What could be more exciting than two companies with exclamation points in their names joining forces for an online dating service?
Ask online media giant Yahoo Inc., which tapped consumer Internet entertainment services provider IncrediMail (exclamation points removed for style reasons) for fun and colorful personals.
“For Yahoo, it is a co-promotional agreement that benefits both firms,” said Helen Maus, director of corporate communications at Yahoo, Sunnyvale, CA. “We are getting distribution and exposure to all of IncrediMail’s clients.”
IncrediMail, Tel Aviv, Israel, will use Yahoo Personals as its exclusive dating partner in the United States. It will market Yahoo Personals under its brand name to its large and growing user base.
Jeff Holzmann, executive vice president of IncrediMail, said the online entertainment and e-mail firm has 72 million subscribers with a 10 million-strong active daily user base. Also, IncrediMail hopes to target 16 million Americans who have engaged in online dating.
IncrediMail previously used PointMatch matchmaking services for online dating but wanted to partner with a larger firm. Now, Yahoo Personals users can use IncrediMail’s emoticons, animations and 3D effects.
The partnership with Yahoo comes after IncrediMail opened its first U.S. office in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in February to promote the service on a wider basis to this market. IncrediMail’s customer breakdown is 37 percent from North America, 33 percent from Europe, 11 percent from South America, 12 percent from the Far East and Australia and 7 percent from other parts of the world. France is one of IncrediMail’s biggest audiences.
IncrediMail is new to spending money on marketing. The firm previously did not advertise. All its 75 million users came through viral traffic. It calculates 1 million downloads a month, with 2 percent of these downloads converting into customers.
Yaron Adler, CEO of IncrediMail, said this partnership with Yahoo is one of many in the online entertainment world, including its alliance with Oberon Media for online gaming.
“We have a shopping mall for millions of people, and we have just enough items to sell them,” Mr. Adler said. “We are looking for collaborations with companies that have more products and services to market to our users. The partnership with Yahoo shows the caliber of partners we are looking for.”
