Microsoft Should Keep Yahoo Brand: IDC

Plenty of synergies exist should Microsoft's bid for Yahoo go through, but one thing the Redmond giant should not do is drop the Yahoo name, according to a report by research firm IDC."For a long time, Yahoo was seen as an important online alternative to Microsoft by many consumers?some users may continue to harbor [anti-Microsoft] feelings [so] retaining the Yahoo brand would be an important step toward keeping these long-time users," the report states.

A combined Microsoft and Yahoo would challenge Google in many fronts, IDC says, including online advertising ("together Microsoft and Yahoo command 22.7 percent of the online advertising market share [in the U.S.], in contrast to Google's 32.5 percent") and audience reach (Microsoft and Yahoo together reach nearly 74 percent of the audience, close to Google's 80 percent).

Friday will make it one week since Microsoft made clear its unsolicited intentions to acquire Yahoo for $44.6 billion, a portion of which it would borrow from external sources.InternetNews.com