15th November 2006 - Vodafone and Yahoo! have formed a strategic alliance to pool their expertise to create an innovative mobile advertising business that will enhance the customer experience on mobile phones while providing both companies with a new revenue stream. Yahoo! will become Vodafone's exclusive display advertising partner in the UK. Yahoo! will use the latest technology to provide a variety of mobile advertising formats across Vodafone's rich and varied content services. Yahoo!'s sales force and technology team will work with Vodafone to derive benefit from mobile's unique advertising opportunities while delivering the best possible experience for both consumers and advertisers. Vodafone and Yahoo! intend to roll out the initiative in the UK in the first half of 2007.

Under the plans, customers who agree to accept carefully targeted display advertisements can expect to enjoy savings on certain Vodafone services. This proposition could extend to key Vodafone mobile assets including the Vodafone live! portal, games, television and picture messaging services.

Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone UK said: "Since we announced our intention to develop revenue from mobile advertising as part of our mobile plus strategy unveiled in May, we have carried out extensive customer trials. We will now use the experience to determine with Yahoo! how best to ensure customers, who choose to receive targeted messages, get better value as well as a richer mobile experience. This will also ensure that advertisers are given a compelling proposition."

Marco Boerries, senior vice president of Yahoo! said: "This partnership demonstrates Yahoo!'s continued focus on extending our leadership in display advertising across multiple platforms. We are excited to work with a global leader such as Vodafone to help us define the emerging world of mobile advertising and create superior experiences that deliver
the most value to advertisers and mobile users alike."

Back to News Reports