AOL has selected roster shop Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos to handle branding duties after hearing presentations from the Boston-based Interpublic Group agency and Omnicom Group's BBDO.

Hill, Holiday will take charge of an online and offline branding campaign for AOL to explain its shift from a subscription-based to a free, ad-based model, AdWeek reports. BBDO had previously handled AOL's brand marketing and will stay on AOL's roster for certain assignments.

Hill, Holliday was a finalist for AOL in the company 2003 agency review. It has since struggled to secure new clients, with the $60 million Liberty Mutual account its last significant win, coming late last year.

AOL spent almost $300 million in measured media in 2005, and close to $140 million through June this year.