content posts

In February AOL joined forces with Digitas, Hulu, MSN, Yahoo! and YouTube to bring the first-ever Digital Content NewFronts (DCNFs) to the market. The day has come for AOL to show the market the quality and depth of our offerings, and the level of differentiation we bring to advertisers.

Today, we bring together AOL's clients with leading content creators, distributors and talent in a unique environment that showcases all that we have to offer. Our program focus: Powering Brands through Ideas and Content.

We've seen – from our consumer and advertiser insights – that premium content powers the differentiation that brands are looking for to reach and engage with consumers. AOL powers content and brands through its well-known media properties, including Autoblog, TechCrunch, Moviefone, Engadget, The Huffington Post, Stylelist, MapQuest and Patch. As a part of this, we are deeply committed to original programming and understand the importance of creating a meaningful marketplace for brands with digital content. Given our range of branded, premium, social and video-centric programming, we continue to deliver interesting and valuable experiences to users -which is what advertisers want and need.

This afternoon at the Highline Stages in NYC, AOL will bring together 450 brand advertisers, marketers, agencies and digital and TV media buyers to announce AOL's new slate of video programming, promote original programming producers and casts, unveil a new product and showcase the power and reach of the AOL brand.

I'll be keynoting the event, and program speakers and panels will include:

• Brand Solutions with AOL's Jim Norton, Head of Sales & Janet Balis, Head of Sales Strategy, Marketing and Partnerships

• Mega-Trends with AOL's Ned Brody, Chief Revenue Officer

• Behind Our Content with Jim Stengel, CEO of Jim Stengel Co. and former Global Marketing Officer for P&G (moderator):
  • Michael Hogan, Moviefone
  • Christina Norman, HuffPost BlackVoices
  • David Kiley, AOL Autos
  • Tim Stevens, AOL Tech
  • Susan Kaplow, HuffPost Women
  
  

• Main Stage with Ran Harnevo, Head of AOL Video

We'll also have on stage with us incredibly talented fashion & style influencers like Nina Garcia, Rachel Roy and Erin Fetherston; Michael Eisner, an icon in the American entertainment industry, and Larry Tanz, CEO, Vuguru, as well as the cast of a new web series: Julie Warner, Kristy Swanson, Amy Yasbeck, and Romy Rosemont; and Amy Harris, best known for Sex and the City, will participate in the event experience. And there could be more surprises ...

We are thrilled to be a part of this inaugural event and look forward to many Digital Content NewFronts to come.

Where's the one place that journalists, advertisers and hilarious Internet memes gather each Spring? Internet Week New York, of course! This year's conference will be held May 14-21, and in the spirit of the open web, IWNY is putting the power in the hands of the people.

As part of their extensive schedule of programming, IWNY has held 8 panel slots open allowing industry experts to Make The Stage by submitting their own panel ideas in the following areas: Advertising, Entertainment, Fashion & The Arts, Impact, Mobile, Social Media, Start Ups and Technology.

This year, AOL has submitted two panels that are up for voting:

• "Building Social Content & Taking It Places" - A look at how AOL is uniquely positioned to create social content by mixing premium content and conversation with AOL's Senior Vice President and Head of Sales Strategy, Marketing and Partnerships Janet Balis.
• "True Tales From The Interest Graph: Big brand perspectives on how to leverage what people like" – Join AOL's Social Media Director Matthew Knell, along with Katie Richman from ESPN, Katie Morse from Billboard Magazine and Katy Kelley, VP at Cohn and Wolfe, for a panel called focused on how big brands are starting to use the new generation of interest graph sites (such as Pinterest, Tumblr, and Instagram) to focus their communications on things people like.

Now, we'd love YOUR help to make these panels happen! The panels that receive the most votes will secure spots on the Stage at Internet Week NY.

To vote for "Building Social Content & Taking It Places", click here.

To vote for "True Tales From The Internet Graph", click here.

Please note, you will be required to create a login/password and users are allowed to vote only once.

