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Yahoo hopes for mobile magic from new iOS apps

Yahoo continues to look for some mobile magic. However, is the company just pulling rabbits out of a hat as it struggles to regain relevancy in a world becoming less focused on desktops every day?

The online company has been struggling to redefine its role for some time, which became even more evident with last year?s appointment of new CEO Marissa Mayer, who joined the company from Google and is intent on building Yahoo?s mobile presence. So far, one of the most visible parts of the strategy has been reworking the company?s mobile applications, kicking some to the curb while introducing new ones, such as a new iOS flagship app as well as a weather app and a tablet email app for iOS.

?Even if the new apps don?t fly out of the app store, this is a very good sign that Yahoo is trying to evolve,? said Dave Martin, senior vice president of media at Ignited, El Segundo, CA.

?What Yahoo has historically struggled with is a lack of innovation in social and mobile media,? he said. ?It?s pretty impressive that it was able to integrate Summly so quickly.

?This is a great sign that it wants to get ahead of trends instead of chasing them.?

Adoption is key
Yahoo is leveraging mobile apps to make its various services more appealing and accessible to the growing number of consumers using smartphones to check the weather, stay in touch with friends and keep up on the news.

The stronger mobile focus is already producing some positive results for Yahoo. During a recent conference call with analysts to discuss Yahoo?s first quarter financial results, Ms. Mayer said that Yahoo?s mobile services now attract about 300 million monthly visitors, up from 200 million at the end of last year.

Similar to other traditional desktop companies trying to adjust to growing mobile use, Yahoo is struggling to turn its mobile traffic into ad revenues as mobile ads typically command lower prices than desktop ads.

Yahoo also faces significant competition on the mobile front from Google and Facebook, which dominate a large percentage of the mobile ads being delivered.

Yahoo?s success in mobile advertising will depend on if it can continue to build its mobile user base.

?It really depends on the adoption,? Mr. Martin said. ?If no one downloads or uses the new apps, it will remain a tough sell.

?Advertisers need both reach and engagement and they can?t do that without a significant installed base of users,? he said.

?That said, Summly is a very sticky technology that could lead to a lot of new native ad inventory for Yahoo.?

News summaries
The new flagship iOS app for Yahoo incorporates technology from the $30 million Summly acquisition the company made a month ago.

The new iOS app for Yahoo uses Summly?s natural-language algorithms and machine learning to deliver summaries of news articles from a variety of sources, with users able to select topics they want more of. The app also features a virtually endless newsfeed, stronger imagery and improved video and image search.

The move comes as Yahoo is reportedly looking for a closer relationship with Apple that could see the two companies integrating more products.

Yahoo also has a new weather app.

Weather apps are hugely popular with mobile users, which has helped The Weather Channel attract some big name advertisers to its mobile app.

Yahoo! Weather for iOS devices is a well-stocked app with features such as heat maps, interactive satellite displays and weather images relevant to the users area that are pulled from Flickr. This is in addition to the information users expect, such as temperatures, precipitation amounts and extended outlooks.

The latest Yahoo apps to be shown the door include Upcoming, Yahoo Deals, Yahoo SMS Alerts and Yahoo Kids.

?The release of these new and updated apps is absolutely the right track for Yahoo,? said Dan Roche, vice president of marketing at TalkPoint, New York. ?It is significant for them to get real product into people?s hands and show consumers that they are dedicated to enhancing their offerings.

?Marissa Mayer has made it clear that the company is entering a new era more dedicated to creating beautiful products that are well made,? he said. ?The new email and weather apps show a dedication to meeting people where they are and making their experience more enjoyable.

?In addition, by incorporating Summly into their product line, they are demonstrating progressive action and a dedication to the new.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York