NEW YORK – Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) announced the formation of a Digital Advisory Council that will consist of industry executives from its agency and advertiser partners. The Council will work collaboratively to explore the continued evolution of digital media and online advertising.

Yahoo! has created many partnerships over the past eighteen months that are reflective of the paradigm shift toward openness occurring across the online media landscape. Multi-year partnerships with premium publishers, the Newspaper Consortium, as well as the Yahoo!-Google services agreement all are part of Yahoo!’s more open approach.

“As Yahoo! partners with publishers to extend the reach of our network, we have formed the Digital Advisory Council to identify innovative ways to improve advertiser performance, particularly in anticipation of the rollout of Yahoo’s new advertising management platform in the coming months,” said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president, Yahoo! U.S.

The Council will serve as a vehicle for soliciting feedback and will supplement Yahoo!’s daily conversations with advertisers. Active discussion with key customers is an important pillar in making Yahoo! a partner of choice, particularly during a time when competition for ad dollars is as robust as ever. Yahoo!’s Digital Advisory Council will first meet in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Opening up Yahoo! is a key part of our strategy, and we want to help advertisers understand how they can benefit from this approach,” Schneider added. “At the same time, there has been confusion and misinformation surrounding Yahoo!’s agreement with Google, which represents another key milestone in opening up our network. As questions emerge about how Yahoo! will implement this agreement, the Advisory Council will provide a forum for us to engage in a dialogue with key customers on those issues.”

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet brand and one of the most trafficked Internet destinations worldwide. Yahoo! is focused on powering its communities of users, advertisers, publishers, and developers by creating indispensable experiences built on trust. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit pressroom.yahoo.com.