Yahoo Gemini - Let's Go Native

Yahoo Gemini launched over two years ago but remains the slightly forgotten younger sibling of other platforms. Find out about the exciting new targeting and ad formats that have been released which make Gemini the perfect arena to expand into.

You may be convinced that, as you haven’t used Yahoo since the 90s, it wouldn’t be worthwhile to advertise in a space with limited users and, therefore, data. But that is where you are wrong. The nature of Yahoo has changed and when they launched their product, Yahoo Gemini, just over two years ago they became a new player in the digital advertising sphere. They now promote that they have 165 billion data points a day, which is certainly not to be sniffed at.

Yahoo's data sources

So where does all this data come from if you haven’t searched on Yahoo! since the days where you might have also considered asking Jeeves? A big part of this is Yahoo Mail. With 10 million monthly users there is the scope to collect this data and where better to find out what users are purchasing online than their inbox where you receive your digital receipts (although don’t panic - it must be noted that they cannot read your personal emails). Yahoo also owns the popular blog site Tumblr, which is capable of giving great insight into the types of content users are consuming on a regular basis. A third significant contributor is their mobile app analytics software Flurry. This collects data from in-app activity, such as content read and in-app purchases. It is predicted that on average 7 apps on your phone are sending data back to Flurry. Of course, this only scratches the surface of those 165 billion data points, but it gives you a good idea of the width and depth of their reach.

How and where will my ads appear?

So now that I’ve convinced you on the data front (I know that’s the real way to your hearts) what content will you be showing and where when using Yahoo Gemini?

Gemini uses native content to access users and potential customers when they are browsing for other things, rather than targeting that direct response space we are used to dealing with in paid search. Native advertising is about being pre-emptive – what have you learnt about your user that means you know what they need before they even do? Because this is a form of advertising that is effectively interrupting the user on their travels through the web, the idea of Yahoo Gemini is to produce a seamless experience between content and ads.

To run with simple image and text ads all you need to do is upload your assets and then these will be assembled by Yahoo to ensure they will fit on all devices and into all ad spaces on the network. You can also run video ads on either a CPV or CPC bidding model depending on your campaign aims.

One of the newest additions to Gemini ad formats is the carousel ads which allow you to have between 3 and 5 images that scroll across. This can either be used to show multiple products or it can be an opportunity to tell a story through your creative.

Another newcomer to the Gemini ad format arena is the Sponsored Message fill out form. These ads appear in your inbox, but rather than showing full sized creative they display a simple information form that can be filled in quickly and easily. With the data going straight to the company it means that no personal data goes through the Gemini system. This is in its early days and currently the biggest drawback is not being able to set up your own fields and drop down answer lists. However, if you are looking to get users signed up to a mailing list or have other, more basic, lead generation aims, this could be a useful format to try.

Finally, Gemini has also released a shiny new format called Tiles, which can do a wide range of things. Designed to be interactive and immersive, this mobile only ad format is something completely new from Yahoo. While these are currently only available in the UK and Germany and there is a minimum spend, they offer the opportunity to use 360 images, tap to app store, tap to call, quizzes and much more.

What about targeting?

Now that you’ve got an idea of what running ads natively on Gemini looks like, how does it work in day to day practice?

There are various options for targeting with the usual categories popping up for interests, locations and demographics, but the most interesting targeting comes from the custom audiences category. You can use standard remarketing for visitors to your site using the Gemini DOT tag, but you can also use mail re-targeting which targets users who already signed up to your mailing list. However, this is not the end of the targeting story. You can also use your CRM data to target existing customers (did I hear someone say Customer Match…?) as well as create lookalike audiences to target users who look like your current customers (in their web activity, not facially of course – that would be weird).

These varying targeting options offer many choices for upper and lower funnel activity, and when layered together can form a very comprehensive strategy.

Between the depth of data, the range of ad formats and the breadth of targeting Yahoo! Gemini has untapped opportunities for many clients and companies. So if you are looking to expand your activity why not consider going Native?

To read this blog written by Caroline Taylor on the Periscopix website, please click here.