Yahoo will combine its mobile analytics platform Flurry and mobile ad buying platform Gemini next month, a move industry participants say could possibly give the company a competitive edge over Facebook and Google.
With its latest move into the mobile space, Yahoo is inching one step closer toward its goal of becoming a “mobile-first” company. Next month, the tech giant will introduce a self-service platform that will allow advertisers to place ads on apps across the Flurry publisher network, according to reports.
To do this, Yahoo will reportedly combine Flurry, the mobile analytics platform it acquired in July 2014, and Gemini, its mobile marketplace that was introduced last February.
As of press time, Yahoo has not yet confirmed this move with ClickZ. But if it’s true, Yahoo will be able to create a marketplace at scale in the mobile space, say industry professionals.
“Yahoo has all the pieces to compete in the mobile space – content, platform, distribution, data, and access to developers. Yahoo is creating a marketplace at scale, short and simple, by merging these assets together,” says Will Doherty, senior director of business development at Casale Media.
According to Doherty, Flurry was a smart acquisition on Yahoo’s behalf, as the analytics and monetization platform allows advertisers user acquisition across different devices and marketplaces.
“Yahoo’s own mobile apps, like their weather app and general news app, are pretty good. They have tons of distribution. They have buying from the developer community, as well as brands in general. So the ability to tie that across devices and be a scalable area for brands to enter into that market is very compelling. In fact, what we see Yahoo is building up now is programmatic-driven. So this is just a natural step in a right direction,” he notes.
This is just the latest of many calculated moves by Yahoo in the mobile space over the past few months. For example, last December, the company started letting U.S. advertisers serve Gemini app install ads across the Yahoo network. And in November of last year, it acquired programmatic video advertising platform BrightRoll, which offered Yahoo more video inventory and direct partnerships.
As Yahoo continues to be aggressive in the mobile space, the combination of Flurry and Gemini could possibly give it a competitive edge over Google and Facebook, two tech companies that have their own mobile network.
“Yahoo is going for the right strategy in making mobile a priority. It has made some thoughtful acquisitions that afford it the ability to provide a full, end-to-end mobile advertising offer that will most certainly be competitive within the market,” says Mark Strecker, chief executive of digital marketing company Amobee.
Looking forward, Strecker adds, if Yahoo continues to integrate its own-and-operated properties, the company will be able to allow advertisers to target and reach their audiences across different platforms at scale, not just mobile.
“By connecting the company’s existing offerings with these recent acquisitions, Yahoo will certainly be in a position to compete with the likes of AOL, Google, and Facebook,” Strecker says.
