AOL Germany, a joint venture of Bertelsmann AG and American Online Inc. has concluded a far-reaching marketing agreement in addition to existing cooperation with STRATO Medien AG, the Internet subsidiary of TELES AG.
AOL and TELES plan to recruit at least 100,000 new clients for AOL’s online services using STRATO’s marketing and business channels. The cooperative agreement has been concluded in the first instance for two years. A further option will include distribution of CompuServe services.
STRATO and TELES products will be bundled in a joint campaign. The products involved are Internet presence, electronic shops and broadband Internet satellite services (TELES skyDSL). AOL will take a stake in the economic success of the jointly marketed STRATO products.
Total cash value of the cooperation for the coming two years is projected at around DEM 75 million. This makes it the biggest project of its type worldwide. It will mean a doubling of STRATO’s projected sales from September 1999.
In concrete terms, STRATO’s Internet presence will be offered within the framework of the existing agreement plus skyDSL with up to 4 Mbit/sec, in addition to AOL itself.
Further STRATO services and e-commerce applications, to include both analog and digital end equipment and TELES products, will be part of the joint offering. AOL will be integrated into STRATO’s existing campaign for Internet presence and skyDSL as the exclusive online service. Marketing will be given an additional punch by product bundling.
This will provide an optimal position for TELES in the mass market. STRATO’s core business, with Internet presence and electronic shops, is already exceeding expectations. June saw record results with 25,000 new clients and more than 40,000 new domains. STRATO was able to further develop its lead in the market achieving a market share of more than 40 percent.