Learn more about Make the Stage and Internet Week 2012 here, and stay tuned for more news about AOL at Internet Week NY in coming weeks.

Help @AOL "Make the Stage" at Internet Week aol.it/HusycN

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 9, 2012

As we head into the upfront season, AOL is celebrating a new partnership with Mindshare Entertainment that will generate top class video and social branded experiences by blending Mindshare's creative thinking with AOL's audience insights, distribution network and social capabilities.

The market has seen AOL partner with the likes of BermanBraun and Vuguru, and in this particular instance we are working with one of our biggest agency partners to build and sell content in an alternative way. This deal puts AOL and Mindshare Entertainment, led by Emmy-winning producer David Lang, at the forefront of a growing trend toward the fusion of marketing, entertainment, social media and video for four screens.

By being within an agency Mindshare Entertainment is intricately connected to the clients who have already started to embrace and shift money to creative ideas on the Web, and they've specifically chosen AOL for its distribution network and social capabilities.

As the partnership hits the ground running, the market will see new and exciting opportunities like a social content franchise that will speak to the budget conscious woman through the lenses of fashion, beauty, and DIY. We're also working on a social engagement platform that helps extraordinary Americans fulfill their wildest dreams across the globe.

By cultivating relationships with partners like Mindshare Entertainment, AOL continues to deliver exceptional experiences to audiences. Stay tuned for more exiting updates to come on April 24 during AOL's NewFront presentation.

On Our Mind: @AOL Partners with Mindshare Entertainment aol.it/HfSWVz

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) April 4, 2012

Today AOL announced it has joined forces with Digitas, Hulu, MSN, Yahoo! and YouTube to bring the first-ever Digital Content Newfronts (DCNFs) to the market April 19-May 2, 2012. This incredible partnership has been formed by the marketplace leaders and will showcase online content for consumers, brands and their investments, and agencies. It's no secret that online advertising spend is on an upward trajectory and expected to grow 23% in 2012 to $39.5 billion in the US, surpassing print*. With this in mind, six titans on the Web are partnering to create a meaningful marketplace between brands and native digital content.

For brands and advertisers there is an urgency to invest in quality content at scale, and the power of the AOL network is three-pronged: we enable them to tell stories, we take those stories places by distributing them across our network, and we get people talking. Given our range of branded, premium, social and video-centric programming, we expect to deliver a rich experience to our audience and while continuing to differentiate our value in the advertising marketplace.

Following AOL's showcase on April 24 we are confident brands will truly be energized by the quality and depth of our offerings, and the level of differentiation we offer in the marketplace.

*Source: eMarketer

Introducing the Digital Content NewFronts: Where "Brands, Meet Content" aol.it/zZ7vyk #dcnf $AOL

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) February 22, 2012

Mads Holmen, Planning Director at goviral, took the stage with a full house at Shoreditch Studios yesterday to explore the area of branded video distribution and discuss the ingredients that make content social.

Having worked at goviral since its early days, Holmen gave Social Media Week attendees (a mix of media agencies, publicists and bloggers) a background on goviral, and explained the growth in the video market place since the launch of goviral in 2006.

Mads then launched into a full-fledged interactive session with the audience sharing some examples of great branded content from around the world to establish best practices. This included strong recurring campaigns such as Gatorade Replay, and videos from leading brands such as Samsung and Nike.

Some of these best practices include:

• Always aim at creating instant attraction. The first 10-15 seconds should create curiosity and interest!
• Make sure you are telling a story. Be creative or original but make sure the video has a flow and don't drop in to periods where users could be tempted to look elsewhere.
• Don't give away everything first and leave users with a flat feeling in the end! While remembering to engage users try to build up your video as if you were telling a story

And what other factors contribute to making great content you might ask? Spend time and effort defining your production and format. Do people know it is you just by the touch and feel of the video alone? Answer this question and you can provide a great user journey.

Video & Social: The Perfect Soul Mates via @madsholmen of @goviral aol.it/wIwEyk

- AOL PR (@AOLPR) February 17, 2012