unleash your superpowers
The information contained in this book is accurate at time of printing. Changes may occur. Select photography by: Phillip Angert, Gino DePinto, Max Morse and Brian Virgo. Š 2014 AOL. AOL is a registered trademark and may not be used without written permission. All rights reserved.
MISSION
pg. 06-11
Who we are
pg. 12-21
WhAT drives us
pg. 22-55
WhY WE DO IT
pg. 56-65
Where we are
pg. 66-69
mission To simplify the Internet for consumers and creators by unleashing the world’s best builders of culture and code
mission 07
Simplify Uncomplicate everything. Make things faster and easier.
Consumers Millennials, moms, techies, teens, foodies, fashionistas, newshounds, fitness junkies and you.
Creators Bloggers, brands, artists, writers, inventors, programmers, advertisers and you.
Unleashing
mission deconstructed
Dreaming and doing without limits.
World’s Best Builders Each and every one of you.
Culture Stories and images that connect us across communities and tell us about ourselves.
code 1s and 0s that connect us across all screens and enhance our digital interactions.
mission 09
MAKE OUR MISSION YOURS
I, _____________________ pledge to simplify the internet for consumers like __________________________________ insert target audience(s) here
creators like _____________________________________ insert target audience(s) here
consumers and creators in my role as __________________________________ for the ________________________________________________. insert brand or team here
Everyday, I will unleash my powers of __________________ and __________________ to achieve _____________________ and _____________________ for AOL.
I will also support my fellow builders of culture and code by _____________________ and _____________________ and even bringing them coffee, chocolate or cookies, just because.
WHO WE ARE
WHO WE ARE
We are programmers and engineers, writers and designers, marketers and accountants, one prophet and a few magicians. We are runners and painters, history buffs and comedians, dog people and cat people. We are you. People who arrive here everyday bursting with ideas and ready to tattoo them on the minds, hearts and screens of people around the world.
Who we are 15
MAKING HISTORY
AOL goes global, launching in Germany, France, UK & Canada.
2 billion spam messages blocked in one day. Black market Viagra sales plummet.
5 million members! Start up! AOL is born as Quantum Computer Services.
Ping! Instant Messenger launches. “You’ve got mail” alert debuts, enters catchphrase pantheon.
Running Man icon sprints into being; AOL stock now trades on NYSE.
AOL Buddy List joins The Smithsonian’s permanent collection.
AOL acquires Advertising.com.
AOL wins an Emmy Award for Live 8 the first-ever Emmy for content broadcast via the web.
STARTING THE FUTURE We saw it coming before everyone else—the convergence of culture and code. So we decided to start the future in 2010, getting a jump on the industry by building up our premium content and advertising platforms.
CULTURE “AOL TO BUY TECHCRUNCH”
A rose by any other name: America Online, Inc. officially becomes AOL LLC.
NEW YORK TIMES
The film “You’ve Got Mail” premieres. Talk about product placement!
Launch-o-rama: AOL introduces new sites, new pages, new portals.
AOL acquires Netscape & Moviefone.
MapQuest enters the fold.
AOL.com launches.
Growth strategy is working; first revenue growth quarter in 8 years Launches MAKERS, HuffPost Live, AOL On Network
AOL launches 14 iPhone apps, including AIM.
AOL merges with Time Warner to become the world’s largest media company. Internet bubble pops.
AOL spins off from Time Warner; Tim Armstrong takes up the reins of AOL as CEO.
Launches New Moviefone.com, Cambio, Kitchen Daily
CODE
CULTURE Launches AOL On Network offers first slate of AOL original series Launches AOL Charitable Foundation, #BUILTBYGIRLS Movement, long-form video programming
Launches Project Devil interactive ad units, Lifestream for PC, iPhone & Android
CODE
Running Man wins a spot on the Advertising Walk of Fame.
Adap.tv secures patent for offline-online TV attribution
“AOL TO BUY THE HUFFINGTON POST” CULTURE
Global membership hits 34.6 million.
2 Emmy Award nominations for original series: “The Future Starts Here” and “Park Bench with Steve Buscemi,” Strongest revenue growth in a decade, TechCrunch steals the show on HBO’s “Silicon Valley”
Acquisitions TechCrunch, About.me
NEW YORK TIMES 1 million members!
CULTURE The Huffington Post wins a Pulitzer Prize
Launches AdLearn Open Platform
Acquisitions Pictela, 5min Media
500,000+ members!
CULTURE
Devil recognized as IAB standard ad unit
AOL goes public on NASDAQ. First of many, many CD-ROM mailings.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
CODE
“THERE'S AN AOL ICON ON YOUR DESKTOP” LOS ANGELES TIMES
“AOL CONTINUES RESURGENCE WITH STRONG Q2 BUOYED BY PROGRAMMATIC”
AOL is best-performing internet stock of the year
25th Anniversary!
Quantum is renamed America Online.
