Interesting seating arrangement at the UBS Global Media and Communications (PDF) conference: Bill Wise, Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) VP for business development, next to Velocity Interactive Group partner Jon Miller, whose name has been floated as both a candidate for Yahoo’s next CEO and a prospective acquirer of the company. When asked to introduce himself, Wise turned to Miller, who was on his left, and said, “I’d better be careful, I could be having my first interview right now.” Miller then smiled and said nothing. With that, the panel, moderated by UBS internet analyst Ben Schachter, focused on the quotidian dilemmas of online advertising.
— Bringing search’s scale to display: Online is stuck in the direct response mode, with the brand building focus growing, said Mark Karlan, associate media director for Interpublic Group’s Lowe. Asked for examples of how to move that dial, Miller reflected back to when he was AOL’s CEO and the company bought Advertising.com. Miller: “Pouring AOL (NYSE: TWX) inventory on top of Advertising.com allowed us to get yield back to advertisers. And that’s one good example of the effects of scale, as opposed to the network effects of search. Asked about APT, Yahoo’s recently unveiled ad targeting and delivery system, Wise said the goal is to have the largest liquidity base for display ads. “Search has taught us that scale matters from a yield perspective. If we’re able to create those same dynamics for display, that would be incredibly valuable.”
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