Yahoo! Plans Major Brand Revamp: Report

Yahoo!(YHOO Quote) is working on a massive plan to overhaul its brand, a report says.

The effort is being spearheaded by newly installed Chief Marketing Officer Elisa Steele, reports D: All Things Digital, a Web site of the Wall Street Journal.

The new branding of Yahoo!, said several people close to the situation, might be built around the latest relaunch of its main home page design, the report says. The relaunch of the front page was delayed by CEO Carol Bartz when she took over in January and is now slated for the fall.

Bartz will preside, along with Yahoo! Chairman Roy Bostock, at the company's annual meeting Thursday in Silicon Valley, although it is doubtful she will unveil any plan then for marketing or other major company strategies, D: All Things Digital reports.

Many themes have been considered to depict Yahoo! in the future, many along the lines of Yahoo! still being a key hub destination for Internet users, the report adds.

Separately, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the software maker is still open to a partnership with Yahoo!.

"We remain open to a partnership with Yahoo," Ballmer told a seminar at the Cannes Lion 2009 advertising festival, according to Reuters.

Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo! for up to $47.5 billion last year, but was turned down by the former leadership of Yahoo!

There has been talk of a partnership between the companies in recent months, but no deal has emerged, Reuters reports.