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Bebo takes on MySpace with ad-friendly branded overlays
02 June 2006
One of eType's premium sites, Bebo, is now offering advertisers new ways of interacting with its 4.5m-strong youth audience. Bebo is now allowing advertisers to create branded 'skins' that take the form of themed or paterned designs which users overlay on their homepage.Bebo is also looking to host a range of viral video content that would present big-budget advertisers with further opportunities to promote their brands via the web.
Michael Birch, CEO of Bebo, said it will start by offering advertisers free skins alongside traditional online ads. "The shift hasn't been changed with advertisers yet" he said. "It's difficult to convince ad agencies to commit to an ad format they're not sued to. They find it hard to justify the cost and its difficult to price, so we have to do it through demostration".
Birch's colleague Jim Scheinman, VP of business development and sales, believes social networks have the potential to upstage the major portals in terms of advertising opportunities".
"What social networking can do with advertising, the likes of Yahoo! can only dream off because they don't have the level of interaction" he said. "There's a huge opportunity for social networks to develop a new form of engagement marketing. It's something the portals can't do"
View the full article in New Media Age
Labels: Bebo, branded skins, eType, online advertising
Bebo ranked second in social networking poll
01 June 2006
The eType team are always delighted when our publishers receive recognition in the press. Bebo was recently featured in Marketing which highlighted the growing popularity of networking sites."Bebo, for one, is growing fast. It was the second-most visited social-networking site in the UK in April, according to online monitor Hitwise, ahead of more established sites such as Friends Reunited"
Marketing
Read the full article at Bebo Press Coverage
Labels: Bebo, eType, online advertising, ranked second in social network rankings
eType - Bebo receives VC investment from Benchmark Capital
23 May 2006
Bebo, the next generation social networking site, today announced that it has closed a US15 million first round of financing from Benchmark Capital Europe, the venture capital firm behind eBay, betfair and MySQL. Bebo will use the funding to expand the US team and open a London office, maintain its market leading position, and develop the business in its other core markets.Having launched just ten months ago in July 2005, Bebo is now the largest social networking site in the UK, Ireland, and New Zealand. Bebo is also growing rapidly in its other core markets, the United States, Australia and Canada, with a total of 24 million registered members turning 2.5 billion monthly page views worldwide.
Michael Birch, CEO and founder of Bebo said, "Today concludes our search for what we believe is the perfect partner for Bebo and I am delighted that Barry Maloney, a general partner at Benchmark, is joining our board of directors. Barry and Benchmark have not only extensive knowledge in building technology companies of lasting value but also a real understanding of the social media space, having invested in companies such as Friendster, WeeWorld and Habbo Hotel."
"We're pleased to have led this exciting and competitive investment in Bebo." said Barry Maloney, from Benchmark Capital Europe. "We're a strong believer in the social networking space and Bebo is well-positioned for further exponential growth. Michael Birch is a proven world-class entrepreneur and we are looking forward to partnering with him to make Bebo the number-one social networking site in the world."
View all the resulting press coverage from this announcement at:
New Media Age
GigaOM
Brand Republic
Media Life
Guardian Unlimited
BBC News
Labels: Bebo, Benchmark Capital Europe, eType, Finance, online advertising
Bebo and Miniclip Triumph at 10th Annual Webby Awards!
22 May 2006
Two of eType's premium sites, Bebo and Miniclip have triumphed at this year's Webby Awards, the online industry's equivalent to the Oscars!
Bebo.com has been named the Best Social Networking Website. Launched only 10 months ago, Bebo has become the largest social networking site in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand.
Miniclip.com has been named the Best Gaming Website for the second consecutive year. Miniclip is the world's largest website dedicated to playing online games.
Congratulations to everyone at Bebo and Miniclip, from all the team at eType!
For more information visit PR Web, Miniclip and Webby Awards
Labels: 10th Annual, Bebo, eType, Miniclip, online advertising, Webby Awards, Winners
eType and Bebo
12 May 2006
2 Million UK Teens Visit Bebo, Surpassing MySpace
eType won the account from previous incumbent Goallover following a competitive pitch and will concentrate on increasing advertising revenues and site awareness throughout the UK, with a focus towards rich media, integrations and more site-specific campaigns.
With more than 4.5 million registered Beboers in the UK, (22 million worldwide), the social network enables school kids and students to stay in touch with their friends and family, find long lost friends and meet new people.
"In just seven months, Bebo has grown to become the most popular social networking site for students in the UK, and we are rapidly gaining ground in Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand," said Michael Birch, Bebo Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "After meeting my wife in London while she was studying abroad, we started Bebo as a way to bridge the gap between students like us who shared friends and family ties in both the UK and US. Communication and interactivity are obviously key features for our members today, and we are moving rapidly to deliver the products and services they need to connect, learn more about each other, express themselves and keep in touch."In February 2006, the company announced a partnership with Skype to deliver free instant messaging (IM), voice and video calling services. In addition, members enjoy a variety of fun and helpful online applications that make it easy to remember birthdays, share photos and videos, blog, Bebo mail, discover new music and other interests and just hang out.
Robert Gay, Head of eType commented, "We are delighted to be working with Bebo to help maximise their brand awareness in the UK and Ireland. The site has over 2 million unique users in the UK alone, with the majority aged between 13 and 19. Advertisers are always on the look out for ways to effectively reach young people and Bebo certainly delivers."
eType has over seven years highly successful experience of specialising in premium website representation. Leading the way within the industry, eType holds exclusive advertising sales contracts with numerous premium brands including Miniclip, Visit London, The Independent and National Rail Enquiries.
