AOL's Platform-A subsidiary is now bringing affiliate marketing to widget ads. If that sounds like a lot of media speak, that's because it is.
To power widget ads, AOL acquired start-up Goowy in February, and it has already worked the acquisition into Platform-A. As part of Tuesday's announcement, Goowy's technology has been officially incorporated into Buy.at, an affiliate network that AOL also acquired earlier this year.
"Once a publisher places a widget on their Web site, consumers can grab it and distribute the widget to other locations on the Web, including social-network pages, desktops, and blogs," a release from AOL explained. "The publisher earns revenue for each sale driven by the widget, even if it's several download generations away from the publisher's site."
AOL has made many significant advertising announcements in recent months as part of its refocus on online media, but it's still having a rough time as a subsidiary of Time Warner.
While AOL's ad revenues were up 2 percent in the second quarter of 2008, it wasn't enough to make up for losses at its once-powerful access service--which Time Warner plans to spin off.
AOL has formally launched the third-party mobile-advertising division of its Platform-A ad-serving technology, the company said Monday. The division has sprung out of Third Screen Media, a mobile-ad start-up that AOL acquired last spring.
Third Screen Media runs its own mobile-ad network, but Monday's announcement is focused on a new technology that enables publishers to put their ads on multiple networks using a strategy that AOL calls "inventory partitioning." They can, in other words, use a Web interface to pick and choose what percentage of their available ads go on which networks.
Mobile advertising got a big boost upon the launch of the iPhone 3G, with entire ad networks and start-ups popping up around Apple's device--making it the hot new platform for both Web and third-party app development.
Platform-A's mobile-ad options extend from text and picture messages to mobile Web ads to video and downloadable applications.
Gannett Co., which operates 23 television stations and 85 newspapers in the U.S. including USA Today, has signed on to AOL's Platform-A as its digital advertising partner. More specifically, it'll be using Platform-A's Adtech, marking the U.S. debut of the formerly Europe-only division.
When the deal has rolled out completely, it'll encompass all of Gannett's local news markets for both print and broadcast, USAToday.com, and other Web properties that the company owns. No target date was provided. But it's a big deal for AOL, considering the reach of USA Today as well as the opportunities for local ad targeting. According to Nielsen, Gannett's Web properties have 25 million unique visitors per month.
"We selected Adtech because their top tier technology will allow us to seamlessly execute and deliver for advertisers at both a local and national level," Chris Saridakis, Gannett's chief digital officer, said in a release from the two companies. "With the Adtech platform, advertisers of all sizes will be able to easily reach our affluent, active online audience, whether it's through broad national campaigns, audience segmentation, or locally targeted campaigns."
AOL acquired the Germany-based Adtech last year. The company has been doing business in Europe for about a decade.
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