Yahoo Gets Scrappy Under Fire

Google's dominance in search leads to a dominance in coverage, but the drama surrounding Yahoo lately has thrust the number two ecommerce engine back into the public consciousness. First it was the nearly hostile takeover by Microsoft, which has yet to go away, and more recently the impending battle, a showdown slated for August 1, between Yahoo and activist investor/corporate raider Carl Icahn and his backdoor posse.

Even with the smoke far from clearing, Yahoo conducts business as usual—or perhaps arguably has been more aggressive because of it—by unveiling a swath of new partnerships with major media players and a new program called Yahoo! Circular. Powered by ShopLocal, Yahoo! Circular aims to apply the concept of Sunday newspaper ad inserts online, allowing for locally targeted coupons and sale advertisements across the Yahoo network.

This network, which now includes content and partnerships with Walmart.com, Havas Digital, major television networks NBC, CBS, and Fox, and 779 US newspapers as part of the company's Newspaper Consortium, many of whom will be early adopters of Yahoo's upcoming AMP! ad network, which the company claims will simplify the ad buying and selling process. As a result of all this wheeling and dealing, Yahoo claims a reach of over 90 percent of the US-based web audience.

Yahoo President Sue Decker complained in a conference keynote yesterday that all of the focus on Microsoft and the ensuing drama has taken attention away from the bold moves Yahoo is still making. We'd argue that seven announcements in one day will dilute the significance of those moves, too, but hey, it's not our company.

So without further ado, here's a roundup of what Yahoo's been up to this week, which is a lot.

The Yahoo/Microsoft/Icahn Drama Intensifies

Though Microsoft balked at $37 per share, the new magic number could be $42, if Mr. Softy decides to swagger back to the negotiating table. That of course may depend on the success of Icahn's corporate coup, which has raised hostilities to a palpable level. After raiding the board, Icahn (strongly) suggests Yahoo do away with its severance package proposal, a suggestion that earned him a strongly worded reply from chairman of the board Roy Bostock.

Yahoo Goes Announcement Crazy

Yesterday, Yahoo issued seven, count'em seven, press releases and one early this morning. The subjects ranged from Sue Decker's outline of Yahoo's advertising future, to several new partnerships, to the aforementioned letter from Bostock. Here is a summary of those announcements.

Wal-Mart Turns Smiley Face Toward Yahoo

Walmart.com will be one of the first participants in Yahoo's forthcoming AMP ad network, allowing Yahoo to handle display and video advertising for the world's largest retailer.

Yahoo Unveils Circular Logic

ShopLocal will convert local print ads into Web ads for Yahoo, pushing out local deals toward 140 million monthly US visitors. For local vendors and national vendors, this could be huge.

CBS Has Its Eye On Yahoo

The CBS Audience Network joined up with Yahoo to distribute programming across Yahoo's network. Combined with other partners like Fox and NBC, that gives Yahoo a reach of 92% of the US-based market.