Labels: Bebo, eType, online advertising, Win
eType - Bebo Press Coverage - NMA, Net Imperative and Media Week
11 May 2006
At eType we are always happy when our publishers recieve coverage in the press. Bebo.com, the UK's largest social networking site has featured in New Media Age as part of the NSPCC's latest campaign to combat childhood abuse. This week also saw the latest social networking figures released. To view the full articles, click on the links below. "The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is launching a campaign across social networks to reach children in an environment where they're comfortable and anonymous."
- New Media Age"Vital Stats - Growth of Social Networking."
- Media Week"The Top 10 Social Networking sites in the UK, in terms of shares of visits, according to Internet research firm Hitwise."
- Net Imperative
Read the full articles at New Media Age, Media Week and Net Imperative.
Labels: Bebo, eType, NSPCC campaign, online advertising
Bebo - Teen craze over networking sites
24 March 2006
The eType team are always delighted when our publishers receive recognition in the press. Bebo was recently featured in an article on BBC.co.uk, highlighting the growing popularity of networking sites amongst teenagers. To view the full article, click on the link below."Whilst almost everyone who uses the net has heard of Friends Reunited, relatively few will be familiar with Bebo, unless they happen to be a teenager."
BBC News Website
Read the full article at Bebo Press Coverage
Labels: Bebo, eType, online advertising, social networking, teen craze
Bebo.com attracts 500,000 Irish teenagers!
19 March 2006
At eType we are always happy when our publishers recieve coverage in the press. Bebo.com, the UK's largest social networking site has featured in The Irish Sunday Independent for attracting 500,000 Irish teenagers (virtually every teenager in the Republic) to their site! To view the full article, click on the link below. "It's officially the most popular website in Ireland - but the chances are, you've probably never heard of it. Unless you're a teenager, that is. Teenagers have made social networking site Bebo.com the fastest-growing internet site in the world, with an astonishing 22 million members across the globe."
- Irish Sunday Independent
Read the full article at Bebo Press Coverage
Labels: 000 Irish teenagers, 500, Bebo, eType, online advertising
Bebo Press
03 March 2006
eType looks after a number of the UK's largest and most successful websites and we are always delighted when our publishers recieve coverage in the press. Below are two examples highlighting the success of Bebo, the UK's largest social networking site. To view the full articles, click on the links provided."In its first year, Bebo - thanks mostly to a blizzard of email marketing campaigns (the site spent nothing on convential advertising) - has attracted 21.4 million registered users worldwide, 4 million of whom live in the UK. And while only about a quarter of registrations become highly active, that still equates to more than 700m page impressions every month"
- The Guardian
Read the full article at www.etype-europe.com/bebopress.pdf
"Twenty-somethings are more likely to go for 'traditional' web favourites such as BSkyB, Amazon, Google and eBay. Meanwhile, teenagers like to make friends and have fun on sites such as Bebo"
- Metro
Read the full article at www.etype-europe.com/bebopress2.pdf
Labels: Bebo, eType, online advertising, press coverage
Bebo Ranks Top Rated Social Networking Site in the UK
22 February 2006
Surpassing MySpace for the First Time
Bebo, the next generation high school and college social network, today announced that its site ranked as the largest social networking site* in the U.K. in December, according to the latest report by Nielsen/NetRatings, a leading Internet research firm. With 1.5 million unique visitors, Bebo surpassed MySpace for the first time.
"In just seven months, Bebo has grown to become the most popular social networking site for students in the U.K., and we are rapidly gaining ground in Ireland, the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand," said Michael Birch, Bebo co-founder and chief executive officer. "After meeting my wife in London while she was studying abroad, we started Bebo as a way to bridge the gap between students like us who shared friends and family ties in both the U.K. and U.S. Communication and interactivity are obviously key features for our members today, and we are moving rapidly to deliver the products and services they need to connect, learn more about each other, express themselves and keep in touch."
With more than 22 million registered Beboers worldwide, the social network enables students to stay in touch with their friends and family, find long lost friends and meet new people. Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with Skype to deliver free instant messaging (IM), voice and video calling services. In addition, members enjoy a variety of fun and helpful online applications that make it easy to remember birthdays, share photos & videos, blog, Bebo mail, discover new music and other interests and just hang out.
About Bebo
Bebo is the next generation social network that enables high school and college students to stay in touch with their friends, find long lost friends and meet new people. Officially launched in July 2005, in just seven months, the social network has more than 22 million registered members viewing over 850 million monthly page views. The privately-held company is operated by an experienced management team in San Francisco, Calif. The CEO and founder launched one of the first social networking sites, Ringo.com, which he later sold to Tickle (now part of Monster), and Bebo was recently joined by the former head of business development at Friendster. In addition, the Bebo team runs another word of mouth marketing site, BirthdayAlarm.com, which has 40 million members.
Labels: 1.5 million UK students visit bebo in december, Bebo, eType, online advertising
eType celebrates another double site win!
12 February 2006
eType are happy to announce the introduction of two new websites, Bebo and NetMums to our premium online advertising network.
Bebo is officially the largest social networking site in the UK*, allowing users to stay in touch with their College friends, connect with friends, share photos, discover new interests or simply hang out and chat. Bebo is operated by the same people behind the hugely popular BirthdayAlarm.com, the market leader in birthday reminders and greeting cards.
www.bebo.com or www.etype-europe.com/bebo.html
Netmums is a family of local websites, set up and run by mums. The uniqueness of the Netmums concept stems from the belief that only other local parents can truly access and provide the local information essential to life as a parent to young children in each specific area.
Each local Netmums website covers local information on places to go, things to do, education, childcare, community, social and employment issues.
www.netmums.com or www.etype-europe.com/netmums.html
For details of the advertising opportunities available on these sites and others within the eType network contact a member of our team on T: +44 (0)20 7436 6726.
Labels: Bebo, double site win, eType, Netmums, online advertising
