AOL Buys Rich Media Ad Firm Pictela, Extends Project Devil
Acquisition aims to attract premium display advertising dollars across its properties.
Acquisition aims to attract premium display advertising dollars across its properties.
AOL is acquiring rich media ad technology firm Pictela for an undisclosed sum, and also intends to roll out the super sized Project Devil ad units it revealed in September to all of its media properties by March 2011.
Pictela offers a range of rich media solutions, with a focus on high-definition video in expandable and large-scale ad units such as the OPA’s pushdown and fixed panel formats, not unlike the Project Devil ads.
Pictela will remain a separate entity within AOL’s advertising unit, and will retain its brand and staff in New York. It also claims it will continue to service outside partners, which have included major AOL rivals like Yahoo, Microsoft, and Glam Media. The company’s strengths to date have been in the consumer packaged goods and retail space, serving clients including Macy’s, Best Buy, Gillette, Target, and Kraft.
Commenting on the merger in a press release, Pictela CEO Greg Rogers said AOL will become “one of its biggest customers,” but added that its commitment to innovation in the display ad space would benefit both parties.
Following trials of its own super sized ad Project Devil ad formats this year, AOL now intends to roll them out across all of its media properties by March 2011. The company says its internal data show the units have been “greatly outperforming standard online ads,” and that by reducing page clutter the ads have encouraged higher user interaction rates.
More about:
Lucy helps organizations leverage knowledge for in... View Tech Talk
TVSquared is the global leader in cross-platform T... View Tech Talk
Grata is a B2B search engine for discovering small... View Tech Talk
Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing ... Download Now
Data is the lifeblood of so many companies today. ... Download Now
This report documents the findings of a Fireside c... Download Now
Customers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touc... Download Now
Streaming has become a staple of US media-viewing habits. Streaming video, however, still comes with a variety of pesky frustrations that viewers are ...
View resourceData is the lifeblood of so many companies today. You need more of it, all of which at higher quality, and all the meanwhile being compliant with data...
View resourceThis report documents the findings of a Fireside chat held by ClickZ in the first quarter of 2022. It provides expert insight on how companies can ret...
View resourceCustomers decide fast, influenced by only 2.5 touchpoints – globally! Make sure your brand shines in those critical moments. Read More...
View resourceIn 2015, Verizon purchased AOL for $4.4 billion. Now, the mega wireless carrier is leveraging its wireless network as part of a new ad offering called...
View articleAs the world becomes more smartphone-centric, failing to master mobile marketing is no longer an option. Here are some of the best and worst ad format...
View articleDisplay is a long way from dead. In fact, new technology is making it possible for traditional display to be more beautiful and engaging than ever wit...
View articleAdvertisers have long used Flash to make interactive ads online, but the IAB is going to ditch Flash for HTML5 as the new industry standard. Read More...
View articleTo compete with Google and Facebook, Microsoft and AOL are training one another on their respective strengths: content and programmatic. Read More...
View articleThe move is expected to open up additional private exchanges, although insiders are not sure all media buyers will follow suit and shun open exchanges...
View articleAOL's $90.7 million acquisition of Gravity to personalize ads and editorial is good news. But is it good enough to enable it to compete with the likes...
View articleProject Devil 2 features templates with applications tailored to specific verticals like retail, entertainment, consumer-packaged goods, finance, auto...
View article