Yahoo has traffic; can Yang give it an identity? As new CEO takes helm, it's unclear if company's focus is search or content.(News)(Jerry Yang appointed at Yahoo! Inc.)

Advertising Age, June, 2007 by Klaassen, Abbey

Byline: ABBEY KLAASSEN

aklaassen@adage.com

Google yahoo.

Really, go ahead and Google it. The first result, Yahoo.com, comes with this description: "Welcome to Yahoo!, the world's most visited home page.''

Therein lies the company's problem, believes Tom Ordahl, a partner in branding and strategy firm 1066. It's not quite clear, he said, what Yahoo stands for, outside of, well, size. (Mr. Ordahl advises all his clients, including Microsoft, to "Google'' themselves as an exercise in branding.)

Figuring out the company's identity and mission will be co-founder Jerry Yang's biggest test as CEO, a title he assumed last week as Terry Semel stepped down after a six-year reign. Is it a technology company trying to catch up in...

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