Just over 20 years after its acquisition of the former mapping technology giant MapQuest, the internet bubble icon AOL (NYSE: AOL), a subsidiary brand of Verizon Media (NYSE: VZ), has announced a bold move to re-enter the world of maps with its acquisition of Jack and Laura Dangermond’s brainchild, Esri. After years of downsizing, dumping problematic companies, and general valuation decline, the move represents CEO Guru Gowrappan’s commitment to aligning Verizon Media Group with his vision for achieving accelerated growth globally.
After multiple attempts to modernize MapQuest, including the introduction of open-source mapping data as far back as 2010 that failed to rocket the mapping technology into the next stratosphere, AOL/Verizon Media parted ways with the brand in 2019. Since then, Gowrappan has been mulling over ways to reach consumers more intelligently around the globe.
“It was almost too obvious–the emphasis on location technology. Take a look at our website summary. The nod to GIS is overwhelming, if you’re open to seeing it,” said Gowrappan in a recent interview with Forbes.
He’s right. The website blurb reads, “It’s all here. AOL puts today’s most important stories in one place… you can enter your location for a more relevant, localized experience.” Gowrappan identified the opportunity to elevate AOL back to its former glory by utilizing Geographic Information Systems (“GIS”) to enhance every marketing and advertising initiative it undertook, but he didn’t stop there. As a fellow Californian, Esri’s quiet rise to GIS supremacy had not gone unnoticed by the young Gowrappan. With the rumor-mill churning about the eventual Esri acquisition, he knew he needed a seat at the table.
Gowrappan faced an uphill battle but won Jack and Laura Dangermond over with his dedication to conservation and environmental preservation–further proof that your experience in the office doesn’t necessarily dictate the kind of business you’ll engage. With the royal couple of Esri won over, Gowrappan set his sights on how Verizon Media, and specifically AOL, could use the brand to rebuild an all-but-forgotten empire.
At its peak in 2002, AOL enlisted over 25 million subscribers. The number looks like table scraps compared to the global media dominators in the two decades since: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. But there is one key factor that keeps AOL strumming along–its subscribers are rich. The AOL landing page boasts about this fact, emphasizing as one of its key three selling points that 48% of readers have $100k+ Household Income. The now dwarfed subscriber set, still thrilled daily by the “you’ve got mail!” auto-tune message, has cash to burn. It’s every marketer and salesperson’s dream.
Per Gowrappan’s logic, if Esri really IS everywhere, then Verizon Media should be, too. And he’s got a point. GIS is booming these days, with everyone wanting to know where they can buy what. Or who has been where, or who should be there, too (you!) Or even, where is it safe, right now? And what better engine to answer those questions than the powerful Esri platform? If AOL’s mission is to put today’s most important stories in one place, then it only makes sense that the most important information about the very places it features is captured, too.
