AdForce, OpenGrid Team for Wireless Advertising

AdForce, the ad delivery and management company of CMGI, inked a strategic alliance with wireless messaging and technology company OpenGrid, with the aim of expanding AdForce’s presence on wireless devices.

The deal is part of the company’s “AdForce EveryWhere” initiative, which aims to serve ads on wireless devices, interactive television, point-of-sale displays, Internet appliances, and other consumer devices.

Wednesday’s agreement will integrate AdForce’s centralized ad management and delivery system with OpenGrid’s platform for wireless messaging, commerce, content, and promotions. AdForce will handle ad serving, targeting and tracking.

Executives in the deal are wagering that the agreement will help AdForce establish itself in this emerging market, as competition for the space begins to heat up.

“By teaming up with OpenGrid, we’ll collectively map out the uncultivated territory of wireless advertising, and maximize the advertising potential of the wireless market just as it becomes the de facto method of accessing the Internet,” said AdForce executive vice president Dee Cravens.

Every major player in the online ad industry has been busy making plays for the wireless market. AdForce itself has announced several partnerships and alliances recently to promote its services on non-PC devices.

In June, it partnered with consumer devices software company PlanetWeb to carry ads on consumer products like the Sega Dreamcast game console. In August, AdForce announced a deal with information appliance software company Liberate Technologies, to let cable network operator clients deliver ads to Internet-enhanced set-top boxes.

OpenGrid itself has been no slouch in teaming to stay abreast of the highly competitive wireless services industry: in July the company partnered with Cell-Loc, a provider of location-detection wireless technology, to collaborate on the development of location-based promotions.