Yahoo! To Launch 100 Brand-Specific Websites

Yahoo plans to unveil 100 sites as part of its new initiative called "Brand Universe," Yahoo's head of games, entertainment and youth properties, Vince Broady, said yesterday. The sites will be part of Yahoo's expansive network of online content and will draw on already existing content as well as content created specifically for the new sites. The company has already built a Brand Universe site around the newly released Nintendo Wii; yesterday it announced plans for six more themed sites on Harry Potter, video games Halo and the Sims, television shows “The Office” and “Lost” and Transformers toy line, TV show, comic books and the upcoming movie. In terms of cooperation with the companies Yahoo will be promoting through Brand Universe and hopefully (for its sake) monetizing through targeted advertising, Broady says: "We'd like to work with brand owners... but we don't necessarily need [them]."

• Sources: Wii "Brand Universe" Site, New York Times, L.A. Times, Variety
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Comments

[Brian Croner]

Not too shabby, Yahoo. My question is who in your marketing department was involved in that project? It's a very sound idea.