Yahoo examines adtech and performance driven solutions at 2022 APAC Growth Summit

After a year, Yahoo once again launched the 2022 APAC Growth Summit on 26 and 27 May, focusing on immersive ad tech, identity, DOOH, and connected TV and featuring a total of 24 industry leaders from around the world to talk about digital strategies for 2022 and beyond.

With the theme of “Inspire to Win”, the summit also showcased case studies from APAC and discusses the need for Business Sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion.

“In 2022 and beyond, we are laser-focused on driving value creation through our brands, ad tech, and search products,” said Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone.

Paul Sigaloff, head of Yahoo APAC, added that Yahoo is set to reshape the industry by pairing premium content from brands with continued investment in market-leading ad tech.

He added, “Think of this as Transformational Growth. It’s People First, Partnership Always, Performance Now.

“While Yahoo is a truly global business we also appreciate every region and every country is unique. The wonderfully diverse APAC region is proof of that and we’re taking great care to ensure we build products which can offer you what you need, wherever you are.”

Head of Yahoo APAC, Paul Sigaloff

Inspiring Advertising of Tomorrow

The summit first examined trends in digital advertising. According to Yahoo’s chief business officer, Iván Markman said that the first is the urgent need for identity solutions in a cookieless world. “The second is Advanced TV acceleration, with the measurement at the forefront. And the third is access to commerce that is anytime, anywhere, around the world.”

Simon Halstead, VP Exchanges and Supply International at Yahoo tackled the challenge of siloed channels, as Yahoo can uniquely support advertisers and publishers in unlocking the full value of their content and marketing while putting consumer experiences and privacy first.

He added, “The single platform - Yahoo Exchange - offers a direct, premium and transparent platform for buyers to access top publishers at scale, with a focus on premium content. The Ad Exchange centralises our premium owned and operated ad inventory and partner supply.”

After that, John McNerney, senior director of Platform, Yahoo APAC then went on to explain the omnichannel experience. He added that for marketers, trust is built on simplicity. The Yahoo DSP is designed to drive unmatched performance across every digital screen while providing that single view of the consumer journey. The growth of Advanced TV and Digital Out of Home allows Yahoo to put brands where they haven’t been before.

Dan Richardson, Head of Data, Yahoo APAC, said that people were at the biggest crossroads this industry has faced with increasing scrutiny on data, and how it’s gathered and used. "It’s all about consent. Users must willingly hand over their data. To get them to do this, you must have a direct and trusted relationship with them.”

Yahoo Connect ID matches logged in users directly to advertisers’ customer profiles. All data is encrypted and ready to scale. In addition, Next Gen Audiences is another identity-less solution that looks at all the contextual device-based and anonymous data signals they observe every day. To date, he said Yahoo shows a significant 39% increase in average impressions and a 20% increase in clicks in these identity-less environments.

Digital immersion with the rise of the metaverse and NFTs, unlocking the creativity of the next generation of the Internet

Albeit the recent astronomical popularity of NFTs and the metaverse, Yahoo has been a trailblazer in virtual production: namely, its long investment in XR studios across the world that offer exceptional 3D experiences to complement consumers’ 2D consumption habits. Yahoo's chief business officer DJ Ivan has made his foray into the first metaverse DJ performance debut in Yahoo ElectricCity in Decentraland filled with multisensory experiences as an exclusive showcase.

The summit also cases that have transformed traditional industries. Mark Melling, international head of Yahoo’s RYOT Studios shared that Yahoo’s partnerships with British retailer Selfridges and Scottish whisky label Monkey Shoulder as well as the myriad ways in which the metaverse will be more than an extension of reality, as 52% of Gen Z gamers said they felt more like themselves in the metaverse than in real life.

Yahoo’s vanguard partnerships with British retailer Selfridges and Scottish whisky label Monkey Shoulder as well as the myriad ways in which the metaverse will be more than an extension of reality. Mark added, “Last month a Razorfish study found that 52% of Gen Z gamers say they feel more like themselves in the metaverse than in real life.”

“As we step into the next-gen internet, the next wave of digital shoppability is here. Customers want personalisation. Yahoo research indicated 86% of Gen Z expected their digital experiences and interactions with brands online to be seamless, innovative and enhance their real world,” added Roger Li, senior director of Ad Creative of Yahoo APAC Creative Studio.

Roger Li, Senior Director of Ad Creative of Yahoo APAC Creative Studio

Local examples were showcased at the summit too. According to Matthew Chan, head of sales, Yahoo Hong Kong and China and Lance Tsang, associate eCommerce director of ITeSHOP. Dubbed the ITeSHOP SS21 GIGON campaign, the week-long sales event married the efficacy of Yahoo’s full spectrum of ad tech ranging from content commerce and real-time dynamic ad integration with a seamless DOOH ad placement on bus shelters in locations frequented by high net-worth spenders. The QR code-helmed DOOH brought interested shoppers back to the eCommerce site for an O2O experience. With omnichannel marketing, viewers of ITeSHOP outdoor ads were retargeting when they were online, this ensured campaign optimisation throughout the consumer journey.

(From Left) Lance Tsang, associate eCommerce director of ITeSHOP and Matthew Chan, head of sales, Yahoo Hong Kong & China

Inspiring business of tomorrow – Sustainability, diversity, equality and inclusion

Yahoo said that growth is not limited to business and technology but also spans the workplace. Elizabeth Herbst-Brady, vice president, head of global revenue and client solutions at Yahoo said that it was an exciting and important time to be passionate and focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. “COVID-19 has revealed the depth of the challenge. Women has left the workforce in droves, along with health challenges and childcare issues and other struggles. At Yahoo, beyond the official policies like hybrid work, location flexibility, I also try to elevate issues such as anti-bias and pay equality through education programmes and rooting compensation discussions in data.”

Joined Yahoo in March 2022, Alicin Reidy-Williamson, chief diversity and inclusion officer, Yahoo has made its first appearance in APAC. Her vision on diversity and inclusion in Yahoo is to offer the same experience to employees as to partners and clients. Reidy-Williamson added, “The really key piece of D,E&I is to recognise and think about it as an opportunity. Diversity and inclusion is important whenever there are humans. Often people think of it as a challenge or problem to fix. In fact, if we are able to lean on it and get this right, we will all win. To understand other people’s experiences, educate ourselves and maximise opportunities that we have with each other will make us all smarter.”

Yahoo APAC Growth Summit 2022 was live streamed on 26 and 27 May in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore and India followed by Taiwan on Jun 14 and 15. APAC advertisers and partners can hear about our latest product innovations and what's next as we accelerate for 2022 and beyond. The two-day, 160-minute programme is archived on Yahoo TV and Yahoo AdTech site.