Adwords dishes it out as Panama invades Viacom

by Daysha Taylor, April 16th, 2007, 7:00 am

It’s only been a few months since Yahoo! launched its new “Project Panama” advertising platform, and I already have to invoke the power of search filters to keep the news about Yahoo! and Google in their separate corners.   

In corner #1, weighing in at more than $6 billion in sales, you have industry veteran (and creator of a yodeling jingle that will be stuck in your head for decades) Yahoo!. In corner #2, weighing in at more than $10 billion in sales, you have the new-by-comparison (and owner of the quickest noun-to-verb conversion since the word Smurf) Google. 

After years of getting jabbed by Google’s pay-per-click AdWords program, Yahoo! overhauled its campaign management tool to deliver Project Panama in Q1 07. Project Panama sports a streamlined interface, shorter approval times, and page ranking based on quality rather than keyword quantity. While analysts have yawned at the effort, it appears to have paid off. According to this article on Mediaweek, Yahoo! has partnered with Viacom to serve up ads on 33 of Viacom’s Internet properties, including the Web sites for MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, BET, and Comedy Central. Yahoo! will keep between 20 and 30 percent of the revenue generated from the alliance. 

With alliances already established with high-hitting sites like MySpace, AOL, and Ask.com, I doubt Google will flinch at Yahoo!’s news. The search giant has been busy generating its own buzz with a plan to expand AdWords’ reach to include TV channels. According to an article on Adweek, Google has partnered with EchoStar’s Dish Network to serve ads through programs broadcast on the satellite TV service, including channels like USA Network, A&E, and CNN.  

Investors may yawn at Yahoo!’s recent milestone, but at least the company has put up its dukes and prepared itself for the fight. Google keeps anywhere from 50-60 percent of the revenue generated through its advertising partnerships. With a product that rivals the quality of Google’s AdWords and a more honest revenue cut, Yahoo! could potentially yodel over some of Google’s faithful partners. Considering Viacom’s billion dollar lawsuit against Google’s YouTube subsidiary, the Yahoo!/Viacom partnership may not be a TKO — but you can count on the fight lasting the full 12 rounds.