iMedia: Your competitors -- Yahoo, Microsoft, Google -- are making similar moves with similar buys. What sets AOL and Platform-A apart, and why should advertisers choose Platform-A?

Viebranz: We combine the broadest reach on the internet. For advertisers, our O&O sites, combined with our third-party networks, reach more than 91 percent of domestic online users, which is more than Yahoo, Google or MSN. In addition, with the acquisition of Tacoda and Quigo, we have some of the best targeting tools on the internet. We can deliver ads across platforms. That's a powerful combination.

Publishers get better monetization combined with significant insights gleaned from their data.

iMedia: Is it fair to say that AOL lagged beyond the others on the advertising front for quite a while? Do you think the companies it has acquired, and the new structure, gives the company equal footing, or even an advantage? How and why?

Viebranz: While it's true that our roots were in access and not advertising, I'm not sure I entirely agree with your premise. For example, AOL saw the trend toward advertising networks back in 2004, when we acquired Advertising.com, which now has the world's largest third-party display network and is in many ways the envy of the business.

Over the last year, we have added to our portfolio with several more smart and economical acquisitions. As I said earlier, we now have an unmatched advertising network: the biggest reach, the best tools and a superb sales force.

I like to think my background gives us a leg up. After 17 great years in Time Warner, I was fortunate to play a part in building Tacoda, which we then sold to AOL. So I have a good idea of how to navigate a large organization while still working relentlessly to maintain and grow the entrepreneurial zeal that needs to pervade Platform-A.