If you thought that the latest chapter for Yahoo, following its recent sale by Verizon, would be played out in the shadows, Elizabeth Herbst-Brady has something to say.
Verizon sold its Verizon Media Group for $5 billion to Apollo Global Management, a private equity firm, in a deal which closed in September.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Herbst-Brady, Yahoo Head of Global Revenue & Client Solutions, paints a picture of developments since the deal closed.
Platform growth
“If you look at Q4, we had 64% growth for our DSP, underscored by over 200 clients that now are spending over a million dollars, and over 80% of the top 200 AdAge clients working directly with us,” she says.
“Our SSP grew over 40%, again, anchored by our work with our O&O and in bringing on a bunch of new premium partners.
“We have Conde Nast we also brought on in the CTV business, which we grew over 141%. (We have) Tubi TV, NBCU with Vizio. One of our newer partners is Philo TV and also Crackle TV.”
Yahoo’s tale
Yahoo’s story starts in 1994, when Jerry Yang and David Filo launched “Jerry and David’s guide to the World Wide Web”.
After a tumultuous rise and fall, its latest incarnation began in 2017, when Verizon acquired Yahoo to pair it with AOL to make Oath. The pair had cost it $8.8 billion in total.
Later becoming Verizon Media Group, the telco decided to sell the division despite previous enthusiasm for the sector and an ambition to turn it into an online ad giant to rival Google and Facebook.
OK, DOOH
Now in Apollo’s stable, Yahoo’s Herbst-Brady says “digital” can also mean billboards and signage.
“Digital out-of-home has also been another place that we’ve seen great growth, over 220% growth year over year,” she says.
“We know our clients want to be able to activate in an omnichannel fashion.
“So, if you think about all the various touchpoints that a consumer could have with a brand, they want to be able to understand a campaign’s activation in this way, and we offer them the pipes and the accountability to do that.”