Web pioneer Yahoo has begun forming an online advertising and media council called the Digital Advisory Council, to meet beginning later this year and comprised of up to 20 members from digital  marketing firms and ad agencies, the Sunnyvale, California-based company announced Monday. The move came as Yahoo faced growing opposition to a search advertising deal with Google, with the World Federation of Advertisers on Monday becoming the latest group to express anti-trust concerns over the tie up. Earlier this month the World Association of Newspapers and Association of National Advertisers voiced opposition to the proposed deal between Yahoo and Google. Yahoo Council To Help Explain Benefits Of Google Tie Up Yahoo said the new council, consisting of "industry executives from its agency and advertiser partners," would provide advertisers the opportunity to give feedback on the state of digital advertising and media, while some observers expect the group to initially hear the most input about the proposed search advertising deal with Google. The proposed deal, which could extend as long as a decade should all optional renewals take place, would allow leading search engine firm Google to provide ads alongside search results from the second most popular search engine firm Yahoo, as well as on some of its United States and Canada Web properties. The nonexclusive search advertising deal would place ads from Yahoo and Google into online auctions that other firms would be open to take part in - a measure put in place to try to help gain the approval of both U.S. and European Union antitrust regulators. When the deal was announced in June, Google said that although the partnership with Yahoo did not require the approval of regulators, it would delay implementation of the plan by up to 105 days in order to allow the Department of Justice time to review it. Group To Help Ease Transition To New AMP System Yahoo said in June that the agreement with Google would lift the firm's operating cash flow some $250 million to $450 million during its initial year, and that it had the opportunity to bring in as much as $800 million in annual revenue to the firm as it seeks to recover financial strength lost during the prolonged hostile takeover bid by Microsoft. The new Digital Advisory Council will also serve to help inform advertisers as Yahoo implements its forthcoming AMP online advertising system. Users of the AMP ad management platform, which Yahoo has envisioned as a sort of one-stop-shop for online advertisers, will be able to place graphical banner ads on both Yahoo's Web properties as well as on other major Web sites in the company's network. "As Yahoo partners with publishers to extend the reach of our network, we have formed the Digital Advisory Council to identify innovative ways to improve advertiser performance, particularly in anticipation of the rollout of Yahoo's new advertising management platform in the coming months," Yahoo executive vice president Hilary Schneider said in a Monday statement. Schneider said the council would help ease concern over the proposed Google deal. "There has been confusion and misinformation surrounding Yahoo's agreement with Google, which represents another key milestone in opening up our network," Schneider said. "As questions emerge about how Yahoo will implement this agreement, the Advisory Council will provide a forum for us to engage in a dialogue with key customers on those issues," she added. Yahoo To Form Advertising Council Amidst Growing Opposition To Deal With Google The council, which has not yet announced any of its members, will meet quarterly at Yahoo's headquarters in Sunnyvale or in New York, Yahoo said. The proposed Google deal, which was already facing review by regulators at the U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general in eleven states, added another group opposing the tie up Monday when the WFA sent a letter expressing concerns to European Union regulators. The Brussels, Belgium-based WFA represents some 55 national advertising associations including many of the world's leading marketers. Yahoo said Monday that the new Digital Advisory Council would help advertisers learn more about the company's strategies. "Opening up Yahoo is a key part of our strategy, and we want to help advertisers understand how they can benefit from this approach," Yahoo's Schneider said. Last week's objection filed by the ANA, one of the biggest advertising trade groups in the U.S. representing about 400 companies including such large firms as General Motors Corp. and Proctor & Gamble, was seen as a blow to Justice Department approval of the proposed Yahoo tie up with Google, and it remains to be seen whether the company's new Digital Advisory Council can help overcome regulator inquiries. Related Links :
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9:25 pm on Sep. 23, 2008 (utc 0)