Social networking site Bebo, acquired by AOL in March for a reported $850m, has recently poached Google's Head of Industry Marketing Nicole Vanderbilt to help increase its market share in new territories. One of the most popular social network sites in the UK and Ireland, Bebo has yet to make an impact in other big markets like the U.S. and Canada, where its rivals Facebook and MySpace are the predominant players.
In Vanderbilt's new role as Head of International Expansion, she will initially focus on driving Bebo's business and membership in France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. While at Google, she was responsible for building business-to-business marketing, formulating the search engine's industry sales strategy and developing the company's agency programme. Prior to this, Vanderbilt worked at American Express as Director of International Business Development and Director of Premium Communications in Europe.
According to popular news site Brand Republic, Joanna Shields, Bebo Chief Executive, said: "Nicole comes to Bebo with more than a decade of experience in developing creative, innovative marketing programs for top global companies. As we continue to grow internationally, she is an ideal candidate to drive Bebo's expansion in key international markets."
Vanderbilt, meanwhile, was quoted as saying: "Bebo is already a powerhouse social network internationally predominant in UK, Ireland and New Zealand, and one of the top three social networks in the US, Canada and Australia in terms of engagement. I look forward to building upon this success in international markets where the site's fundamental qualities of community, self-expression and entertainment will surely resonate."
In related news, Bebo has teamed up with Channel 4 to create the Battlefront campaign, aimed at inspiring teenagers to use the web "as a canvas for social change". The campaign profiles 19 young people aged 14-21 to create awareness about a range of social issues ranging from knife violence to body dysmorphia to the AIDS epidemic, providing free tools such as discussion forums and blog badges.
Channel 4 and Bebo, along with production firm Raw Television, are recruiting for a 20th campaigner to join the project and are planning a TV tie-in broadcast, with five half-hour programmes planned for November and another five planned for next June at the end of the project.
Matt Locke, Channel 4 Commissioner for New Media Education, told the Guardian that the web had opened up new ways to co-ordinate change. "We wanted to show teens how to get involved and make those changes happen in your life, showing what those campaigns need," Locke added. "This is really about teens teaching other teens about these issues."
These announcements show that, while it may currently be lagging behind the competition on a global scale, as part of AOL's People Networks social media division, Bebo is not about to give up just yet.
