Looking to transfer its US success to Europe, AOL may thank its video ad business for easing the transition.

Bolstered by the $640 million acquisition of BrightRoll last year, the company has been making steady strides with its fast-growing video ad business – particularly with programmatic trading. 

AOL’s third-party display ad earnings rose 19% to $231.6 million in Q1 2015 thanks to the growth of its programmatic video platform, but the fact that only 8% of its $625.1 million in ad revenue came from Europe means there’s still work to be done in helping the business expand beyond North America. 

Programmatic video could provide the answer, though, as global media agency NetBooster has signed up to using the ONE by AOL: Video platform for bringing programmatic technology out to its clients in the EMEA region.

This would provide solutions such as private video marketplaces as well as general programmatic trading for companies in key EU ad markets.

Such a move would also introduce AOL to a wider EU client base, as use from advertisers in France, Italy and Spain may combat the group’s reliance on business from the UK and Germany.

EU reach

Programmatic video serves as a fast-growing component of the ONE platform, used by marketers to plan, launch and optimise cross-screen marketing activities through a range of channels. 

One of the platform’s key assets is in the ability to base a campaign’s target on the advertiser’s first-party data or owned and third-party sets from AOL’s own database. ONE’s cross-screen capabilities have also drawn plaudits, allowing creative to run through web-based media and AOL’s key target of TV. 

NetBooster, one of its newest adoptees, will be using the technology to launch multimedia campaigns across the EMEA region, representing a big agency coup for AOL. 

Should EU agencies and in-house teams follow suit, it may help AOL build global presence following its $4.4 billion purchase by US telecommunications firm Verizon. 

“Today it is about the extensive inventory available and access to an open platform that enables choice and flexibility and, of key importance for NetBooster, transparency for our advertisers,”  said Guillaume Balloy, head of paid media at NetBooster. 

“But looking to the future it is critical that we are in the driving seat as the industry moves from linear to programmatic TV.”