platform-a

Former Yahoo sales exec to head AOL's Platform-A

Greg Coleman, a longtime Yahoo executive, has been named the new president of AOL's advertising division, Platform-A.

"Greg Coleman is the perfect person to build on the foundation we created at Platform-A and drive branded display sales across our fast-growing MediaGlow programming network," AOL chairman and CEO Randy Falco said in a release, referring to the network of blogs and media properties that the online conglomerate formally packaged and announced last month. "Greg's a seasoned sales pro who understands that online brand building is the next frontier in digital advertising, and that whoever can deliver … Read more

T-Mobile plans Android phone ad onslaught

Updated 4:28 p.m. PST to reflect that it's T-mobile's ad campaign, with no Google involvement.

T-Mobile plans to flood the market with a billion ads in two days for its G1 Android phone, with AOL's Platform-A network delivering the advertisements, according to Advertising Age.

Platform-A President Lynda Clarizio estimated the campaign will reach 81 million people when it runs next week, according to the article, which quoted an unnamed source as saying the ad campaign will cost about $1.5 million.

"The goal for T-Mobile was to reach as many people as possible in … Read more

AOL's Platform-A comes to France

AOL's advertising product, Platform-A, is continuing its overseas expansion with Tuesday's launch of a French edition. In the past few weeks, AOL has launched Platform-A in the U.K. and Germany as well.

Platform-A already reaches 24 million people in France, AOL said in a release Tuesday. The technology serves ads on all AOL-owned sites as well as third-party participants in the Advertising.com network.

"Global advertisers are demanding online performance, and that's why Platform-A is aggressively extending its reach in both the United States and Europe so that marketers can generate results more quickly and … Read more

AOL works affiliate marketing into widgets

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, … Read more

More mobile ads for AOL's Platform-A

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 … Read more

AOL plugs Goowy widget ads into ad network

Update 12:35 p.m. PDT: I corrected a reference to AOL's parent company.

AOL said Wednesday it's integrating interactive "widget" ads with Platform-A, the Time Warner subsidiary's advertising network.

Widgets are small Web-based applications, and widget ads offer more interactive possibilities than conventional ads. AOL acquired Goowy in February to advance its widget push, and the Goowy technology for creating and managing widgets is now integrated with Platform-A.

Widgets already could be distributed on AOL's Bebo and on Facebook through Advertising.com service, which is part of Platform-A, but Platform-A has a much … Read more

AOL to serve digital ads for 'USA Today' parent company

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 … Read more

Report: AOL lays off 100 from ad unit

Time Warner's AOL division began a 100-person layoff Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The cuts came from the Platform-A group formed last September to offer ad inventory on its own and third-party Web sites. It will cut its employee count to about 1,500, the newspaper said. It quoted an AOL representative who said some people held redundant jobs from the consolidation of several groups into the division.

Last month, AOL replaced Curt Viebranz as the president of AOL with Lynda Clarizio, who had led the Tacoda component Platform-A.