DLG links with Friends Reunited

by Kim Benjamin, reporting from the International Direct Marketing Fair, Marketing Direct 02-May-07, 11:00

LONDON - Consumer data provider DLG has sealed a major partnership with Friends Reunited, which will involve the social networking site releasing its data for third party marketing for the very first time.

DLG has been appointed as manager and broker to the Friends Reunited 3.2 million-strong third party opted-in email database, which is verified on an ongoing basis. The site currently has 18 million registered members and was voted the UK's fifth favourite brand in the 2006 Superbrands survey.

DLG says that the partnership, announced at this year's International Direct Marketing Fair, is likely to prove fruitful not just for both parties but also for e-marketers seeking out fresh, highly responsive and well-targeted consumer lists to promote their brands and sell their products and services.

"Friends Reunited has the greatest single source of emailable consumers in the UK," said Jeremy Whitaker, chief executive officer of DLG.

Tim Ward, marketing director at Friends Reunited, said the brand had been looking to partner a data marketing company to maximise the potential of its database for third party use.

"We were delighted that DLG provided the scale, the reputation, the vision and the shared belief in the huge opportunities of digital marketing," said Ward.