Toyota Motor is the first advertising partner opening its doors to branding initiatives and original Web series development as part of AOL On and NBCUniversal?s new partnership, which will further AOL?s digitization goals by rolling out premium content across a slew of mobile platforms.

Toyota?s advertisements will now be interspersed with NBCUniversal?s material across the AOL digital platforms, ranging from the AOL On mobile application to the online site. As the automotive brand strives to resonate with millennial audiences via digital means, AOL persists in its efforts to compete with media technology companies by engaging in a major cross-partnership that will likely appeal to on-the-go consumers.

?We believe that viewers are tuning in across all different types of screens across all times of the day, which is why NBCU and AOL are aligned to offer video content across every screen as part of this partnership,? said Gerry Manolatos, senior communications director for AOL, New York. ?Further, more than two-thirds of AOL's traffic comes from mobile, which enables partners like NBC to tap into key incremental audiences from their TV audience in new viewing environments.?

Branching out with media
An increasing number of car manufacturers are recognizing the power of mobile, especially as connected vehicles gain interest among consumers and driving companions such as GPS apps become the norm. Toyota?s advertisements will begin appearing on AOL On?s mobile platforms beginning this week, offering the brand a wider audience outreach, especially to younger, mobile-savvy consumers.

NBCUniversal and Toyota?s content will appear across the AOL On mobile app and on.aol.com, as well as sixteen other over-the-top platforms where the AOL On app can be accessed.

?AOL has partnerships with 16 of the top over-the-top platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Xbox, and TiVo,? Mr. Manolatos said.

AOL On viewers can now enjoy clips from NBCUniversal shows such as The Blacklist, Suits, Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show. The Toyota ads may appear prior to these programs being streamed or in-between clips.

The car brand posits that sponsoring AOL On offers a great opportunity to roll out its content to intended audiences, especially as it ramps up its digital targeting. Consumers who prefer watching their favorite programs while on-the-go or traveling will now have a greater chance of being served Toyota ads that they previously may not have seen.

Mobile video advertising could be the next great objective for auto manufacturers, especially as individuals begin spending less time in front of television sets and more time watching programs on their tablet or mobile devices.

Toyota has been engaging in a mobile push with increased fervor as of late, in a bid to streamline the research and purchasing processes for interested customers.

Last April, Toyota Motor?s Scion brand simplified car shopping by testing a virtual showroom that leveraged mobile chat and video to provide guidance from customer representatives to visitors to Scion.com (see story).

Original content development
Toyota will also collaborate with AOL on various branding opportunities, such as original Web series development. Original streaming content has become a lucrative field for many digital platforms.

Amazon Prime and Netflix both offer company-produced programs that have gone on to receive Emmy Awards and have won plenty of fans? affection.

AOL will also benefit from introducing Toyota-sponsored original programming. If the material is relevant to target audiences and begins with shorter clips to whet the appetites of mobile-savvy consumers seeking bite-sized pieces of content, it could propel AOL back to the top of the competitive media sector.

?The content that NBCU produces is what people want, and they want it on mobile, obviously,? said Rob Gregory, chief revenue officer at WhoSay, New York. ?The success will depend on how Toyota integrates.  

?They usually get these things right. I think this will be a win for all three companies.?

Verizon?s $4.4 billion deal for AOL points to how, as the consumption of digital content grows across screens, there is an opportunity to simplify distribution, build customer profiles and deliver advertising solutions for brands looking to extend their reach beyond television (see story).

?At this point, if mobile is not a key part of any company's strategy, they are really behind where consumers are increasingly going,? AOL's Mr. Manolatos said. ?AOL, now as part of Verizon, is building mobile-first initiatives ? including supporting Verizon's forthcoming go90 platform ? that really capitalize on not just moving content to mobile, but engineering new types of ad and content experiences that provide both relevancy and utility to users.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely, editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York