Yahoo and the AOL Win for Verizon Advertising

Implications: The Yahoo Inc. and AOL alliance gains credibility as AOL wins the deal to become the advertising provider to Verizon for online and mobile destinations.

Analysis: Yahoo Inc. originally built its mobile presence in 2006 through the co-branding with AT&T for Yahoo! Go Mobile.  Earlier this year, Yahoo gained with an agreement with T-Mobile International to provide its oneSearch service as well as the display advertising on the carrier’s Web ‘n’ Walk Internet.  And Yahoo just announced its AMP advertising management platform for the cross-selling of online and mobile advertising across buyers and sellers.  Time Warner’s AOL win with Verizon to manage online and mobile advertising through its Platform-A complements the rumored Yahoo! and AOL alliance.  AOL gains the potential for ad placement to Verizon’s over 60 million mobile subscriber base. 
Yahoo also continues to upgrade its oneSearch for mobile applications by using the voice-activation technology from Vlingo.  Yahoo is the Vlingo lead investor of $20 million in funding and has the exclusive rights to the Vlingo technology.  The announced trial with Google to outsource search advertising makes the a 3-way alliance with AOL become viable to stifle Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo Inc.