WebProNews

AOL France scored a deal with Neuf Cegetel to provide content, marketing, and advertising for its portal websites. Two million broadband customers of Neuf Cegetel probably rose their eyebrows in collective horror upon hitting the portal pages for their service. Even though AOL long ago chose to use its initials as a corporate identity, millions of people know it once stood for America Online.

Will Neuf Cegetel's customers be as won over by this AOL content as Anton Ego was by Remy's ratatouille? AOL France thinks so, and AOL Europe CEO Dana Dunne offered that a "unique range of highly engaging content and on-line applications" will interest those users.

"By managing the Neuf Cegetel portals, AOL reinforces the power of its regular audience of over two million broadband homes. AOL can thus reach an audience of 20 million unique visitors/month (Joint audience - 2nd semester 2007 evaluation based on Nielsen NetRatings panel) on the various sites for which it is in charge of advertising (www.aol.fr, co-productions, network of sites managed)," AOL said in a statement.

The value of the agreement comes from the Neuf Cegetel userbase. If AOL can engage them as Neuf Cegetel continues to rollout a DSL service, it enhances the premium of ad placements through the sites AOL supports with content and services on the network.