After unveiling its Stream Ads feature to the U.S. in April 2013, Yahoo Inc. is now bringing that feature to Canada.
Yahoo Canada announced today it was unveiling ads that are “seamlessly integrated” with the other content placed on a page. The new Stream Ads will now be pushed out on Yahoo Canada’s homepage, its mail service, and on the desktop and other mobile devices. It will also be on Yahoo’s apps.
Essentially, the Stream Ads feature is the same as the one that was released in the U.S. last year, meaning the ads Yahoo will be showing will be targeted and personalized towards the users viewing them.
“Advertising can, and should, enhance content discovery in a seamless and effective manner. The more our users spend time with Yahoo!, the more relevant and personalized the content and advertising becomes. Stream Ads are the sponsored twin to our newsfeed articles and are every bit as personalized and engaging,” wrote Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer in a blog post in April 2013.
“Like with web search, users appreciate complementary, unobtrusive advertising, and we’re committed to delivering just that.”
Personalization is based on Yahoo users’ profiles, but for non-Yahoo users, they’ll be targeted based on what they’re looking at when they visit the site, according to a story from Ad Age.
Moving to Stream Ads marks a shift from Yahoo’s old approach of using banner ads, a text-and-image display placed at the top or bottom of a website, or along one of its sidebars. Despite being known as a heavy supporter of banner ads, Yahoo will probably discontinue them in favour of other formats for its mobile ads, according to a story from Digiday.
Marketers interested in buying slots for Yahoo Canada’s Stream Ads can go to the company’s Ad Manager platform.
Last week, Yahoo unveiled its first look at what a mobile-friendly, in-stream display ad would look like. The ads are labeled as “sponsored,” but they blend in with other content, featuring bigger graphics and photos. However, there’s no word as to when this particular feature will be available in Canada.