SULAKE CORPORATION NAMES BIG TENT ENTERTAINMENT AS LICENSING AGENT AND MARKETING PARTNER FOR THE NEW MEDIA TEEN BRAND THAT IS TAKING THE WORLD BY STORM
HABBO HOTEL
New York, NY, March xx, 2005 - Sulake Corporation, one of the world's fastest growing interactive entertainment companies, has appointed innovative New York-based integrated marketing agency Big Tent Entertainment as its partner and licensing agent for its worldwide new media phenomenon Habbo Hotel. Through the agreement, Big Tent Entertainment will manage the North American promotional and licensing initiatives for the Habbo brand.
Habbo Hotel is a new kind of youth brand rooted in a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual community. Evenly attracting both genders, Habbo Hotel has taken the world by storm since its launch in 2000. To date, Habbo Hotel sites have been introduced in 16 countries, attracting more than 3.7 million unique users each month. The U.S. destination ( www.habbohotel.com ) was opened in September 2004 and has become an instant success, already boasting almost 1,2 million unique users per month who spend on average more than three hours a week on the site (Nielsen Net Ratings).
Targeted to teenagers and young adults aged 13-20, Habbo Hotel combines gaming with the camaraderie of a community -- enabling users to express themselves creatively. Users join by creating a fully-customized online character persona, called a Habbo. From there, users explore the vast hotel where they can chat and make friends with other Habbos , play a wide range of games, party and dance by the pool, create and decorate their own room - the interactivity and options are virtually limitless.
Big Tent Entertainment will look to capitalize on the excitement to help build Habbo into a multi-faceted teen lifestyle brand. On the licensing end, the company will initially focus its efforts on establishing partnerships in such merchandise categories as apparel, publishing, home entertainment and collectibles.
" Habbo is one of the most unique brands we have ever seen. It has an inherent coolness factor among the teen set. From a marketer's standpoint, it has enormous potential considering its appeal to both genders and its lifestyle-orientation," said Rich Collins, President and CEO, Big Tent Entertainment. "With teens spending more time on-line than watching television, Habbo Hotel offers retailers and licensees a significant opportunity to reach this elusive market."
"Our mission is to build a world class teen brand and with the help of Big Tent we will succeed. It was really important to us that our partner is innovative and enthusiastic, and fully understands Habbo brand as unique, fresh and fun concept. Big Tent meets all these criterion - furthermore, they have proven track record as well as solid expertise in licensing industry. We are really happy to start cooperation with Big Tent" says Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation.
A major marketing initiative for Habbo is already under way in the United States through a strategic partnership forged with Alloy Media, one of the country's largest providers of non-traditional targeted media and promotional programs, which will ultimately reach more than 24 million young adults. Alloy recently launched a massive program through its proprietary in-school media network, reaching more than half of the nation's high school students. The property is also being promoted across Alloy's network of youth-oriented web sites - alloy.com, ccs.com, delias.com - through ads in its consumer catalogs, and via direct e-mail campaigns.
About Sulake Corporation
Sulake is an interactive entertainment company that specializes in developing, publishing and distributing multi-player online communities and games. Sulake was founded in 2000 and since that Sulake has more than doubled its annual revenues during each operating year.
The main shareholders in Sulake include Taivas Group, 3i Group plc, Elisa Group and Benchmark Capital followed by the company's founders Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrola, and Sulake CEO Timo Soininen and other personnel.
Sulake has localized Habbo Hotel communities in 16 countries on four continents : North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. To date, more than 26 million Habbo characters have been created, with more than 3,7 million unique users visiting Habbo Hotel each month. The U.S. version of the hotel, www.habbohotel.com , was launched in September 2004 and has already attracted users to create almost 1,2 million unique users .
Sulake has headquarters in Finland and activities in 16 countries. Currently, Sulake has more than 185 employees worldwide.
About Big Tent Entertainment Inc.
Big Tent Entertainment Inc. is a marketing agency specializing in the integrated management of entertainment brands. Formed in 2002, the company focuses exclusively on building entertainment brands. Big Tent currently serves as the North American marketing agent for such popular children's properties as The Koala Brothers, the hit pre-school series now airing twice a day on Disney Channel as part of its Playhouse Disney block; Miffy & Friends , one of the world's largest brands for toddlers and infants; and Dragon , based on Dav Pilkey's charming children's books. The company also serves as the worldwide management company for renowned art licensing agency, Alaska Momma.
# # #
For More Information Contact
Jeffrey Klein, Judy Drutz
DAN KLORES COMMUNICATIONS
212-981-5189/212-981-5204
jeff_klein@dkcnews.com/judy_drutz@dkcnews.com |
