AOL, MSN Gather Allies

As the battle royal between AOL Time Warner and Microsoft continues, MSN announces more services for Windows Messenger subscribers while AOL teams up with Britney Spears and Pepsi.

by Christopher Saunders and Bob Woods of internetnews.com [March 26, 2002]

Travelers can now receive personalized travel information and even the latest on an impending flight through a new deal signed between Expedia.com Inc. and software giant Microsoft Corp.

Through the pact, Expedia users can access the travel information they want through an Expedia tab found within MSN Messenger. Customers can view current deals on flights, lodging, vacation packages, car rentals and cruises, as well as check the status of their flights. Expedia.com is the first travel site to deliver this type of travel information to customers' desktops via MSN Messenger.

Also, Expedia.com members can receive alerts on the status of a flight from the Microsoft .NET Alerts service. When a flight is booked, users can choose both how far in advance of their flight time they wish to be alerted, and choose the device or devices where they want to receive the alert. Customers can also specify routing rules for alerts—an important alert, such as a delayed flight, can be sent to a traveler's desktop when their Messenger status is "Online" and the same alert can be routed to a cell phone when their Messenger status is "Away" or "Offline."

To use the new service, travelers will need to have the latest version of MSN Messenger, which is available for free, to see the Expedia tab in the blue tab boxes in the bottom left corner of the application. The Expedia tab is currently available to users in the U.S. and the UK. Users will need to be signed up with .NET alerts to use the alert feature, which is currently available only in the U.S.

Meanwhile, cross-media marketing juggernaut AOL Time Warner is teaming up with Britney Spears by way of a promotional deal forged in conjunction with Pepsi Co.

Spears' upcoming tour, which kicks off this spring and is sponsored by Pepsi, will be promoted across AOL Time Warner's online properties, including its flagship America Online service and its AOL Music group of sites, which includes Winamp.com as well as music-related areas of Netscape.com and CompuServe.

AOL Music will feature exclusive Spears content from the tour—such as photos, backstage footage and tour information. The media conglomerate also said it would promote Pepsi's sponsorship of the tour via a sweepstakes, offering a four-day trip for four to New York City, culminating in Spears' July 6 performance at the nearby New Jersey Meadowlands.

In addition to ads throughout AOL Music properties, America Online will promote the contest via Keyword: Pepsi Backstage. Pepsi also said it would promote the effort in stores.

The complicated, three-way arrangement continues a previous marketing relationship between America Online and Spears, which saw the service promoting the pop singer's concerts last fall through ads and advance ticket sales.

As a result, the troika of AOL, Pepsi, and Spears aligns the media giant's year-old marketing deal with the pop princess alongside Pepsi's separate, extensive alliance with Spears, appointed last February as Pepsi's chief spokesperson.

"This marks another great way we can work with Britney and marketing partners like Pepsi to create great promotions and exciting opportunities that our members love," said Robert Friedman, America Online's president of interactive marketing. "America Online is uniquely positioned to create tailored marketing packages such as these for our partners, while offering exclusive benefits to our members—including the chance to attend one of the biggest concert tours of the summer."

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