“Add a tiny photo application to display pictures of your dog on Facebook, and you might find you are really spreading an ad.”
New York — Time Warner Inc.’s AOL on Wednesday announced the integration of Goowy, a small startup technology it acquired earlier this year from Goowy Media Inc., into its digital advertising arm Platform-A, to help advertisers pitch their products and services at social-networking sites, which have struggled to generate revenue despite heavy traffic.
Widgets are tiny Web-based programs, and widget ads offer more interactive possibilities than conventional ads. Goowy is now part of AOL’s People Networks business and was acquired by AOL in February 2008 to improve its widget push.
By combining Goowy’s creation, syndication and measurement tools into a single package, the new feature intends to provide a key-in-hand solution for implementing widget-based promotion campaigns as a free, value-added service across Platform-A’s properties and networks.
Advertisers can now apply Goowy to create customized “grab-able” web widgets and distribute them across Platform-A, including AOL’s leading media properties and thousands of sites within Advertising.com’s third-party network.
“Platform-A is committed to increasing widget advertising services, and Goowy offers the best way to ensure that our customers generate value from their campaigns,” said Lynda Clarizio, President of Platform-A. “Widget-based advertising is gaining momentum in the industry, and Platform-A’s network approach allows our customers to build brands, encourage interaction, and drive site traffic -– all at scale.”
In addition, Advertisers can buy ads for pet care and other services on AOL’s Widgnet advertising network, which may also be served as ads within Bebo and Facebook applications that are part of the Widgnet publisher network, launched by Advertising.com earlier this year.
Users of associated social-networking sites such as; News Corp.’s MySpace and AOL’s AIM Profile Pages, can utilize the widget to create their personal profile page, customizing it with, say, a photo of their own pet.
“Thus, users are performing the work of advertisers in spreading word of their brand and interacting with it.”
Widget campaigns, provided by Goowy, will leverage Advertising.com’s AdLearn technology for full optimization across Platform-A based on clicks, installs, and other campaign objectives. By dispensing widget ads across Platform-A, marketers will be able to build more compelling ad units, include more dynamic content, and develop long-term relationships with the growing number of consumers who are increasingly downloading applications to their social network pages.
AOL is offering this free to advertisers already using AOL’s ad services elsewhere. That is part of a broader effort by AOL to boost its advertising revenue and offset declines in legacy Internet access subscriptions. However, any revenue generated from these publisher widgets will then be split back with the publisher.
Goowy Media forms part of AOL’s newly created People Networks business unit, which combines social media network Bebo, the AIM and ICQ personal communications network, and social search and answer service Yedda. People Networks’ collection of community platforms reaches 80 million unduplicated users worldwide.
According to statistics from ComScore for June, Platform-A is the top-ranked ad network, reaching 90 percent of the nearly 190 million Americans who are online. (The Yahoo Network was second, at 83 percent, followed by the Google Ad Network at 81 percent, and Specific Media at 78 percent.)
To see an example of a widget campaign, please visit http://www.advertising.com/advertisers-widgnet.php.