Yelp Launches Audiences, an Advertising Platform

Yelp has launched Yelp Audiences to help advertisers connect with consumers across the web based on Yelp search activity.

Yelp Audiences helps location-based, direct-to-consumer, consumer packaged goods, and online advertisers reach Yelp's high-intent audience at all stages of the buying cycle. Yelp launched this new advertising platform with KitchenAid, following successful pilots with food technology company Eat Just and comfort technology company Purple.

Yelp Audiences lets advertisers target Yelp users off-platform and across the web, connecting them with people who have shown an interest or need for a product or service. Advertisers provide creative assets, and Yelp delivers the advertisements on premium websites, mobile apps, and video streaming services through connected TV, based on users' purchase intent while on Yelp.

In May, KitchenAid worked with Yelp to deliver off-platform ads that encouraged consumers to eat at women-owned restaurants in their local markets.

"As a part of our 'A Woman's Place' campaign efforts, it was critical to drive impact by supporting women-owned businesses," said Priyanka Rathore, brand communication manager at KitchenAid, in a statement. "We knew that partnering with Yelp Audiences would be a natural fit, not only because they have the ability to reach a very specific audience, but also because their mission matched our goal to reach consumers who are already looking to spend with and support local businesses."

KitchenAid leveraged a study with Kantar to measure brand lift driven by the campaign. Respondents who saw KitchenAid's Yelp Audiences ads showed a 12-point lift in the perception that KitchenAid is made for people who love to cook, which is about five times higher than the industry benchmark for brand attributes.

"For years, advertisers have wanted to make more meaningful connections with consumers, and Yelp's unmatched data allows us to support that," said Tom Foran, Yelp's senior vice president and head of national go-to-market, in a statement. "Yelp's high-intent audience can uniquely help brands better develop these important and meaningful connections with the right consumers. With Yelp Audiences, we are able to help advertisers reach our engaged, down-funnel audience in a way no other platform can. We're honored to have partnered with KitchenAid to connect consumers with women-owned businesses and empower small businesses, something that is so inherently important to Yelp."

Yelp leverages partnerships with demand-side platforms (DSPs) to deliver ads to its users on leading third-party websites and apps based on user search activity on Yelp. Through Yelp Audiences, advertisers can reach personalized audiences while remaining compliant with privacy laws. Yelp also works closely with DSP partners to control brand safety and viewability across all inventory types supported. including display, video and connected TV. Through pixel integration and first-party reporting, Yelp provides the measurement and insights to determine the effectiveness of advertising on Yelp Audiences.