To those who thought, with its appointment of Brendan Condon as London-based international head in June, that AOL’s (NYSE: TWX) many-headed Platform-A ad outfit had already landed in the UK: you were wrong; it happened last night, at a party in central London. That means advertising clients we thought had earlier been won by Platform-A UK over the last year (Habbo Hotel, The Spectator, Turner Broadcasting) were actually bagged by its AOL parent.
Now the result of AOL’s 18-month acquisition binge – scooping up Tacoda, Quigo, Buy.at, Advertising.com, AdTech and Third Screen Media – can begin here in earnest as a fully integrated entity.
After Condon’s appointment, AOL pulled its UK MD Michael Steckler, schooled in advertising, over to be Platform-A UK MD, electing not to replace him and, instead, to have UK content staff report to AOL Europe chief Dana Dunne. Condon in June told paidContent:UK AOL would unite its Platform-A acquisitions around Europe by combining some back-office functions. Based off Tottenham Court Road, the UK outfit has its own website, separate from the US Platform-A mothership.