What Online Ad Meltdown? TPM Creates In-House Ad Sales Business Headed By Former Yahoo
This story was written by David Kaplan.
Left-of-center political news blog TPM has tapped former Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) ad sales exec Diane Rinaldo to kickstart the site's own in-house ad sales business. Although online ad revenues in general have been slowing down over the past year, TPM execs say that they have benefited from the 2008 presidential raceit claims to have reached 3.1 million monthly uniques last Octoberand it's been able to maintain momentum as the Obama Administration deals with the economy and the war in the Middle East.
New York-based TPM has been planning to create an ad sales team for months. The announcement is in conjunction with a site redesign that was completed late last month, which includes more prominent placement for premium ads on every page, Josh Marshall, the site's founder and editor, said in a statement. In addition to giving its display space more visibility, TPM also wants to attract sponsorships of specific features, such as its expanded video offerings planned for later this year.
At Yahoo, Rinaldo most recently served as director of the portal's political advertising unit. Before that, she was managing director of the Category team at Yahoo, where she handled retail advertising for the company's search business. A 12-year online ad vet, Rinaldo was also part of the team that opened Microsoft's first East Coast sales office for MSN prior to her stint at Yahoo.
By David Kaplan