NBCi Taps DCLK

NBC Internet, Inc., Tuesday said it will serve all of its ads using DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers outsourced technology.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companies characterized it as “long term.”

NBCi will use the DART service to target, optimize, manage and track advertising impressions across its Web properties.

NBCi operates a flagship consumer Internet portal, NBCi.com, and a small business portal, AllBusiness.com.

NBCi’s move to outsource its ad serving comes as the company is revamping both its site structure and its management. Last month, the company began redesigning and reorganizing its Snap and Xoom properties under the NBCi portal. Last week, NBCi’s president and chief operating officer Edmond Sanctis resigned to pursue new opportunities, he said.

NBCi is also busy cutting costs and seeking new ways to make money. In August it said it planned to cut about 170 positions, or 20 percent of its workforce, by the end of the year. Earlier this year, it said it was creating an e-mail list management and database marketing division called NBCi Direct.

“NBCi offers its advertising and marketing partners a wide variety of media and direct marketing solutions,” said NBCi vice president of core products John Rodkin. “Our move to DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers platform will enhance our cost savings and ability to target, manage and deliver our advertising with greater sophistication and accuracy.”

Through the deal, DoubleClick gains a prestigious client, though one that has been struggling to stabilize its place in the Internet space. The outsourced technology business is also DoubleClick’s most profitable, the company has said.

“DART provides the scalability, forecasting and targeting that will enable NBCi to reliably deliver advertisers both highly segmented audiences and mass reach; ultimately maximizing their revenues,” said David Rosenblatt, senior vice president for DoubleClick TechSolutions.