Zeta Global and Yahoo announce partnership for AI-powered marketing

On September 19, 2024, Zeta Global and Yahoo announced a strategic partnership to integrate advanced artificial intelligence into their marketing capabilities. This collaboration, revealed two days ago, focuses on enhancing email marketing operations and improving audience targeting for global brands.

Zeta Global, an AI-powered marketing cloud company, will take over the management of Yahoo's email marketing by migrating it to the Zeta Marketing Platform (ZMP). This transition is expected to improve Yahoo's personalized content delivery to its user base. Furthermore, Zeta's Data Cloud will be integrated with Yahoo ConnectID, potentially allowing for more precise audience targeting for advertisers using Yahoo's demand-side platform (DSP).

The partnership between Zeta Global and Yahoo encompasses several critical aspects:

1. Email Marketing Migration: Yahoo will transition its member database and marketing automation to the ZMP. This shift is designed to leverage Zeta's advanced customer intelligence capabilities, enabling more personalized experiences for Yahoo users.
2. AI-Powered Email Campaigns: Zeta's platform will be responsible for sending billions of AI-optimized emails each quarter. These communications will cover Yahoo's primary verticals, including News, Sports, Finance, Life, and Entertainment.
3. Enhanced Audience Targeting: The integration of Yahoo DSP with ZMP aims to provide advertisers with more sophisticated audience targeting options. This enhancement is expected to streamline benefits for joint clients and potentially increase market share for both companies.
4. Intent-Based Audience Creation: The partnership will allow for the creation of unique, intent-based audiences by making Zeta's Data Cloud interoperable with Yahoo ConnectID. This integration promises to offer advertisers comprehensive insights into customer intent, location intelligence, and psychographics.

According to Matt Sanchez, President & GM of Yahoo Home Ecosystem, the partnership with Zeta Global is a strategic move in Yahoo's ongoing transformation. Sanchez stated, "Zeta's differentiated data, innovative marketing technology, and world-class team will support the scale, complexity, and precision we need to enhance our user experiences and strengthen brands' efficiency and effectiveness on our industry-leading properties."

The collaboration is expected to significantly enhance Yahoo's ability to engage its members with more individualized messages. By leveraging Zeta's AI-powered platform, Yahoo aims to distill the uniqueness of its content and deliver it more effectively to its audience.

David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta Global, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership. He highlighted Zeta's next-generation platform, with AI at its core, as a key factor in empowering Yahoo to deliver more personalized content to its members.

Steinberg emphasized Zeta's ability to scale at unprecedented speeds, which he believes will benefit Yahoo as it accelerates its investment in content and member engagement. This scalability is crucial for handling the vast amount of data and communications involved in Yahoo's operations.

Technical aspects of the integration

The integration of Zeta's technologies with Yahoo's existing infrastructure involves several technical components:

1. ZMP Integration: Yahoo's marketing team will migrate its member database and marketing automation to the Zeta Marketing Platform. This process involves transferring vast amounts of user data and adapting existing marketing workflows to the new system.
2. AI-Powered Decision Making: Zeta's platform will utilize advanced AI algorithms to make strategic decisions about email marketing campaigns. These decisions include optimal send times, content recommendations, and multi-channel engagement strategies.
3. Yahoo ConnectID Integration: The ZMP will be integrated with Yahoo ConnectID, which is described as a "future-proof identifier for signal loss." This integration aims to unify customer and prospect data across paid and owned marketing channels while maintaining privacy standards.
4. Data Cloud Interoperability: Zeta's Data Cloud will be made interoperable with Yahoo ConnectID. This technical integration will allow for the creation of more sophisticated, intent-based audience segments.

Potential benefits for advertisers

Advertisers using the joint Zeta and Yahoo platforms are expected to gain several advantages:

1. Improved Audience Insights: Access to more comprehensive data on customer intent, location, and psychographics.
2. Enhanced Targeting Capabilities: The ability to create and target more precise audience segments.
3. Optimized Channel Selection: Improved ability to select the most effective channels for reaching high-value audiences.
4. Better Timing: Enhanced capabilities for determining the optimal timing for marketing messages.
5. Increased ROI: The combination of these factors is expected to lead to higher engagement rates and improved return on investment for marketing campaigns.

This partnership between Zeta Global and Yahoo represents a significant development in the digital marketing landscape. It highlights the growing importance of AI and advanced data analytics in marketing strategies for large-scale digital platforms.

The collaboration also underscores the trend towards more personalized and targeted marketing approaches, as companies seek to maximize engagement and ROI in an increasingly competitive digital environment.

To further discuss this partnership and its implications, Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone will join Zeta Global CEO David Steinberg on stage at the Zeta Live event on September 26, 2024. This event, described as the premier AI and marketing conference, will provide a platform for industry leaders to share insights on cutting-edge technologies, brand growth strategies, and fostering innovation in the digital marketing space.

Key Facts

• Announcement Date: September 19, 2024
• Partnership Participants: Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) and Yahoo
• Main Components:
  1. Migration of Yahoo's email marketing to Zeta Marketing Platform
  2. Integration of Yahoo DSP with Zeta Marketing Platform
  3. Interoperability between Zeta Data Cloud and Yahoo ConnectID
• Expected Outcomes:
  1. Enhanced personalization of Yahoo's email marketing
  2. Improved audience targeting for advertisers
  3. Creation of unique, intent-based audience segments
• Scale: Billions of AI-powered personalized emails to be sent quarterly
• Key Verticals: News, Sports, Finance, Life, and Entertainment
• Upcoming Event: Zeta Live on September 26, 2024, featuring Yahoo CEO Jim Lanzone and Zeta Global CEO David Steinberg