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Targeting Niche Audiences - AOL's New Branding Strategy
By Scott Buresh (c) 2008 Medium Blue

AOL, once considered a pioneer in internet technology, has
fallen on hard times over the years, unable to devise an
effective branding strategy. A failed merger with Time-Warner,
a non-focus on search while Google built an empire (the AOL
search engine eventually began serving up Google results on its
portal site), and declining dial-up business are all
contributing factors to the ongoing difficulties of AOL and its
search engine.

However, AOL seems to have a new branding strategy in mind for
the AOL search engine, which would revamp its services and
target specific niches. And while many "analysts" claim that
it is already a failure before the results are in, it is too
soon to tell how this will affect AOL and the search engine that
bears its name. Personally, I think it's a smart play for the
company - and something that bears watching. If the branding
strategy is successful, another huge company may want to follow
AOL's example.

You see, AOL understands that the AOL search engine and its
other services are not a brand beloved by many. The AOL search
engine and AOL itself are seen as somewhat ancient, old school,
56k, etc. Nightmare stories about its online services are not
in short supply. I haven't done any specific studies on this,
but in my circle of friends and business acquaintances, people
consider an AOL subscriber a little behind the times.

The point is (in my opinion) that the "AOL brand" itself has
decreasing value and may actually have negative value if the
specific sites that it owns or has recently purchased are
brought in under an umbrella branding strategy. These sites
include those catering toward everything from country music fans
to moms sharing photos to guys trying to pick up women. In some
cases, the niche sites do not even display their affiliation
with AOL or its search engine (or if they do, it is not featured
very prominently).

The logic behind this branding strategy is clear. First of all,
the AOL search engine and portal weren't attracting new
visitors. Secondly, the AOL search engine and brand itself are
not particularly hip or fresh. Third, and probably most
importantly, specific portal sites attract specific types of
users, which are usually highly targeted, prompting a potential
for more ad revenue (in theory).

Basically, the AOL portal has stopped trying to be all things to
all people. Google is able to pull off the "all things to all
people" approach primarily because it doesn't have issues with
a branding strategy yet - in fact, the new vertical searches
that it adds under the Google "branding umbrella" are
augmented by implied hipness and coolness. However, as AOL has
discovered, hipness usually has a shelf life. If people began
to see Google as the huge corporation that it is now, rather
than the uber-cool underdog, the company may not be able to keep
this record up. There have already been some cracks in its
veneer, although by and large, the Google brand is still very
positive and powerful.

There is another company much bigger than AOL that suffers from
much of the same problems (and in some cases, worse problems)
than AOL does but still wants to take on Google head to head. I
refer, of course, to Microsoft.

In terms of a brand, Microsoft is almost universally disliked.
The monopoly issue may be one thing. The fact that it is seen
as 'old school' may be another. Gates and Ballmer don't
exactly have reputations as "nice guys," like Sergei and Larry
do (the fact that it seems natural to refer to the former two by
their last names and the latter two by the first may help
illustrate this point). And the list goes on.

The bottom line is that I have a hard time seeing MSN.com
gaining the kind of traction that Google has, simply because the
brand is less than sexy. This means, of course, that any
additional vertical search options that MSN adds to its site are
bound to be appreciated only by the dwindling few who already
swear by the portal.

AOL has decided that its branding strategy for the AOL search
engine and niche sites is not nearly as important as the amount
of traffic and ad revenue that the site commands. This is not
uncommon in the publishing industry, where many different
publications on many different topics may be owned by one large
(but largely silent) entity. Many of these offline publications
have moved online and are beginning to monetize their diverse
base of websites. AOL seems to have a similar model and
branding strategy in mind for the AOL search engine and other
niche sites.

If it works for AOL and its search engine, it could be the best
possible branding strategy for Microsoft to follow. Lord knows
Microsoft has the money. The company has already bought the ad
networks that can service sites under its own new branding
strategy. But if pride dictates that it keep everything under
the MSN name or add a huge "brought to you by Microsoft"
banner across the top of any popular online property that it
decides to buy, MSN is, in my opinion, shooting itself in the
foot.

I never said it was fair, but your brand and branding strategy
can either be an asset, neutral, or a detriment. Microsoft has
to realize that most people consider its brand to be in the
neutral to detrimental range and that most people consider
Google to be in the neutral to asset range (and that's probably
being charitable). Microsoft should not try to compete with
Google head to head without considering the disparities in the
conceptions of their respective brands.
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Scott Buresh is the founder of Medium Blue, a search engine
optimization company. His articles have appeared in numerous
publications, including MarketingProfs, ZDNet, SiteProNews,
WebProNews, DarwinMag, ISEDB.com, and Search Engine Guide. He
was also a contributor to The Complete Guide to Google
Advertising (Atlantic, 2008) and Building Your Business with
Google For Dummies (Wiley, 2004). Medium Blue has local and
national clients, including Boston Scientific, DS Waters, and
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and was named the
number one organic search engine optimization company in the
world in 2006 and 2007 by PromotionWorld. Visit MediumBlue.com
to request a custom SEO guarantee based on your goals and your
data.
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