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BLYK shuts down 28th AUGUST





Tuesday 28 July 2009
Ad-funded service provider elects to partner with operators in media space; announces deal with Orange.

Ad-funded mobile service provider Blyk is pulling the plug on its U.K. operation in order to focus on providing mobile advertising-related services for network operators, it emerged this week.

The company has agreed an exclusive partnership with Orange UK that will enable the network operator, and Blyk’s former host, to enhance its own media initiatives, Orange said.

Blyk will cease operating as an MVNO in the U.K. on 26 August, the company announced, less than two years after it launched.

“Though Blyk will no longer be an active network operator in the U.K., together we have re-shaped the future of communication and we hope you’ve enjoyed the journey… it’s 2009 and now the world is a different place,” Blyk co-founder Antti Öhrling said in a blog post.

Blyk has doubtless seen some success, more so than many predicted.

The company signed up 200,000 subscribers in its first year of operation and ran over 2,000 ad campaigns. Its response rate to advertising averaged a sizeable 25%.

However, with such a young, price-sensitive customer base, there are questions over the benefit of that response rate, at least from the advertisers’ point of view.

“Blyk has proven that sending timely, interesting and relevant messages to young people from brands builds high levels of engagement and [elicits] high response and action rates. Going forward Orange will continue to offer brands this direct communication but on a far larger scale,” Orange said in a statement.

“Integrating Blyk’s capabilities into our own will allow Orange customers access to great brand offers, benefits and promotions in a timely fashion which are specifically tailored and relevant to them,” added Marc Overton, VP of wholesale, business development & partnerships at Orange UK.

The news of Blyk’s partnership with Orange comes just days after it announced a similar deal with Vodafone in the Netherlands. Sources say there will be more partnership deals to come.