Yahoo!: A New Ad Sales Model

Yahoo! (YHOO) and big global ad agency WPP will begin a marketing partnership aimed at better targeting of ads. Yahoo! will give WPP access to the thousand of independent sites on its ad network and help target messages which are allied with the behavior of the users of the sites.

The websites will get access to a broader array of WPP clients.

WPP will use software which helps identify the characteristics of the consumers who use sites on the Yahoo! network. According to The New York Times, "WPP’s clients will benefit from the extra information the agency will be able to collect about the behavior and demographic profile of people who visit sites on the Yahoo auction service."

The privacy police are likely to want to have a look at this system. It does use data from individuals and the data is very specific.

Big Brother is watching.

Douglas A. McIntyre