Even though Yahoo has a lost a significant amount of its luster over the last decade (picture steel rusting in a 10-year rain storm), the online company is still fighting for market share. On top of the company’s recent acquisition of Associated Content, a content production platform for semi-pro freelancers, Yahoo announced this morning a partnership with media conglomerate Gannett to take a bite out of the local ad market.
All 81 of Gannett’s local publishing outlets and 7 of its Broadcast Division sites will begin selling ad space on Yahoo web properties this quarter. The partnership highlights Yahoo’s continued push into local advertising, a largely untapped and fertile marketplace for the digital media company.
This partnership will extend Gannett’s local media organization reach to cover as much as 80% of the total digital audience in each market.
“This partnership builds on the strength of Gannett’s growing digital business and powerful local brands,” says Gracia Martore, president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Gannett. “Working with Yahoo! will allow us to offer targeted advertising messages with unmatched local audience reach.”
As part of the agreement, Gannett may also provide select local content for programming across Yahoo! properties in the U.S., including the Yahoo! homepage. A phased rollout will begin this quarter and will continue into 2011.
“Local advertising continues to be an important area of focus for us, and Yahoo! is committed to helping local businesses reach high quality target audiences,” said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president, Yahoo! Americas. “This partnership significantly expands our local offering and gives advertisers the technology and scale they need to reach online consumers.” (via Yahoo)