January 26 , 2010

Personalize your web experience with Yahoo!
Apps stay with you when you're mobile

Yahoo! Canada has launched a new homepage for Canadians that brings together the best of the Web with the best of Yahoo! in a single destination across both PC and mobile screens. With the new Yahoo! Canada homepage, Canadians can easily add apps – from Yahoo! or virtually any other site on the Web – and access them from their computer or mobile devices so their favourite content, services and experiences are always at their fingertips. The new Yahoo! Canada homepage will be available today at www.yahoo.ca   

“The Web is an indispensible part of Canadians’ lives, it’s where they socialize, stay in touch with family and friends, buy products and services and share their photos and memories,” says Matt Idema, Yahoo! vice president and country manager, Canada. “Whether for their PC or mobile device, Yahoo! Canada is bringing greater simplicity and relevance to the way Canadians experience the Web. Our new homepage is designed to help Canadians stay on top of what is going on in their world, and around the world no matter where they are.”

The new Yahoo! Canada homepage brings together the best tools and content from across the Web, combined with leading content and services from Yahoo! properties to give Canadians one place to access the people and things that matter most to them. 

Features of the new Yahoo! Canada homepage include:

My Favourites– Canadians can easily choose from a dashboard of more than 57 apps to add directly to their personalized Yahoo! Canada homepage, including apps for different email providers (Yahoo! Mail, Gmail ®), best of breed content sites (People.com, ® Forbes.com, ® BBC World News ®), popular social networking sites (Facebook, ® MySpace ® ), and dozens of others. These apps give Canadians the ability to preview, interact with, or navigate to their favourite sites from one easy check-in point.

App Maker – Using technology developed by Yahoo!, Canadians can easily create their own apps on the fly by adding virtually any URL of their choice.

Social Updates – Canadians can now share their current “status” with friends directly from the Yahoo! Canada homepage. They can get visibility into what their friends are doing across the Web, and integrate with leading social networks like Facebook and MySpace.

News, For You – Hyper-local news and the ability to toggle the news module to the top of the page offer easier ways to access the news that matters most. 

PC to Mobile Sync – Canadians can continue their Yahoo! Canada experience on the go with a more seamless PC to mobile integration. New apps added to the Yahoo! Canada PC homepage can be easily added to the mobile homepage so Canadians’ Yahoo! mobile experience mirrors their PC experience.

Advertisers and the new Yahoo! Canada homepage:

Hyundai® and Scotiabank are two of the inaugural advertisers on the new Yahoo! Canada homepage.

“ Yahoo! Canada has been a strong partner for Hyundai and we look forward to leveraging the opportunity the new Yahoo! Canada homepage presents. The launch of Yahoo! Canada's new homepage coincides with the launch of the all-new 2010 Hyundai Tucson and we are excited to highlight the inspiring design and premium features of the Tucson on Yahoo! Canada and capitalize on the increased usage the new homepage will deliver,” says Tatania Tucker, media director, Bensimon Byrne.

“Yahoo! Canada is a leading Canadian brand that has built a trusted following of Canadians. We felt there was a great opportunity to align the Scotiabank RSP campaign with the launch of the new Yahoo! Canada homepage that we feel sure will continue to deliver outstanding results for us and our clients,” says Daryl Stansfield, digital account director, PHD Canada.

Games coverage at Yahoo.ca:

Yahoo! Canada’s coverage of the upcoming Games will be featured front and centre on the new homepage. As part of a joint effort between Yahoo.com and Yahoo.ca, Canadians will have access to this coverage by one of the largest editorial teams reporting on the Games:

Yahoo.ca will feature expert commentary from well-known Canadian athletes including Elvis Stojko (figure skating), Ken Daneyko (hockey), and Jennifer Jones (curling), who will bring a uniquely Canadian perspective to their coverage.

Yahoo! Canada has expanded its sports editorial team at home to include former Globe and Mail staffers Steve McAllister and Ian Denomme.

Yahoo!’s coverage of the Games via its mobile site, scheduled to launch on February 9, will enable fans on the go to keep up with the latest happenings, including medal counts, news and expert coverage, live results, athlete profiles and more.

You’ll also be able to follow Yahoo! Canada’s Games coverage on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/YahooSportsCA/

More enhancements to the Yahoo! Canada homepage, including additional apps, will also be added in the coming months.