Yahoo is Chasing Me Around Boston

Purple Billboard

As I warmed up for spin class I noticed the bright purple billboard facing the studio. The white letters showed the iconic Yahoo logo.

Yahoo's Billboard in Porter Square, Cambridge

I turned to the woman on the next bike and wondered aloud, "Yahoo?" And, she confirmed what I thought: no one uses Yahoo anymore. Why then would the company pay to put a "name recognition" type billboard way up high in Porter Square, Cambridge?

I had to look hard to see it, but under the giant logo, in a small font were two important words: "for mobile." Under that text were the logos for the Apple App Store and Google play. 

Bus Stop

The message is a bit clearer on the ad at the bus shelter near my house. Still, I bet most people just see "Yahoo!"

Yahoo Ad on my bus stop

The "small print." Are these two words
the reason for Yahoo's ad?

I also saw the ad on a bus, as did the Boston Business Journal. David Harris made a connection:

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, herself a former Google employee, told a crowd at the annual J.P. Morgan Global Technology Media and Telecom Conference in Boston in May that local search was a cornerstone of the entire Yahoo business.

Good catch! But is that in fact what Yahoo hopes to communicate that with the Boston area?

Off topic: Alex O'Neil! Did you get permission to use David Harris' text verbatim for your Street Wise Report on the topic? It's strange his name is not even mentioned in your report.

Better Option?

I do not consider myself an advertising expert, but I did have an ad idea I'd like to share with Yahoo.