MUMBAI: DoubleClick and Macromedia have formed a strategic alliance to develop rich media solutions to improve the effectiveness of online advertising.

Under the terms of the agreement, the US based companies will develop an integrated rich media solution that will simplify the process of creating, trafficking and reporting on rich media advertisements for advertisers, agencies and publishers.

By working with DoubleClick, Macromedia's goal is to help publishers and agencies reduce cost and time required to create and deploy rich media ads. The integrated solution will help the industry get closer to the standards that are needed, reducing the number of steps and applications required to deploy rich media. To achieve this, both companies will closely integrate DoubleClick DART and Macromedia Flash MX software to provide advertisers with a simplified, cost-effective process.

DoubleClick's DART platforms provide comprehensive online advertising solutions to more than 1,500 advertisers and publishers, including all of the top ten global advertising agencies. DART for advertisers is a hosted advertising management and serving solution, designed to help marketers reach their online goals efficiently and effectively. DART for Publishers solution helps publishers monetize their content and generate revenue, and DART Enterprise is an in-house, licensed software solution for targeting, serving and reporting ads delivered online and through other digital channels.

Macromedia Flash MX creates rich Internet content and applications with a better return on investment. Powerful video, multimedia and application development features allow the creation of rich user interfaces, online advertising, e-learning courses, and enterprise applications front-ends.