Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft have grown chummy as Google has cast its long pale digital shadow over the world of online advertising. To counter the search engine giant, the three companies that formerly competed for display ad crumbs will now sell slices of the pie for each other.
The companies discussed the meeting in a private Manhattan meeting Tuesday, an anonymous ad agency executive told reporters. None of the three companies would comment on the details of what plans they may have.
The three companies use different ad exchange programs, and this and other compatibility issues will have to be resolved before any cooperative effort could go into effect.
According to an eMarketer report, Google currently holds 76 percent of the search advertising marketplace. The company takes in about $1.1 billion a year in online display advertising.
Read more at The New York Times.
