As its full digital portfolio will be outsourced to 365 Digital, the IOL sales and traffic staff were also transferred and officially joined the 365 Digital team in December 2011. The partnership began officially on 1 January 2012.
IOL, a part of Independent News & Media (INM), is a South African online news brand. Its stable of sites provides specialist entertainment, motoring, business and personal finance options, along with a host of lifestyle offerings. In November 2011, it generated 16 681 033 page impressions and 1 098 578 unique users accessed the site.
Quentin Wray, IOL's GM, added that while the deal represented a major shift in strategy for IOL it was an exciting move that would free him and his team up to focus far more on the editorial side of the equation. "New technologies and changing reader habits demand that we constantly evaluate the way we serve our audiences - having this sales and campaign management team behind us will allow us to do just that."
365 Digital CEO Tanja Lategan said, "IOL is one of South Africa's most significant online brands and to be looking after all of its digital properties going forward highlights our company's position in the market. We are thrilled to be working with these brands and the opportunity to offer it our full service ad operations solution to further optimise the commercial potential of its digital assets."
365 Digital's sales team, Dash of Lime will start its IOL representation in January 2012. Existing offerings will continue, however the new year has seen the introduction of new ad formats, ad delivery mechanisms and additional inventory.
