AdForce, the ad delivery and
management company of CMGI, inked a strategic alliance with wireless messaging and
technology company OpenGrid, with
the
aim of expanding AdForce’s presence on wireless devices.
The deal is part of the company’s “AdForce EveryWhere” initiative,
which
aims to serve ads on wireless devices, interactive television,
point-of-sale
displays, Internet appliances, and other consumer devices.
Wednesday’s agreement will integrate AdForce’s centralized ad
management
and delivery system with OpenGrid’s platform for wireless messaging,
commerce, content, and promotions. AdForce will handle ad serving,
targeting and tracking.
Executives in the deal are wagering that the agreement will help
AdForce
establish itself in this emerging market, as competition for the space
begins
to
heat up.
“By teaming up with OpenGrid, we’ll collectively map out the
uncultivated
territory of wireless advertising, and maximize the advertising
potential of
the wireless market just as it becomes the de facto method of accessing
the
Internet,” said AdForce executive vice president Dee Cravens.
Every major player in the online ad industry has been busy making
plays
for the wireless market. AdForce itself has announced several
partnerships
and alliances recently to promote its services on non-PC devices.
In June, it partnered with consumer devices software company PlanetWeb to carry ads on consumer
products like the Sega Dreamcast game
console. In August, AdForce announced a deal with information
appliance
software company Liberate
Technologies, to let cable network operator
clients
deliver ads to Internet-enhanced set-top boxes.
OpenGrid itself has been no slouch in teaming to stay abreast of the
highly competitive wireless services industry: in July the company
partnered
with Cell-Loc, a provider of
location-detection wireless technology, to collaborate on the
development of
location-based promotions.