The News

Blyk raises €40M and paves the way for global growth

18/11/2008

New media partnering approach with operators is the core of expansion strategy

Helsinki, Finland and London, UK, 18 November 2008 - Blyk, the free mobile network for young people funded by advertising today announced an additional €40 million investment to support its ongoing operations and international expansion. “The advertising industry and operators have expressed a strong interest in bringing Blyk into new countries and €40 million in additional funding demonstrates the commitment by investors to the Blyk media model." said Pekka Ala-Pietilä, Blyk’s CEO and Co-founder. "However, we like everyone else are feeling the impact of the world's financial situation. As a result, in parallel to securing the new investment, we’ve taken decisive steps to cut costs and streamline our organization.” By launching a new media partnership strategy, alongside organizational realignment, Blyk will gain greater flexibility and speed to capitalize on new growth opportunities and global demand for its media model.

Blyk launched in the UK in September 2007 where it has achieved major successes both in member growth and advertiser usage. In its first year, Blyk achieved a milestone of over 200,000 members and has run over 2000 campaigns with an average response rate of over 25%. With 180 brands on board today, Blyk is well on track to hit its goal of 200 brands using the service by year-end. “We have a winning formula which makes Blyk attractive globally. The Blyk media model, which is based on highly relevant messaging, has proven to be an extremely effective form of advertising to the youth audience.” said Antti Öhrling, Blyk’s Cofounder and Executive Director. “Blyk’s new partnering strategy will make this powerful model available for operators, brands and young people around the world.”

About Blyk
Blyk is the free mobile network for young people funded by advertising. Blyk links young people with brands they like and gives them free texts and minutes every month. Blyk was co-founded in 2006 by Pekka Ala-Pietilä and Antti Öhrling and has offices in Helsinki, Finland; London, UK; and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Blyk is now operating in the UK and will be live in The Netherlands in early 2009.

For more information or to speak directly to a Blyk spokesperson contact:
Anna Loftin at Cohn & Wolfe: Tel: ++44 (0) 20 7331 2353 or anna.loftin@cohnwolfe.com