Over 30 Million can now send branded virtual items to friends on social networks
Palo Alto, CA – AdNectar, Inc., the virtual goods marketing platform, has added branded virtual goods to users on two major social networks: Twitter, now sporting 24 Million monthly unique users, and LiveJournal, the 9th largest social network and a leading blogging platform (Compete.com).
To bring the branded virtual goods to Twitter, AdNectar partnered with Fun140, a social gifting and entertainment site optimized for 140 character messages.
If a person sends a branded virtual item—like a Malibu Rum drink or a box of Godiva chocolates—to a friend on Twitter, the recipient will receive a “direct message” notification; if they click on the URL in the message, it will link to the virtual item. A Tweet will also automatically appear on the senders profile announcing that the gift was sent.
This very public expression of giving will introduce the branded items through networks of friends. The social endorsement combined with the viral exposure will create engaging advertising experiences for marketers that scale rapidly.
“People use virtual goods to personalize how they communicate with their friends. Branded items will make this social experience on Twitter more engaging and entertaining, said Ashvin Kumar, Co-Founder, Fun140.
On LiveJournal, which has over 700,000 different communities, users will choose from different themed virtual gifts created by AdNectar. For example, the thousands of bloggers discussing “Twilight” could send each other vampire themed gifts with embedded movie trailers from an upcoming horror film.
“Sending virtual goods is now mainstream, so adding branded ones from AdNectar was natural. It provides more choice and relevant experiences for our users,” said Anjelika Petrochenko , Business Development Director, LiveJournal.
“By adding these two top publishers, AdNectar now powers massive cross-platform social media campaigns for brands to engage their customers and increase purchase intent,” said Nir Eyal, CEO, AdNectar, Inc.
