AOL unveils One advertising platform

AOL has unveiled plans for a cross-screen programmatic advertising platform, One by AOL, combining the teams and technologies of the AdLearn Open Platform, Marketplace and Adap.tv units.

According to AOL, the move will combine the three technologies and staff to deliver an integrated enterprise solution for brands, agencies and publishers.

One is designed to give advertisers and agencies visibility of campaigns across TV, video, display and mobile advertising, enabling them to play, but and execute campaigns across all screen formats from a single platform. It does not currently cover the actual purchase of advertising space, but is intended to enable automated planning, optimisation and analysis.

AOL has named IPG Mediabrands as a charter partner for One. IPG Mediabrands and AOL will work together to increase automation of advertising delivery. IPG Mediabrands has set a goal of fully automating half its media investments by 2016.

Adap.tv is a platform that provides buyers and sellers with automated tools to plan, buy, measure and optimise advertising across linear TV and digital video. AdLearn Open Platform is a mobile and display platform that allows advertisers and agencies to manage, optimise and analyse online marketing campaigns from one central platform in real time, while Marketplace is described as a programmatic mobile and display platform.

“AOL has spent the last four years building platforms to facilitate the efficient and effective flow of advertising dollars to digital,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO, AOL.

“We build brands – our own, and those of more than 22,000 publishers in our global network and the thousands of marketers we work with daily to help them accomplish their business goals in today’s fast moving, dynamic market.  On the platforms side of our business, as machines automate more media decisions across TV to digital, we are well-positioned to help advertisers, agencies and publishers realize the true value of data-driven advertising.”

“Our industry has developed too many niche offerings and specialized services over the last 25 years, and chaos in ad tech is at an all-time high. The inefficiencies, ineffectiveness and expense of managing multiple teams, tools and metrics for display, mobile and video, across all devices, are stifling,” said Bob Lord, CEO, AOL Platforms.

“The holy grail of marketing is helping marketers understand how direct response and brand budgets can interact together,” said Lord. “With the goal of driving economic efficiencies and media effectiveness, One ensures that data drives media selection and allocation, pricing and creative.  It is the integrator of media across every screen and the automator of decisions that have long not needed human attention.  I believe a platform like One – that is open and that doesn’t discriminate – will win.”