Following launches in the U.S. and several European countries, AOL will unveil its Platform-A model to the Canadian advertising community at the IAB Canada Mixx Conference event in Toronto today.
Platform-A combines assets from the AOL Canada network, such as the AOL and MapQuest websites, and the Advertising.com network, which includes both AOL-owned properties and third-party sites such as CanadianDriver.ca.
According to James Prudhomme, senior director of Platform-A Canada, the new model allows marketers to more easily plan and execute online advertising strategies by creating a single point of contact to purchase ad space on individual sites or across multiple Internet destinations.
“Fundamentally, it’s about aggregating all of AOL’s online advertising assets under a single brand, with the objective of delivering the most efficient and most effective marketplace for online advertising,” said Prudhomme. “A client can leverage a campaign across all of the various platforms. It can be any one of those or all of them, according to the advertiser’s needs.”
Platform-A also offers products to online publishers, such as the Adtech ad serving program and the Quigo AdSonar sponsored link network.
Platform-A will be introduced in Canada via trade advertising and public relations initiatives, including a formal launch event for clients this spring.
AOL launched the Platform-A model in September of 2007, and has since rolled it out in 10 other countries, including the U.K., France and Germany.
