America Online (AOL) offers subscribers on-line content through their personal computers and phone lines. The company competed against CompuServe and Prodigy in the early 1990s, but these competitors are no longer in the market and AOL has more than 10 million subscribers (Sacharow 35). By offering competitive pricing and content which had mass market appeal, AOL built its customer base. The company now faces a challenge as increasing numbers of companies are offering high-quality content through their Web sites without charge. So long as consumers can access the site, they can receive the content. AOL is seeking to avoid becoming merely an Internet service provider, and is positioned, at this time, to continue to provide content. This research considers the company's marketing strategy and its future direction.
AOL has as its objective nothing less than to be the premier provider of on-line access and on-line content in the world. AOL currently serves consumers in more than 100 countries, and is looking to expand its global reach. To accomplish this, the company is focused on enhancing its content through affiliations with third-party providers as well as its in-house development efforts, and continuing to enhance its infrastructure to provide better access to AOL services (1997 AOL 10-K SEC Filing 2).
AOL provides a variety of on-line content to its subscribers as well as Internet access through its Web browser. Its subscribers are able to access entertainment news, financial information, the ability to "chat" with other AOL members, multiplayer games and other content specific to AOL as well as read and post to Internet newsgroups and access the World Wide Web. Initially, the company's product was its own content at a time when CompuServe and Prodigy also offered similar product. In the last few years, however, the availability of content on the Web itself, and the availability and declining prices of fast modems, h...