While at the forefront of the revolution, America Online is not alone. AOL has competitors in all areas of its operation. A few competitors for subscription revenues are: Microsoft Network, AT&T WorldNet, Prodigy Internet, Excite@Home, Road Runner and Juno (Annual Report). AOL's stiff competition in advertising includes: global media companies, online services, and Internet access services. Competition in making and selling new technology comes from: television based interactive services, digital services offered by satellite and wireless companies, and cable Internet access services (Annual Report). America Online realistically analyzes the potential effects of this competition and strives strategize for the future.

Regarding the new agreement, vice president of General Mills, Mark Ad*censored*s says- "We're delighted to be working with America Online to develop the kinds of innovative promotions and offers that will enable General Mills to reach AOL's members nationwide"(Press). With AOL's extreme growth patterns and with its now 25 million members, General Mills will have quite a large audience for its new promotion offers.

e its beginning in 1985, in Dulles Virginia, America Online, Inc. has grown to a position of leadership in the interactive services, Web brands, Internet technology and e-commerce. America Online, Inc. now operates: America Online, CompuServe, Digital City, ICQ, iPlanet, Mapquest, Moviefone, Netscape and Spinner ("Who we are"). Each facet of America Online Inc. is the best in its field. With the help of CEO Steve Case and Chief Operating Officer Bob Pittman, AOL has become the world's first $6.9 billion multi-brand new media company and has taken a leadership role in its industry ("Who we are").

As any company in the online global community, AOL has big plans for the future. The explosion of online companies has caused a roller coaster of success and failure throughout the market. AOL's stability and rapid growth declare that its high hopes about the future have some validity. AOL is on the verge of accomplishing some of these goals with its new "AOL Anywhere" strategy. This strategy hopes to make AOL's famous services, brands, and features available through new technology and devices. This new technology will literally allow users to access AOL whenever and wherever they want. Besides traditional computers, these devices include: Televisions, Internet-ready phones, handheld computers, and other wireless devices. Features available through these mediums will include AOL E-Mail, AOL Instant Messenger, news, financial information, movie information, driving directions and local entertainment information (Annual Report). Within the near future, America Online hopes to p!

The mission of America Online is two-fold. First of all, AOL wants to offer superb customer service to its members. AOL offers service support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year via phones, email, and chat rooms. To ensure customer satisfaction, AOL collects over 200,000 surveys a month over the Internet (Fact book). Second, AOL's mission is to use the finest technology to offer quality services that are simple and easy to use. AOL refers to it as "making technology invisible" (Fact book). While complex and highly efficient, their services are easy to understand and use. Also, with the increase in demand for their services, AOL has had to upgrade its technology to handle its many users. Currently, AOL's technology can handle 1.2 million simultaneous users (Fact book). As their membership constantly increases, they will have a greater burden to improve the efficiency and speed of their equipment.

Advertising on the web is a new expenditure that has caused a frenzy of polls and studies trying to discover consumer patterns and the most effective marketing strategies. Only time will tell the true impact of online marketing and how it is best utilized.

In its online Fact book, AOL dubbed itself "The Most Powerful Marketing Partner in Cyberspace"(Fact book). This bold claim is hardly far from the truth in light of recent studies. Out of the many impressing facts in these studies, two include: "AOL is the most recognized name on the internet- with name recognition five times greater than its nearest competitor; AOL's membership of 18 million is twice as large as the combined subscriber total of People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today and The New York Times. (Fact book)" It should be no surprise that AOL's advertising and marketing agreements reached $1 billion this year!

Regarding the new agreement, vice president of General Mills, Mark Addicks says- "We're delighted to be working with America Online to develop the kinds of innovati

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