Yahoo Mobile Extends Reach in Asia Pacific
Yahoo has extended its reach in the mobile advertising and search markets of the Asia-Pacific region with a series of new deals.
It has signed oneSearch partnerships with mobile operators such as Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, Hong Kong CSL, Smart Communications, SUN Cellular, and Vibo Telecom. This takes the total number of mobile search deals signed by Yahoo to 60 worldwide.
Yahoo has also entered into mobile advertising partnerships with Idea Cellular and Maxis Communications. The partnerships enable the two mobile operators to carry graphical advertisements that are sold and served by Yahoo. The announcement builds on the company’s mobile display advertising partnerships, which includes similar advertising syndication partnerships with mobile operators, including AT&T, T-Mobile International, and Vodafone UK.
Additionally, the company has introduced localized versions of Yahoo Go 3.0 for India, Australia, and Southeast Asia, including a local language version for Indonesia. It has also launched an English version of Yahoo oneSearch with regional accent voice recognition and mobile widgets for Asia-Pacific, including Yahoo Cricket, Yahoo Answers, and Showtimes.
David Ko, managing director and vice president at Yahoo’s mobile division said, the mobile advertising market is expected to touch $16.2bn in 2011 up from $1.5bn in 2006. “Our mobile strategy to lead and enable the mobile ecosystem is being implemented by focusing on developing mobile-first experiences, like Yahoo! oneSearch, and fostering high-quality partnerships to enhance the user’s mobile Internet experience,” he added.
