AOL and Interpublic Group’s Mediabrands (one of the largest buyers of retail advertising in the U.S. ) have announced a digital retail advertising partnership. The two companies plan to align their collective resources and announce a Retail Advisory Board in the coming weeks.

“Mediabrands partners with top retail and CPG brands, and we are committed to investing in resources to develop innovative retail solutions beyond what currently exist in the marketplace today," said Bant Breen, President, Worldwide Digital Communications, Initiative. "AOL has a substantial audience of engaged shoppers that can provide critical insights into what consumers need to enrich their online retail experience. Those same insights can also help marketers create a consistent consumer experience with the local retail store. By partnering with AOL, we can leverage our collective assets in retail, consumer insights and hyper-local to re-invent the category."

The two companies will use research from IPG’s Lab to create a new online pre-shopping program that will be tested with key retailers throughout Q3 and Q4 2010. It will include five leading retail partners, and the companies say success will be measured against the creation of user training, in-store sales lift and the effectiveness of new advertising formats.

The companies plan to expand the partnership to create new solutions in Hyper-Local Marketing by leveraging Mediabrands’ Geomentum, a $2 billion local advertising agency, as well as AOL’s own hyper-local platform.