WPP and Yahoo! ink online deal

Asia Pacific - WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell once described the giants of the online world as "frenemies" but he's now jumped into bed with Yahoo! to help his clients get more scale online.

WPP has formed a trading partnership with Right Media Exchange, a division of Yahoo!, to sell online adverting through its vast network.

The agreement, announced late last week, will give WPP's digital advertising network 24/7 Real Media greater access to Yahoo!'s many markets, consumer insights and users' behavior research.

In many markets around Asia, including Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Japan and Malaysia, ComScore data shows Yahoo! is ahead of both Google and Microsoft in terms of monthly unique visitors.

The deal is not limited to Yahoo! and WPP is free to pursue similar deals with the likes of Google or Microsoft. Both companies are believed to be developing a similar advertising platforms.

Irwin Gotlieb, CEO of Groupm, said the partnership with Yahoo! will give WPP agencies and clients an advantage in securing more relevant, high-quality digital media inventory.