I don’t like Dunkin Donuts coffee enough to make Yahoo! my homepage this coming Friday, but if you do like a free cup of coffee, make Yahoo! your homepage, and get a free cup, care of Yahoo!, according to Andy Beal.

"Yahoo is planning a new media blitz - complete with a new television and radio campaign.

Ok, that’s the boring stuff. Here’s what you really need to know…

As an added promotional gift, Yahoo will offer coupons for a free cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts to anyone who sets Yahoo.com as their home page this Friday.

 

This is part of Yahoo’s new advertising campaign according to ProductivityApps:

"As its rivals create a bigger buzz on the Internet, Yahoo Inc. is hitting television and radio airwaves to remind people that its Web site remains on the cutting edge of technology and culture.

The advertising blitz, scheduled to begin Thursday, marks the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company’s biggest marketing push in two years.

Besides buying TV and radio time, world’s most popular Web site also will be spreading its messages in movie theaters across the United States.

The real reasons for the advertising campaign are:

"Yahoo is probably feeling some erosion of its brand," said Brad Scott, director of digital branding for San Francisco consulting firm Landor Associates. "They probably want to build some awareness again."

Yahoo claims 412 million users. Last month it attracted nearly 107 million unique U.S. visitors, more than any other online destination, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

But Yahoo’s search engine lags Google’s, both for processing requests and distributing ads that will produce revenue-generating clicks _ problems that have depressed the company’s stock. Yahoo shares ended last week at $29.32, marking a 25 percent decline since the end of last year.

Through July, Google held a 44 percent share of the U.S. search market compared to 29 percent for Yahoo, according to comScore Media Metrix. At the same time in the previous year, Google’s lead on Yahoo was only six percentage points.

Mountain View-based Google is far richer, with a market value of $127 billion and about $10 billion in cash. Yahoo has a market value of $39 billion and about $2.7 billion in cash.

To make things worse, Google has become synonymous with looking things up on the Internet without having to spend on expensive TV and radio ads.

"Instead of worrying about branding, Google is able to spend time and money on building better algorithms to help people find information and data," said Regis McKenna, who helped steer the marketing campaigns of high-tech Apple Computer Inc. and Intel Corp."

I wonder how long you have to leave Yahoo! as you homepage to get the free cup of Java?