Yahoo is on a roll. The Web 1.0 darling has seen lots of ups and downs over the past 25 years, up to and including its 2021 private equity buyout. As it goes with such regime changes, there are lots of rapid shifts and re-organization. For Yahoo, the latest includes content acquisitions and agency development.
On the latter front comes today’s announcement that Yahoo has brought in former Twitch, Spotify, and Apple executive Jeff Rossi to oversee the company’s agency efforts. Rossi brings 20 years of experience in strategic marketing and agency partnerships for these iconic brands and several others.
Rossi’s role will include cultivating Yahoo’s agency partnership network. These agencies are Yahoo’s conduit to brand marketers, thus fueling incoming ad revenue. The thought is that the relationships that bind its agency network make Yahoo’s properties top of mind in media buying decisions.
One-Two Punch
Stepping back, this represents a bit of a one-two punch for Yahoo. Prior to Rossi’s appointment, the company has beefed up the software tools and services that it offers to agency partners. These include features from streamlining media buying to accessing better analytics to report back to their clients.
Beyond the tools, there’s also the content… which we’re told is king. On that front, Yahoo has made several moves to reposition itself with high-impact and high-reach content to attract advertisers. With leading tech publication TechCrunch already under its belt, it’s intent on buttressing its topical range.
This has led to a string of media property acquisitions, including Strictly VC – a move that put StrictlyVC owner and editorial lead Connie Loizos in the TechCrunch Editor-in-Chief chair. Other pickups include social investing platform CommonStock, gaming destination Wagr, and news credibility site Factual.
Latest Era
Prior to Yahoo, Rossi was most recently senior director of agency development at Twitch. Before that, he was at Spotify for more than six years, serving as global head of industry and global head of business marketing. Going back further, he launched global agency relations at Apple for the iAD platform.
Rossi will report to Alia Lamborghini, SVP, Head of US Sales and Strategy. This all comes in the third year of Yahoo’s latest era – under the ownership of private equity firm Appollo Global Management and the executive leadership of Jim Lanzone. We congratulate Rossi and Yahoo on today’s move.
