Partnerships and advertising tools are at the centre of Yahoo DSP’s innovation roadmap unveiled at its 2025 Newfronts event.
One of the biggest announcements was buy now pay later finance group Afterpay launching its own retail media network in partnership with Yahoo DSP.
IPG, GroupM, Omnicom and Dentsu are part of Afterpay Media Network's initial rollout in Australia, which will allow advertisers to reach shoppers across the web and in-store.
Going into the December quarter, Yahoo DSP’s clients will also have access to Fetch TV and Are Media, with more publishing partnerships to be announced soon.
John McNerney, MD AUSEA for Yahoo DSP, says as the digital ecosystem gets ever more complex, Yahoo DSP is committed to simplifying it while continually innovating for the future.
"Our solutions and new partnerships are focused on fostering meaningful connections between advertisers and customers in a sustainable way, across the open web," he said.
Yahoo ConnectID, which uses consent-based, first-party data to support cookie-less advertising, has now been integrated across premier Australian publishers, including News Corp, Seven West Media and The New Daily.
It is also now also live across its major (supply side platform) SSP partners.
Yahoo Blueprint, an AI-powered tool designed to optimise performance across channels, was introduced, with the tool delivering a 40% efficiency boost for both branding and performance campaigns by analysing data to drive better results.
It also supports omnichannel personalisation through Yahoo Creative, a recently launched creative marketing solution helping advertisers tailor their messaging across multiple platforms for more effective engagement.
Yahoo DSP's director of commercial and platforms, Andrew Gilbert, said the launch of the Afterpay Media Network and the expansion of Yahoo ConnectID mark major steps forward in the company's commitment to providing seamless solutions at scale.
"By integrating AI-driven tools like Yahoo Blueprint and Yahoo Creative, we’re ensuring that advertisers have the technology they need to engage audiences efficiently across all channels," he said.
Through the recently launched Data Maturity Pulse, a program designed to assess brands’ data fluency and sophistication, Yahoo is helping brands develop realistic roadmaps for campaigns in response to the technological and regulatory changes.
Yahoo’s Identity Solutions have also scaled significantly in Australia, offering secure, consent-driven methods for targeting and measurement. With Next Gen Solutions, advertisers can measure their campaigns in both addressable (targeted) and non-addressable (broad reach) environments.
PurpleLab, Yahoo’s dedicated research platform developed in partnership with Qualtrics, has allowed brands to re-imagine market research by helping them secure access to representative data at speed. The Australian market is the first to have access to this platform, which uses data from real panels that is fraud and AI bot free.
Yahoo DSP's director of data and insights AUSEA, Dan Richardson, said data is not just a 'nice-to-have' - it's the driving force behind meaningful brand connections.
"Our focused investment in delivering localised and scalable data, Identity and insights services is visibly paying off," he said.
"Tools like Data Maturity Pulse and PurpleLab are a reflection of our dedication to being human and helpful and ultimately help brands deliver real business outcomes. We’re committed to helping our partners turn data into actionable results, making the complex simple and the uncertain clear."
Yahoo has created Yahoo Unified TV Solutions in a new partnership with Samba TV - a suite of tools that integrates media planning, buying, and measurement across traditional TV and digital channels..
Yahoo Backstage - a supply path optimisation (SPO) tool which reduces advertisers' carbon footprints while simultaneously promoting a more responsible way of advertising - was also annnounced at the event.
The tool can drive advanced supply path optimisation for agency groups seeking to create a marketplace investment approach.
Yahoo DSP's head of commercial, Australia, Maddie Basso, said the company is continuing to push boundaries and deliver for clients.
"In just a few months, I’ve seen more partnerships, launches, and innovation than I could have imagined," she said.
"We’ve listened to the challenges advertisers are facing, and we’ve built solutions like Yahoo Backstage, Unified Solutions, and Blueprint to help them navigate the complexities of the market. I’m incredibly excited about what’s in store for 2025.”
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