CODE Launches Project Devil Portrait Unit launches, AOL content streams to TV sets via Boxee, Roku and Yahoo Connect platforms
Acquisitions The Huffington Post
CODE Launches MARKETPLACE-SSP, Programmatic Upfront Acquisitions Adap.tv
Acquisitions Convertro, Gravity, Precision Demand Breakthroughs Development of ONE by AOL, first cross-screen programmatic platform
ONE The 4th largest property on the internet (250 million monthly UVs)
TWO #1 news site in the U.S.
THREE #1 in Lifestyle category
share-worthy
FOUR The source of the most shared content on Facebook
FIVE Top 3 in video (views, viewers & video ads served)
SIX The only platform that you can use to activate across every screen
SEVEN One Pulitzer Prize & two Emmy Award nominations
Who we are 19
2012 The Huffington Post wins Pulitzer Prize
2013 Corporate University Award for Excellence & Innovation Washington Business Journal’s Best Places to Work The Huffington Post wins Webby Voice Award
#winning
AOL Advertising wins IAB Award for Overall Sales Excellence
2014 MAKERS wins a Digiday Award HuffPost Partner Studio wins an IAB MIXX Gold Award Adap.tv named to Streaming Media’s 100 Companies that Matter Most in Online Video Crain’s 100 Best Places to Work in New York City Emmy nominations for AOL Originals “The Future Starts Here” by Tiffany Shlain and “Park Bench with Steve Buscemi” Working Mother 100 Best Companies list—sixth year in a row Internet Week’s Best Places to Work NYC Tech
Who we are 21
what drives us
what drives us
We create stories and videos that open eyes, drop jaws and capture imaginations. Then we code the hell out of it. We engineer platforms that connect consumers, creators and brands in a Vulcan mind-meld kind of way. There are a lot of eyeballs, hearts, minds and data, data, data involved in that. It all goes toward building the best media and technology company in the world. The one that gets the idea that technology is only as great as the ideas, stories and heart you put into it.
WHAT DRIVES US 25
STRATEGY CAN BE A BEAR
simple
content
video
ads
platforms
WHAT DRIVES US 27
BIG BETS
Global Content Brands unified aol core Programmatic Technology video
WHAT DRIVES US 29
The Huffington Post is a leading global source of breaking news, features and entertainment, as well as a dynamic community for opinion and conversation.
#1 news site in the U.S. #1 social publisher on Facebook 14 international editions Pulitzer Prize winner 80,000+ bloggers
The HuffPost’s live-streaming network invites anyone from activists to actors to artists to come into its studios and chat—no thoughts edited or words bleeped.
The whole point of The Huffington Post was to take the sort of conversations found at water coolers and around dinner tables and open them up and bring them online. Arianna Huffington, Editor-in-Chief
WHAT DRIVES US 31
If the slogan for Google is ‘Don’t be evil,’ then the slogan for Uber is ‘Do a little bit of evil and don’t get caught.’ Peter Thiel at TechCrunch Disrupt, 2014
TechCrunch covers all things startup and sets the stage for top speakers and startup launches at its legendary Disrupt events.
WHAT DRIVES US 00 33
Technology isn’t all bits and processors. It’s the car with no driver and human organs printed in a lab. It’s the future and we’re here to tell you all about it.
WHAT DRIVES US 35
Authentic voices. Remarkable stories. Bridging the gap between TV and premium digital video, AOL Originals showcase the people and passions that make the world a more interesting place.
WHAT DRIVES US 37
MAKERS is the digital and video storytelling platform featuring original interviews with trailblazing women across every arena in life. It is the largest collection of women’s stories and it’s growing even larger every day.
WHAT DRIVES US 39
BUILD is a live interview series like no other—a chance for fans to sit inches away from some of today’s biggest names in entertainment, tech, fashion and business as they share the stories behind their projects and passions. Every conversation yields insights, inspiration and plenty of surprises as moderators and audience members ask questions. It all happens several times a week live at 770 Broadway and live-streamed at AOL.com.
WHAT DRIVES US 41
It’s where we began. And, yes, it’s the entity that unleashed “You’ve got mail” and made it an everlasting internet meme. Today, membership continues to be a dynamic component of our business, building valuable customer relationships through great online products and experiences.
WHAT DRIVES US 43
AOL.COM Every day, millions of people wake up, check their phone, go to their computer and rely on AOL to connect them to the brands, products and services they care about the most. AOL.com is curating and creating the best premium content across the internet with real-time, personalized programming and video.
WHAT DRIVES US 45
AOL Platforms helps marketers and publishers grow brand value. We connect them with their consumers on every screen and device. We empower them with marketing technology that drives results. We simplify, and may run parts of, their business, and at the end, we enable them to become more high-performing and meaningful brands.
WHAT DRIVES US 47
Providing the most curated, data-informed, scalable, premium media across mobile, display, video and linear TV.
Transforming the way media is transacted through an open programmatic platform.
