AOL launches Ad Desk beta

AOL launched the beta version of the Advertising.com Ad Desk display platform on April 19. The Web services company developed the platform after soliciting feedback from brand and direct response advertising agencies and marketers in recent months.

The service enables marketers to access and control media planning tools and analytics on AOL Web properties and the Advertising.com network based on interest, audience or geography.

AOL is targeting small and midsize businesses with the beta release.

Jeff Levick, EVP of AOL Advertising, said the platform allows agencies to access specific information for their campaign goals. “Giving them more access to information and insights will result in better ROI for advertisers,” he said.

Chris Hansen, VP of performance marketing at 360i, a digital marketing shop that partnered with AOL on the platform, said that his firm can use the service to target consumers across demographic data, specific AOL publications or the Advertising.com network.

“You can buy across demographic data that [AOL has] collected,” he said, adding that media buying agencies are demanding increasingly complex analytics from Web publishers.