GoodHome.com Plays House with AOL, Women.com

GoodHome.com continued its strong build-up today by announcing an anchor tenant marketing agreement with America Online and a premier sponsorship agreement with Women.com. The company plans to launch its Web site by the end of the year.

The San Rafael, California-based home furnishings company said that it signed the multi-million deal with AOL to gain anchor tenant positions in the Home Furnishings and Home Improvement departments at the Shop@AOL marketplace.

The agreement will also place GoodHome on the Realtor.com site and calls for AOL to place GoodHome’s advertising banners across AOL, AOL.COM and Netscape.

“This agreement is the first in a series of major strategic marketing efforts to be announced this month,” said GoodHome.com CEO Doug Mack. “AOL is the ideal partner for us, as they have millions of dedicated users who match our target demographic.”

Women Are Target Audience

GoodHome.com knew precisely what it was after when it inked the two-year, multi-million dollar agreement with Women.com.

“Women comprise the key target audience of GoodHome.com, so we are thrilled to be a premier home furnishings partner of Women.com — the Internet’s most comprehensive leading resource for women,” said Mack.

The deal calls for GoodHome to be a sponsor of relevant features on the site’s home and garden channels, to co-sponsor the launch of home-related online magazines, to offer Women.com special promotions and to sponsor special columns on decorating tips, tools and features.

For a site that has yet to launch, GoodHome.com has already received a good amount of fanfare. In July, the company announced that it received $50 million (US$) in first-round private funding from a variety of sources.

The company said it was the largest funding in its industry and one of the largest first-round totals for any Internet venture. Weston Presidio and Thomas H. Lee Company were two of the investment firms to back the endeavor.

The major private industry participant was Hearst New Media & Technology, the online subsidiary of the Hearst publishing empire. Among its many Internet ventures, Hearst has a significant interest in Women.com. After Women.com completes an initial public offering that is aimed at gathering $65 million, it will be folded into Hearst’s lifestyle site, HomeArts.com.