• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, September 3, 2008

AOL will let advertisers serve iPhone-specific ads through its Platform-A digital ad division, the Internet company said Wednesday.

The move marks the latest effort by AOL to expand its mobile ad offerings after acquiring mobile ad company Third Screen Media last year. In August, AOL began letting publishers offer inventory across multiple mobile ad networks via Third Screen through "partitioning" technology.

The new capability will allow marketers to tailor ads to the iPhone on sites within the Third Screen and Advertising.com ad networks as well as on AOL properties. In addition to optimizing ads, Third Screen will also be able to send users to marketer landing pages customized for the Apple device.

"The concept is that advertisers can approach Platform-A and say 'I want to reach iPhone users,'" said Kent Johnson, director of business operations for Third Screen Media. "We're directing users to the right experience for them, based on how they access the Web and what campaign they're being hit with."

While the iPhone represents less than 2% of the overall U.S. mobile phone market, it has had an outsize impact on mobile Web browsing. A study earlier this year by M:Metrics found that 85% of iPhone owners accessed the mobile Internet. And new data from Web service company Net Applications showed that one of every 333 Web hits in August came from an iPhone.

The iPhone's influence has not been lost on mobile ad networks. Following the July 11 release of the iPhone 3G, AdMob introduced new ad units that take advantage of its touchscreen features and JumpTap unveiled a mobile system for placing ads in iPhone applications.

But AOL emphasizes its broad reach across ad platforms. By combining the reach of the Advertising.com and Third Screen networks, AOL said Platform-A can deliver up to 75 million ads a month to iPhone users.

"We can not only help advertisers effectively reach iPhone users on WAP pages and Web pages, but we can also deliver banners optimized for display on the iPhone." said Lynda Clarizio, president of Platform-A, in a statement.

Johnson said AOL was not ready to name any advertisers customizing ads for the iPhone under the new program. But he hoped the iPhone-specific ads would help "tear down the walls" between desktop Internet and mobile advertising. "We're trying to make it as easy and seamless for our ad partners as possible," Johnson said.