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Today Blyk is setting the record straight – we have officially reached our 100,000 member target six months in advance of plan. This is a significant milestone for Blyk and demonstrates that both young people and advertisers have embraced the Blyk concept.

Put simply, young people like Blyk because it makes phone bills and contracts a thing of the past and connects them with relevant brands they like. As a result, advertisers and media buyers are able to directly communicate with 16-24 year olds in an interactive and cost-effective way.

In the six months we’ve been up and running, we have accumulated deep knowledge about our member base. Our high response rates (averaging 29 percent) show that this audience wants to engage with brands and issues that resonate with them. No other youth media channel offers this type of dialogue and relevancy for young people.

On a personal note, the last six months at Blyk have been an incredibly rewarding experience – the people, the momentum and energy create a dynamic environment and I am proud to be a part of this special place.

Press release 24 April 2008

GCI and Contra join the extended team to support growth in the UK and abroad

Helsinki, Finland and London, England, 11 April, 2008 – Blyk, the new mobile network for 16-24 year olds funded by advertising, has appointed GCI to build its brand reputation in the UK and internationally. This follows the appointment of Contra as international brand agency after its design of the Blyk brand and support of Blyk’s successful launch in the UK.

GCI won a wide ranging brief which includes corporate reputation management, building brand advocacy in the UK and mobilising its international agency network to support Blyk’s expansion plans in Europe. Blyk is launching in the Netherlands in the second half of 2008 followed by other European markets.

Marko Ahtisaari, responsible for brand and design at Blyk said: “Blyk is a unique youth media that combines free communication for young people and cost-effective communications opportunities for brands. We wanted partners that bring the same degree of innovation, excitement and execution to PR and Brand, as we’ve applied to building the Blyk service. The Blyk team is looking forward to working with GCI and Contra in what is going to be a big year.”

GCI will work with Contra to communicate the Blyk story to key trade and youth audiences. The PR programme will support Blyk’s brand advertiser sales, member acquisition and European expansion with a mix of direct communications and digital and off-line media activities.

GCI will commence work with Blyk from April 2008 with the PR being run out of the GCI London office and then expand in to GCI’s European network as Blyk enters new markets. Contra will continue to evolve the Blyk brand expression in the Contra London studio.

Steve Parker, Director, Technology & Digital Media commented: “Blyk is an innovative new media channel that has the potential to transform the communications industry and we are excited to have a stake in its success. We will be communicating the scale of the opportunity to the ad industry and the enormous benefits to members by extending the Blyk experience online and building brand advocacy through a variety of communication channels.”

Simon Parrott, Creative Partner at Contra said: “Contra has had great fun working with Blyk over the past two years here in London, and we’re extremely pleased to continue working together with Blyk both here and internationally. What really excites me is that we’re doing something truly innovative. We’re co-creating a different kind of brand that is genuinely involving young people. And what’s more, this is just the beginning.”

-ENDS-

About GCI
GCI Group was founded in 1984 and is part of the WPP family of communications companies. Its work is focused on high value disciplines ranging from consumer and sports marketing, digital media and technology, healthcare and corporate reputation. For more information visit www.gcigroup.com and www.gciuk.com.

About Contra
Contra is the world’s only global agency that comes from Finland. Our approach to business lies in the Finnish concept of ’sisu’ which roughly translates to ’sustained determination and perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity.’ (Spend a winter’s day there and you’ll understand completely).
www.contra.net

Below are the first in a series of Blyk cases studies to become available on our site. These cases demonstrate how Blyk has been used successfully and effectively by a variety of advertisers across a range of sectors.

Before reading the cases, it’s important to understand that Blyk brings two major shifts in mobile advertising (and actually in advertising altogether) - Blyk enables ‘relevancy’ and it enables ‘dialogue’.

I’ll start with the relevancy part - Unlike other media channels out there, Blyk can enable relevant communication because it knows it’s members. A process that starts when you join and you tell Blyk about your interests. The more you interact with communications on Blyk, the more Blyk learns about you and the better and more relevant it gets. So, advertising is not something to be ‘just tolerated’ but rather it becomes useful information. Blyk hopes to take the word ’spam’ out of the vocabulary as related to mobile advertising.

In terms of dialogue, brands have long expressed the challenge of ‘engaging’ with the youth audience, so Blyk put ‘interactivity and dialogue’ at the core of it’s offering. As you’ll see from the cases, brands engage Blyk members in question/response type interactions. A conversation so to speak. Based on the answer a member gives, he/she will get further messages. For advertisers all responses and interactions by members are tracked, giving great accountability to the campaign. The interactions are also logged against the members’ profiles so that future communications from that advertiser can be even more relevant. Six months of campaigns on Blyk demonstrate that this type of simple, familiar type of interaction leads to tremendous response rates - 29% on average.

Blyk also demonstrates great value on a cost per response basis.

So what you get is high levels engagement coupled with value for money.

- Highest response in most cost effective way - average 29%
- Efficiency through relevant targeting
- High levels of engagement with an audience predisposed to receiving brand messages

(click text link to access case study pdfs)

	One of the best known high street pharmacists in the UK
	Styling products targeted to young males
	A UK government organization that offers advice support and guidance for young people
	One of UK’s leading sports retailers
	A leading range of hair styling products
	One of UK’s best known high street banks
	Book publisher and retailer worldwide
	Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is an independent UK charity
	Leading satelite broadcaster in the UK providing coverage of sports, movies and entertainment and news.
	Specialist in student, budget and independent travel

Look forward to your feedback and keep your eye on this blog for new cases from Blyk in the near future.