AOL to strengthen digital platform

Having ended its alliance with TimeWarner (See: AOL ends 10-year alliance with Time Warner), AOL is all set to strengthen its digital platform, Adtech, which was launched a few months ago.

The company is also planning to tie up with leading publishers in India like Indiatimes.com, Hindustan Times and Tyroo to make its presence felt in the Indian digital advertising market.

Kit Desai, AOL's strategic commercial director-EMEA and Asia, feels the Indian market is performance-oriented but unfortunately few understand the advantages of digital advertisement.

He also says that the Indian digital market is Google-centric and therfore AOL is developing more appropriate technology to suit the local market.

Adtech serves customers in 25 countries and has close to 850 clients globally. In India, however, the parent company AOL is yet to make an impact.

"We will invest significantly in the market both in terms of educating the market as well as gearing up our presence. We have plans to increase the headcount. The other two focus areas are strengthening partnerships and increasing the distribution bandwidth. And taking the
Adtech brand forward," says Desai.

The entry into the Indian market is part of its strategy to grow its Asia presence. Adtech is also planning to expand in China, Hong Kong and the UAE.

AOL is banking on the growth in digital advertisements which have seen a rise as the economy limps back to normalcy.