Seeking Deals
You’ve Got Sponsorship: AOL Looks For Wide Variety Of Property Types
AOL has introduced a new brand: Aol.
: Three months after being spun off from Time Warner Inc. into an independent publicly traded company, AOL Inc. is embarking on an ambitious sponsorship campaign as a key component of its rebranding efforts.
The Internet media company has a new partnership with this week’s South by Southwest Music + Film + Interactive conferences and festivals, a deal that follows a first-time tie to February’s Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week.
AOL plans to sign additional deals and is receptive to opportunities with entertainment, sports, lifestyle, culinary and other types of events that support its 80-plus content-specific Web sites, said Maureen Sullivan, AOL’s chief of staff.
“Sponsorship will be a huge piece of what we’ll do in the future. We’re ready to be overwhelmed by people with great, unique ideas on sponsorship. That’s something we fundamentally believe in.”
AOL is using sponsorship as a one-on-one marketing platform to support its positioning as an online content provider and destination. The company late last year rolled out a new brand—Aol.—with the goal of strengthening its commitment to providing stimulating content, openness and inclusion.
“This is a critical and pivotal point in our company’s history, and sponsorship is one of the most important elements of communication in where we’re going as a company,” Sullivan said.
“AOL is all about becoming a premium content company, and we’re redefining what we are doing in the content space. Part of our approach to sponsorship is finding unique opportunities to showcase that.”
Specifically, the company is using sponsorship to accomplish four primary marketing objectives:
- Support its 80-plus AOL-branded and niche vertical content sites (Engadget, Spinner, FanHouse, etc.) spanning news, entertainment and sports
- Leverage ties to promote the AOL corporate brand as well as sub-brands and services
- Reach content producers and other creatives
- Gain content from event participants/attendees
AOL’s strategy includes providing an element of “surprise and delight” by reaching creatives and other consumers in places they may not expect to see the company, Sullivan said.
The company also looks for opportunities where it can add value to the attendee experience, she said, stressing the importance of treating relationships as collaborative partnerships, not sponsorships.
“We don’t want to just pay to play. We look for partnerships that show people that we’re not just about putting our name on a sign or buying space at an event, but adding value to the overall sponsorship.”
Uses SXSW To Promote Music Sites, Seed.com
AOL’s new partnership with the music, film and digital confab demonstrates the company’s new approach to sponsorship and event marketing.
The company is using the partnership to promote AOL Music’s Spinner.com, a leading site for independent music, to festival attendees.
In addition, it will tout Seed.com, a beta site that buys, assigns and distributes content from writers, photographers and others for AOL’s family of sites.
“This is an incredibly creative community, and we want those people to interact with our incredible products,” Sullivan said. “We have a lot going on at AOL, and this type of event allows us to showcase multiple products and what we’re doing as a company.”
AOL is promoting Seed.com by encouraging music lovers to interview and write stories about each band slated to play the festival, with a goal of covering all 2,000 bands on the schedule. The company is paying $50 for each article, which it is posting on www.Spinner.com/tag/sxswseed.
In addition to promoting Seed.com, the band coverage also helps enhance the SXSW experience for all attendees by providing them with targeted content, Sullivan said. “The festival is all about unearthing new talent, and we have a platform in Seed.com to add a new level to that.”
AOL is hosting a Seed Lounge at the Austin Convention Center during each day of the festival. Attendees can use the lounge to file stories and otherwise chill out with computers and Wi-Fi provided.
On the surprise-and-delight front, Spinner.com is further activating by hosting a series of four pop-up concerts at locations ranging from restaurants to a parking lot. AOL will disclose the times and locations on the day of each show on Spinner.com, Spinner’s Facebook page and to SpinnerSXSW Twitter followers.
AOL will stream select songs from each pop-up show on Spinner.com. Participating bands include the Broken Bells—a new act featuring artist/producer Brian Burton, otherwise known as Danger Mouse—and James Mercer, best known as lead singer and guitarist for The Shins.
Fashion-forward First Deal Gains Media Attention, Content
AOL kicked off its sponsorship foray with New York Fashion Week, a partnership it used to promote its corporate brand and its StyleList.com fashion site.
AOL activated the Feb. 11-18 event by titling the AOL Media Lounge, an area where the event’s 3,500 working press could file stories, conduct interviews, recharge mobile phones and hang out.
AOL worked with event owner IMG and its own editorial staff to come up with the idea of hosting the media center, Sullivan added.
“That was a light bulb moment. We’re all about quality content, and why not take that role through the sponsorship by empowering the working press? If we could empower them to cover fashion week better, it would be worth it in spades for our brand.”
AOL further leveraged the event by providing a live video blogging platform in the media center where journalists could capture and post content in real time. The company posted the
vlogs on StyleList.com.
“That was an afterthought, and it was one of the most valuable elements of the media lounge,” Sullivan said.
Lisa Lausten, director of marketing, reviews sponsorship proposals, which can be submitted via email at
Lisa.Lausten@corp.aol.com.
Sources
AOL Inc., Tel: 212/652-6400