Sun-Netscape Alliance launches ad blitz

iPlanet, the e-commerce software venture between Sun Microsystems and America Online subsidiary Netscape, tomorrow will launch an advertising and branding campaign, giving the first glimpse of the venture since its inception last March.

The initiative will include the launch of a new logo, a Web site redesign, an advertising campaign, and heightened public relations for its products.

Print ads will begin appearing tomorrow in tech-focused newspapers, including the San Jose Mercury News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Boston Globe. In addition, the company will launch a banner ad campaign throughout the Web. TV ads targeting cable stations will appear later this quarter.

The branding campaign will emphasize white circles used repeatedly on a red background, a design created by DigitalJWT, J. Walter Thompson's high-tech division.

"We will showcase our messages through all aspects of our marketing efforts starting with digital media and then moving to more traditional mechanisms," Elisa Steele, vice president of iPlanet's marketing communications, said in a statement.

The cost of the campaign was not disclosed.

iPlanet, also known as the Sun-Netscape Alliance, was created as part of AOL's acquisition of Netscape Communications in 1998. The companies will share revenue from iPlanet's product sales.

iPlanet sells software that packages products developed by Sun, AOL and Netscape. The company builds application servers, which run networked business software; directory software; Web servers, which deliver Web pages to people browsing the Internet; messaging software; calendar software; and online selling and bill payment software.

The announcement comes just two weeks after AOL announced it will acquire media giant Time Warner for more than $160 billion in stock.

News.com's Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.