Wal-Mart and Yahoo have signed a mega advertising deal that will promote the retailer through original branded content, sponsorships, and display advertising on Yahoo's network of websites. It is the largest deal Wal-Mart has ever made with a single online publisher, ClickZ reports.
The Wal-Mart deal is also the most complex branded campaign Yahoo has ever worked on, thanks to a new structure at the company. Yahoo's sales team now breaks advertisers into three types: branded advertisers, performance marketers, and local businesses. The change has made it easier to assemble more intricate mixtures of content and ad placement, such as the Wal-Mart package, according to the company.
As part of the ad buy, three Wal-Mart-branded web series will appear on Shine, Yahoo's content hub for women. One series, "Real Life Makeover," will use prominent Wal-Mart product placement. Wal-Mart's buy also includes sponsorships for major events, which included this past weekend's Academy Awards; visitor's to Yahoo's Oscar page were met with a pair of prominent Wal-Mart ads.
The money coming in from Wal-Mart is a major coup for Yahoo, which has been busy touting its data offerings in an attempt to appeal to marketers. Wal-Mart will reach 23 million moms an average of 5.6 times each during the course of the campaign, according to Yahoo.
