming deals
While some companies are touting “bigger than ever” discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, others are dialing back deals.
How consumers are using AI to shop in 2025 — by the numbers
AI is reshaping the 2025 holiday shopping journey, from conversational discovery to commerce.
The case for and against AI-driven SEO in the zero-click era
As generative AI reshapes search, marketers debate the value of committing (or overcommitting) to an AI SEO strategy.