Bebo has launched its partnership with Orange in the UK. Speaking at Yahoos Think Big Mobile Marketing seminar, Bebo Director of Marketing and Partnerships, Laurence Pichot, said that making Bebo available on mobile was a natural extension to offer its users always-on access.
When they are logged off from their PC, they are no longer connected to their network, said Pichot. Mobile is the missing link. Pichot added that Bebo intends to make its service available across all networks.
Orange customers will be able to access Bebo via a Bebo Extra bundle for 3 a month, with the first month free. This will offer unlimited access to WAP, as well as text alerts to let the consumer know when someone had added a comment to their Bebo profile on the Bebo website, including replies.
Pichot said that Bebo would be trialling mobile advertising and mobisodes with Orange and said the social networking company had been keen to ensure that consumers could access the service without worrying about data charges, rather than being billed on a per-event basis.
Mobile is just another way for our users to interact with Bebo, she said. We acknowledge that Mobile Social Networking is still in its infancy and both the social networking companies and the operators are still learning, but we believe the main benefits of advertising on social networks can be extended to mobile.