The 28th September 2009 saw the launch of Yahoo’s latest campaign to win back our hearts and ultimately get us to use its redesigned portal (http://uk.my.yahoo.com) where customisation is key. This global ad campaign is now in full swing with billboards in place all over the country (and probably the world) as well as banner, skyscraper and video ads on the Web and TV commercials across major channels.
So it’s time to take a critic look and gauge whether this new campaign is going to hit the mark.
What are the specifics of the current campaign?
The campaign has been developed by WPP owned Ogilvy and is the first global campaign carried out by Yahoo. Funded for the next 15 months the campaign will cost $100m (roughly £60m) and will span traditional media and online channels expected to run until late 2010.
The aim of the campaign is to remind people about Yahoo and hopefully get those of us who have fallen away to take another look at what they have to offer. Ultimately it’s all about getting more people using Yahoo as a hub for online activity so that Yahoo can increase their stake in online display advertising – something that is central to the company since the recent search deal with Microsoft.
Is the campaign likely to achieve its goals?
Exposure-wise there is no avoiding the new campaign. I personally see 5 billboards on my way home from work (4.8 miles) and must have seen the TV advertisement at least 20 times during the hours of the day that I am allowed to choose the channel.
Generally, the campaign has received a cold response with press understandably comparing it against the recent Microsoft campaign to promote Bing, and consumers in the main not understanding the message due to the lack of content and failure to explain the available functionality. The Microsoft campaign of course, was all about promoting the launch of its new Bing search technology, while the Yahoo campaign isn’t really trying to promote anything new in favour of trying to remind people that ‘we are here and we have this great functionality’.
As a whole the campaign is certainly creating a buzz although it doesn’t seem to be very positive. As to whether it will inspire people to give Yahoo another try, the general consensus is no. The chances of such a vague campaign inspiring first time Yahoo users to switch from Microsoft or Google offerings is very slim due to the lack of a definitive message other than ‘the Internet has a new owner and it’s Y!ou’.
Digital research centre OMD recently commented that across its tracked client base (including Royal Mail, easyJet and Peugeot) there has been a consistent increase in ad impressions on the Yahoo network since the launch of the new campaign which implies a rise in traffic to Yahoo but goes on to say that click-through-rates have decreased by roughly 8.4%. Of course the new campaign is still in its infancy and the latest ads are very likely the tip of the iceberg. Only time will tell if this $100m campaign was of value to the Yahoo brand once the initial buzz dies down but initial indicators don’t look good.
We look forward to seeing how the next phase of the campaign will play out and ultimately, the impact it has on Yahoo.