Amazon creates mysterious new online advertising company, Adzinia

Logo from trademark filing

It might seem like a strange time to plunge more deeply into online advertising with the economy in the shape it's in. But that's exactly what Amazon.com appears to be doing.

The online retailer has created a separate advertising company called Adzinia Media Group LLC, complete with a logo reminiscent of Amazon's own.

In September trademark filings with the U.S. Patent Office, Adzinia lists a broad array of services, including placing ads on websites; promoting goods and services through search engine referral traffic analysis; designing and implementing network web sites; web design; and data mining.

Sounds a little bit like aQuantive, the Seattle digital marketing agency that was gobbled up by Microsoft last year.

Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith confirmed that Adzinia is a separate company that "sells online display and email advertising products to advertisers" and said it has been around for almost a year.

She said Adzinia is focused on Amazon's U.S. websites right now. She declined to comment on the company's future plans.

Amazon's decision to plunge ahead with an advertising company at a time when many advertisers are reining in their budgets could raise eyebrows. But Amazon has often bucked convention in the past.

Since late October, Amazon has advertised a number of job positions with Adzinia, including online sales account executive, display advertising account manager, and ad operations trafficker.

One of the job descriptions reads: "We are leveraging world-class personalization technologies, broad reach and brand affiliation to offer advertising solutions to a select group of top tier brands."

Washington state records indicate the company was originally registered as Amazon Media Group LLC in Dec. 2007. It later changed its name to Bullseye Media Group, and changed it again to Adzinia Media Group.