It’s You

Exclusive: Yahoo Overhauls Marketing Unit — The Internal Memo

Kara Swisher in News on October 21, 2011 at 8:48 am PT

Yahoo is drastically rejiggering its marketing division, according to an internal memo from its Chief Marketing Officer Elisa Steele, in a move that seems to leave her future role unclear.

Apple Brand Ascendent, While Yahoo’s Is in Marketing Retrograde

Kara Swisher in News on October 5, 2011 at 5:55 am PT

Way to go, Yahoo marketing! I think that pricey “It’s You” campaign might not have worked.

Yahoo Tries to Recover From "It's Y!ou" Ad Disaster by Attacking Google's One Box (This Is Going to End in Tears)

Kara Swisher in News on May 5, 2010 at 11:28 pm PT

Say it ain’t you, Yahoo. And yet, here’s one of the major new conceptual directions of the troubled Internet giant’s next pricey marketing campaign, aimed at recovering from its first advertising foray, which is widely considered a failure: A full frontal attack on search leader Google. In fact, it’s an odd attempt to mock the simple and elegant white box that allowed Google to steal Yahoo’s thunder many years back. “There’s nothing to look at but a box and a button,” says the voice-over to the Yahoo commercial about an unnamed, but obvious, Web site. “When you look at this homepage nothing looks back at you.”

Yahoo Gets Set to Unveil Rejiggered Ad Campaign, After First One Stumbled

Kara Swisher in News on April 19, 2010 at 8:38 am PT

Yahoo is close to rolling out a new version of its pricey advertising campaign, said several sources, after the one featuring the tagline, “It’s Y!ou,” seemed to flag. One of the rejiggered versions being considered is centered on the concept that the Web is “personal,” with specific references to all kinds of apps and services–via flying tiles–you can use on Yahoo, including third-party ones such as Facebook.

Liveblogging the Yahoo Fourth-Quarter Earnings Call: Can You Say "Sequential"? (Also Homepage Hover Out!)

Kara Swisher in News on January 26, 2010 at 2:02 pm PT

BoomTown, as usual, liveblogged Yahoo’s fourth quarter earnings call, which starred Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz. She was sick in the last quarter, with CFO Tim Morse filling in. Tim tried, but could not channel Carol’s kinetic and sometimes caustic energy. But she returned today, not with a bang, but not with a whimper either.

What Does Yahoo's Search Decline Mean and–More to the Point–Can It Be Stopped?

Kara Swisher in News on December 18, 2009 at 5:22 am PT

“Microsoft eats, sleeps and drinks search,” said one Yahoo source to me this week. “And we just don’t.” That was one very stark way of explaining why Yahoo, the No. 2 search player, continues to lose market share in the lucrative online arena, even as Microsoft’s Bing service has been slowly gaining. With new features, integration and marketing, the Internet giant said it will be turning that around soon. But the question remains: How long does Yahoo have to do so?

Yahoo Sticks With "It's Y!ou," Expanding Pricey Ad Campaign by Pushing "Hero Products" and Relevance

Kara Swisher in News on December 15, 2009 at 5:40 am PT

When Yahoo launched its massive advertising campaign–featuring the tag line, “It’s Y!ou”–earlier this fall with splashy events in New York and slick marketing rollouts all over the U.S., not everyone at the Internet portal loved it. “It’s not M!e,” joked a longtime Yahoo exec to BoomTown in an email, one of many like it that I got from inside the company, all of which worried about whether the motto and ad effort had enough punch and point to get Yahoo back on track. Well, Yahoo is sticking to its guns as it moves into the next phase of efforts to revitalize its brand with more specifics about its products and “relevance.”

Got Yahoo? Internet Giant Hires Goodby as Top Creative Agency for Its Ongoing Brand Revitalization.

Kara Swisher in News on October 19, 2009 at 5:55 pm PT

In a shift that is sure to be much commented on by the advertising industry, Yahoo has tapped Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to take the lead for its creative, advertising, digital marketing and strategic planning efforts. The San Francisco-based Goodby, which is owned by the Omnicom Group, is known for innovative ideas and has done such memorable campaigns as the terrific “Got Milk?” campaign. Perhaps a “Got Yahoo?” campaign is in the future? Until now, the top job of goosing Yahoo’s tarnished brand, as part of a recently launched $100 million marketing push, has been helmed by Ogilvy & Mather.

Stock Stronger as Yahoo Preps to Report Next Week–But Employee Departures (and Return of Yodeling!) Rattle

Kara Swisher in News on October 14, 2009 at 12:39 am PT

In one week, Yahoo will report its third-quarter earnings, after the market closes. And so far, its stock is showing signs that investors are hoping for better days ahead for the Internet giant. Other good news: A pair of bullish analyst reports yesterday. But, a spate of executive departures, with chances of more to come, are worrisome. As is the excessive yodeling Yahoo is once again encouraging.

The Yahoo Ad Campaign Creative We'd Like to See

Kara Swisher in News on September 22, 2009 at 5:41 pm PT

Yahoo introduced its new $100 million marketing and branding campaign in New York today with “It’s Y!ou” as the new motto, making use of the Internet giant’s famous exclamation point and aimed at its customers. Sure, it’s clever and all, but All Things Digital has come up with a much better advertising idea focused on Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, a sassy and ofttimes salty exec whose pugnacious utterances have become legend quickly.