Search partners like Apple, Amazon, and AT&T deliver unique audiences and qualified traffic

Here’s a new video that puts the spotlight on the Yahoo! Partner Network, a collection of top-flight sites we’ve partnered with to give your search campaigns an extra jolt of quality traffic. It’s one of the world’s largest search partner networks, made up of more than 300 sites that include major brands such as Facebook, AT&T, Apple, Amazon, WebMD, and Viacom.

These partners deliver unique and relevant audiences that are often different than those you’d find using the Yahoo! and Bing search engines. And they deliver volume---consumers conduct more than 50 billion searches on our partner sites, and the quality of that traffic is on par with Yahoo!’s and Microsoft’s owned-and-operated traffic.

Millions of consumers are about to start researching and buying gifts for the June 16 holiday. These tips will help make sure you’re prepared for them.

Mother’s Day may be right around the corner (May 12), but if you’re planning search campaigns, you need to be thinking ahead to Fathers’ Day on June 16, because millions of consumers will soon be shopping for dear ol’ Dad. Studies show that consumers will begin researching Father’s Day gifts a month before Father’s Day and that purchase activity will pick up on the third and second weeks before the event, so savvy marketers will be optimizing their plans now.

There’s a lot of retail revenue at stake. Last year, consumers spent a record $12.7 billion for Father’s Day, according to the National Retail Federation. The average consumer spent $117.14 on Father’s Day in 2012, a 10% increase from 2011. It’s important for retailers to understand the audience, timing, and trends around Father’s Day shopping to maximize search campaign ROI on the Yahoo! Bing Network. Here are some tips and best practices to help.

Demographics of Father’s Day shoppers

Here are some insights into who’s doing the shopping for Father’s Day, based on research by BIGinsight. Consider using demographic targeting and bid boosting to ensure your search ads are well positioned with these target consumers.

Stream Ads and Billboard formats emphasize personalization and interactivity

We announced two new ad formats yesterday at the Digital Content NewFronts in New York that are aimed at making the advertiser experience on Yahoo! more engaging and relevant for consumers while providing greater reach for brands.

The ad formats, called Yahoo! Stream Ads and Billboard, will run on our homepage, and their introduction was covered in major industry publications including Ad Age, Business Insider, TechCrunch, and MediaPost.

Here’s a quick overview of the new formats:

Yahoo! Stream Ads is a new format that will be embedded into the personalized news streams that were introduced last February as part of the new Yahoo! experience. The look, feel and placement of Stream Ads will be unobtrusive and complement the user’s news stream experience on desktops and mobile devices.

New programs, content partnerships, video channels, and more offer stellar opportunities for marketers

The line to get into our presentation last night at the Digital Content NewFronts in New York wrapped around an entire city block. But the patient invitees who packed the theater were soon rewarded with an evening of wall-to-wall talent. A regular stream of stars took the stage as we unveiled our new lineup of original comedy and lifestyle shows, with celebs including Ed Helms, Zachary Levi, John Stamos, Morgan Spurlock, Cheryl Hines and Rachel Harris cracking up the crowd. We also announced new and expanded content partnerships with the WWE, Conde Nast, ABC News, and CNBC. All of this great content will be available to advertisers through 18 new video channels, providing a wide range of options for reaching target audiences at massive scale. Wrapping up the event was a special performance by The Lumineers, which was streamed live on Yahoo!

“Nobody does content like Yahoo! does content,” said Yahoo! CEO Marisa Mayer from the stage, and judging from the cheers and applause, the crowd fully agreed.

Erin McPherson, Yahoo! vice president and head of video, said that over the last year Yahoo! has more than doubled the amount of its original video programming. She summed up how viewers and marketers will benefit from this commitment to quality content. “The new shows and partnerships we’re announcing demonstrate how we are building scale, reaching more audiences, and innovating with content,” she said.

Cheryl Hines (l) and Rachel Harris star in new Yahoo! comedy 'We Need Help' coming in Fall 2013

New weather app joins our expanded set of enhanced mobile products, attracting millions more mobile users in first quarter of 2013

Sunglasses or umbrella? Millions of consumers make a daily habit of turning to Yahoo! for answers to their weather questions before walking out the front door each morning. Last week, we launched an inspiring and entertaining way for them to get their daily forecasts with our weather app for mobile.

Combining up-to-the-minute weather data with stunning Flickr photos from around the globe, the app delivers an informative and immersive experience for users. Instead of just the usual straightforward report of daily highs and lows, our new app turns checking the weather into a journey through different geographies, showcasing sunsets, landmarks, and picturesque locales. Expanded details such as precipitation, wind and pressure, and a radar map are just a tap and scroll away.

You still have a shot at winning a trip to Cannes Lions, industry recognition, and the experience of a lifetime.

Good news for busy young media stars. So many of you asked for an extension to enter the Yahoo! Young Media Stars competition that we’ve decided to grant one. The new deadline is Sunday, May 5, at 11:59 p.m. PST. That means you have about six more days to get in your application, and if you’re really gung-ho, make an optional entry video too.

If you’ve already submitted an application, you can use this extension to make a video and include it in your entry. Email the link to your video to ymediastars@yahoo.com. If you’ve already submitted your application and video, you can relax—for a little while.

Videos will be now posted in the dedicated Young Media Stars section on the Yahoo! Advertising Facebook page on May 7. Encourage your colleagues, friends, and family members to vote for your video from May 7 to May 13. Remember, we’ll award 5 bonus points to the video that best demonstrates originality and creativity, and 5 bonus points to the video that receives the highest number of votes on our Facebook page. Winners will be announced May 22.

More teens use Tumbler (61%) than Facebook (55%). If you’re targeting teens with social media ads, here’s what they’re thinking and where they’re going.

When it comes to teen users, Facebook is going through some growing pains, according to today’s infographic, which shares insights into teens’ preferences regarding social media networks. Facebook’s user population is declining in numbers and skewing older. And as more parents join Facebook, their teen kids are moving to other social apps. Why? Because 74% of parents check their kids’ Facebook page several times a week, says the infographic, and teens want some online privacy.

Here are some highlights from the infographic:

• In the last six months, active Facebook users in the U.S. have decreased 7.37%
• The average Facebook user was age 41 in 2012, versus age 38 in 2010
• In 2012, 72% of moms used Facebook, versus 50% in 2010.
• Smartphone ownership among teens has increased 61% since 2011, and teens are turning to mobile apps to keep in touch with each other
• More teens use Tumblr (61%) than Facebook (55%); other favorite new social apps are Kik Messenger, WhatsApp, and SnapChat.

Check out the full infographic for more insights on teens and Facebook.

This Friday, we’re kicking off a global tour called Yahoo! On the Road, the world’s first mobile entertainment and innovation festival. It begins on May 3 with a 28-city tour throughout the U.S. featuring an all-star lineup of top bands and entertainers including John Legend, fun., Fall Out Boy, The Lumineers, Imagine Dragons, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. At every stop, we’ll also showcase many of our newly re-imagined products and experiences such as Weather, Mail, and Flickr.

Yahoo! On the Road is an exciting, high-profile way to personally engage consumers with our solutions and to build bigger audiences for brands and marketers. Driving cross-country from New York to San Francisco, the U.S. tour will stop in a different city every day. The Yahoo! On the Road website and Twitter page will share details on how fans can get free tickets, which will be handed out (while supplies last)at a designated bus stop at each city. On June 11, the tour will jump over to Europe for a seven-city jaunt that begins in Berlin and ends at the Yahoo! Wireless Festival in London from July 12-14.