23 July 2009 | Author: L. Sutherland Head of Media Content

AOL plans a mighty resurgence

Under the direction of new CEO Tim Armstrong, AOL could be set to make some waves online.

Mr Armstrong used to be Google's president of advertising sales, but his talents are now focused in breathing new life into AOL - and it sounds as though he won't be satisfied with anything but a staggering recovery for the company.

According to the New York Times, Mr Armstrong hopes to make AOL the biggest creator of premium content on the web and the largest seller of online display advertising. The CEO has a five point strategy to help him achieve his lofty aims and he plans to address the crisis of confidence he believes AOL if suffering from. He said: "AOL has a choice to make.

"We either lose slowly or win quickly. We are choosing to win quickly."

AOL has languished behind competition ever since its internet star was eclipsed by Google and has been hit with problems ranging from mass layoffs to struggles over its brand name in recent times. However, Mr Armstrong hopes to re-unify the company, despite a revenue drop of 38 per cent in the last two years, by stabilising its ranks. He hopes to achieve this by streamlining prospective internet deals and competing directly with Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! for display ads.

He also has designs on content creation, and hopes to produce written and video content that will make the company appealing to organisations with large advertising budgets such as Procter & Gamble. He said: "If you ask P.& G. what companies have the products that make you feel most comfortable, with the best content and the best targeting, AOL is already on the list today.

"Our aim is to move AOL to the top of the list."

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