Yahoo!

The case
 Background
• Developed by David Filo & Jerry Yang
• Original version: Jerry and David’s Guide to the
world wide web
• Brand name: Beyond conventional approach
• Default search engine of Netscafe
• Success due to consistency of its advertising
 Background
• Top-rated search engine
• Developed massive customer base
• Charged premium price for ads
• Awareness-building campaign: Simple message
• Started traditional media advertising
• Focused on new surfers
• Distinct message for diffrent audience
 Services
• Unique search engine: Massive searchable Index
• Portal to destination site
Offered content other than original searchable directory
 Yahoo finance, yahoo travel, yahoo email,yahoo online
store
• Joining the E-commerce World
• Yahoo Branded Visa card & Yahoo shopping
 Marketing strategy

– Home pages with specialized contents in Europe

– Tapping the \Japanese market with no competitors
– Native language site Yahoo! Korea
– Chinese language site
– \print and television campaign
– Word-of-mouth through competition
– Sponsoring computer camp
– Internet workshop for readers
– Distribution of 15000 cds
 Marketing strategy—
• Going in non-pc market
• Audio and video broadcasting
• Group mails
• Yahoo auctions and yahoo clubs
 Acquisitions
• Between 1999 and 2000, acquisitions were
mainly focused on email, bulletin board, etc
• From 2001 to 2005, Yahoo!’s acquisition
became more aggressive.
 Acquisitions
• Launch Media-- $12 million
• Musicmatch-- $4.99 per month for
subscription
• Overture-- $1.63 million
• Inktomi-- $235 million
• Target
 Partnerships
• Mark Burnett Productions
• Survivor
• The Apprentice—Trump and Stewart
 Risks of Yahoo!
• Competition from other internet related
companies—Google, Microsoft, Time Warner,
Monster Worldwide, and CNET
• Potential fallout from aggressive online
practices—Spam, click fraud, spyware, adware
• International Push—from Europe and Asia
26% of total revenues
 Recommendation
• Creative Marketing strategies
• International presence: Yahoo! Do need to
focus on International presence as well for risk
diversification.
• Considering cultural aspects while going
international. Not going too edgy
• Gaining more consumer confidence other
than relying on switching costs
 Recommendation
• Being more prudent and modest while making
financial investments, specially for mergers and
acquisition.
• Slowed revenue and slid in stock 2006 needs to
be taken strongly taken in account, by keeping
its promise. ( July 2006 delay in launch of
Panama caused 22% drop in share price.)
• Try to maintain their growth under sustainable
level