Yahoo to sell mobile ad inventory for 3 UK

By Gabrielle Kalika

July 8, 2008

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Online media company Yahoo has made a deal with 3 UK to exclusively sell banners and sponsored link inventory on the wireless carrier's content portal.

Yahoo will sell the inventory for 3 UK, with the ads being seen by Planet 3 visitors who are targeted based on their previous show of interest for mobile Internet services. The 3 UK portal is the second-most popular mobile domain in Britain after social network Facebook, according to research firm M:Metrics. 

“Advertising is fundamentally about being where your customers are and increasingly that’s on mobile,” said Zealous Wiley, senior PR manager at Yahoo Connected Life, Sunnyvale, CA.

“As many more people are coming to the mobile Internet, we’re working with 3 UK to help brands reach subscribers with relevant advertising messages,” he said.

The 3 UK advertisements are expected to go live later this month.

Yahoo offers mobile display advertising in 23 markets across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

The online company first unveiled its mobile advertising platform with ad agency conglomerate Publicis Groupe's VivaKi Nerve Center to help Publicis’ clients better reach their clients.

“By partnering with 3 UK, we present our portfolio of brands with a very attractive opportunity to reach the consumers that matter to them,” Mr. Wiley said.

3 UK claims to be one of the first carriers to enter into the mobile advertising space. It also claims to have the highest percentage of mobile Internet service subscribers of any operator.

In another record, 3 UK is the first British carrier to enable free voice-over Internet calling with Skype, and the first to initiate a Skype mobile phone called the 3 Skypephone.

3 UK is a subsidiary of the HWL group of 3G companies, with operations in Australia, Austria, Denmark, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, China's Macau and Sweden. 3 is Britain’s first 3G network, and offers national coverage for calls and texts.

“From a Yahoo perspective, we have continued signing carrier partners because we consistently hear that Yahoo has the best products, and they like that we are very focused on creating mobile services and advertising solutions tailored to both the operator and consumer’s needs,” Mr. Wiley said.