Yahoo, Bebo Cut An Ad Deal

Yahoo UK & Ireland today announced an exclusive strategic partnership with social networking site Bebo. The agreement covers the sale and serving of display advertising, integration of Yahoo Answers and a toolbar for users to manage their Bebo activities.

Under the agreement, Yahoo will sell the majority of Bebo's display advertising in the U.K. and Ireland, reaching an estimated 11.6 million users. Bebo has a membership of more than 38 million worldwide, and ranks as the U.K.'s second-most engaging site after Google. The majority of members fall within the 13- to-24-year-old age group.

According to the UK's Internet Advertising Bureau, the U.K. online advertising market leads the world for share of advertising spend online with 11.4%, compared to a global average of 5.8%.

"The partnership with Yahoo enables us to focus on custom sponsorship campaigns and groundbreaking original productions with the knowledge that our display advertising is handled by a partner that guarantees the highest quality ad for each user interaction," said Joanna Shields, Bebo's president, international.

Among Bebo's original entertainment properties are the online drama "Kate Modern" and the recently announced "Sofia's Diary."

This is Yahoo's first such agreement with a social networking site. The two companies' combined audience consumes more than 11.7 billion pages views per month and represents 75% of the U.K. Internet user population, according to the statement announcing the partnership.

Yahoo Answers will be integrated into Bebo's site, allowing users to ask and answer questions posed by other users within the Bebo community and beyond.

Yahoo and Bebo have also announced the development of a new Bebo Toolbar enabling Bebo users to monitor their social network even when they are not on the Bebo site. The average Bebo user spends 38 minutes on the site each day they log on, according to the company.

Yahoo began providing search on Bebo in May this year in a previous deal. The new initiatives will begin to roll out during the fourth quarter.

"This exclusive partnership is the next step of our ongoing strategy to build the largest and most effective online advertising network," said Toby Coppel, managing director, Yahoo Europe.

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