WHAT DRIVES US 49
platform power
PROGRAMMATIC IS CHANGING THE WAY WE DO BUSINESS Programmatic revenue now represents 34% of AOL’s total advertising revenue.
WE HELP BRANDS CONNECT TO THEIR CONSUMERS 53% of AOL Platforms’ clients are running cross-screen campaigns.
WE DELIVER PREMIUM EXPERIENCES Premium Formats revenue jumped 110% with our top 30 advertisers.
WE CONTINUE TO DISRUPT THE MARKET 45% increase in new advertisers changing their business with our programmatic stack.
WE ARE THE PROGRAMMATIC PIONEERS Last year we launched the Programmatic Upfront. This year, ten brands already run linear TV with us.
WHAT DRIVES US 51
AOL’s Biggest Announcement Yet in Ad Tech Flags Plans to Take on Google
Marketing Magazine March 27, 2014
AOL Intensifies Its Programmatic Efforts with the Launch of ONE Platform
Forbes April 1, 2014
AOL UK Goes Fully Programmatic
hEADLINING
Mediaweek July 23, 2014
AOL Pushes into Programmatic TV Buying – AOL’s Upfront Event Highlights Convergence of Digital Ad Buying with Linear TV
Nomura September 30, 2014
AOL Gives Advertisers an Alternative to Facebook’s People-Based Marketing
Adweek October 31, 2014
WHAT DRIVES US 53
1M+ Premium videos 2,000+ Publishers 16 Connected Devices
We want to connect it all Consumers. Creators. Publishers. Brands.
WHAT DRIVES US 55
why we do it
why we do it
Why not? Virtually every person in every corner of the planet is tethered by wires and waves to this thing called the internet. If we can build the tech that assures no data, no story, no opportunity falls through the “net” part, and create the stories that deliver the cultural connectedness that the “inter” part promises, why not?
why we do it 59
values We are in the business of helping people. Period.
We say what we mean and do what we say. We act with integrity.
We embrace change and a DNA of curiosity – we think big and take chances.
We hire and empower smart people who love what they do.
We trust and root for each other – we win as a team.
We take fun seriously.
why we do it 61
citizen AOL
Making a difference. It’s in our culture and in our code. Every day, we rally our talent and technology behind the causes that matter the most to us: investing in women and youth, strengthening our local communities, and empowering our audiences to join us in making the world a better place. We give blood and mentor teens, we marathon to raise funds and shovel dirt to rebuild playgrounds, we invest in women-led start-ups and empower girls who love to code, we donate digital space to non-profits and create video PSAs—the list of ways AOLers give back and pay it forward goes on and on and on. All this, and we still have time to disrupt the digital space. Yeah, we’re that good.
why we do it 63
AOL’s commitment “ Itoappreciate hiring experts who are generous with their team and willing to share their knowledge.
“
Matt Barrett Product Management, Director / MARKETPLACE Baltimore, MD
cool technology company “ Awhere great people do awesome things together. “
i am aoL Unleashed and unscripted. AOLers on our culture, in their own words.
Iddo Rachlewski Director of R&D / Convertro Ra’anana, Israel
you walk into AOL, “ When people look up and say
hello. We hold the door for one another. We show up for one another and AOL. We laugh A LOT.
“
AMY MOSCATI Executive Assistant / AOL Legal New York, NY
energy, collaborative “ High and FUN! “ Nabeela Syed Senior Strategic Account Manager / Autos/Travel Beverly Hills, CA
is fun, loving, sassy, smart, “ AOL positive, and a second home. Home is where the heart is. “ Denise Miller Office Manager & Executive Assistant to Tim Richards, SVP Sales–West / AOL Advertising San Francisco, CA
be pressed to find a more “ You’d helpful, resourceful, and committed group of people who leave it all on the field.
“
Brian Virgo Tech Director / InHouse Agency Dulles, VA
never worked for a “ I’ve company that is so committed
to the success of its employees both on the clock and off.
“
Noah Michelson Executive Editor, HuffPost Gay Voices; Managing Editor, HuffPost Voices / The Huffington Post New York, NY
awesomeness “ Pure around the globe. “
Patrick Lierse Head of Business Development / AOL Germany Munich, Germany
why we do it 65
where we are
north america Atlanta
Baltimore Beverly Hills Birmingham Boston Chicago Denver Dublin Dulles Lancaster Montreal
New York Palo Alto Rocklin San Francisco San Mateo Santa Monica Seattle Toronto Vancouver Washington, dc
europe Copenhagen Dreieich Dublin Hyderabad London Munich Oslo Paris Stockholm
asia / MIDDLE EAST Beijing
Tel Aviv Tokyo
AUSTRALIA Sydney
where we are 69
WE ARE... Edgy, not expected Bold, not bland Spicy, not mild Original, not clip art
Stand for something Urban, not rustic Energized, not boring Concise, not wordy Simplified, not complex Authentic, not contrived
Code the hell out of it