Sulake.com

Sulake expands Mobile Strategy for Habbo

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:00:00 +0200

Strategy of moving audiences across platforms is accelerated by launch of Niko for iOS, and Lost Monkey for Android™

Helsinki, January 12, 2012 - Sulake, the parent company of Habbo Hotel, the world's largest social game and online community for teenagers at 10 million monthly unique users, today announced the release of gaming app Niko for iOS devices. The game will debut in the Apple App Store® on 19th January. Sulake also announced that Lost Monkey, its first mobile app on the iOS platform, is now available on the Android platform and can be downloaded for free.

Both games support Sulake’s mobile strategy: to move audiences across multiple platforms. Designed to appeal to a broad iOS customer base, both Lost Monkey and Niko also include direct tie-ins to Habbo Hotel, which gives Habbo members extra benefits and value, while bringing them back to the online community to share their experiences.

“2012 will be all about moving audiences across platforms. With Lost Monkey for iOS we demonstrated that Habbo users very much liked the idea of receiving rewards within the mobile app and bringing them back to the online community. These new launches, Niko for iOS and Lost Monkey for Android, expand our efforts to move audiences in this way”, said Paul LaFontaine, CEO of Sulake.

Sulake first tested a Habbo tie-in with Lost Monkey, which was released in September 2011. Users who finished the game received a special reward for their Habbo Hotel account.  A similar, but more complex tie-in has been implemented inside Niko.

Niko will be available 19th January for Apple® iPhone® (3GS, 4 and 4S), iPad®, iPad® 2 and on iPod touch®. Niko is a freemium game that is free to download and play for the first six levels. The full game with three versatile worlds and 28 total levels can be unlocked for USD $1.99.

http://nikogame.com/
http://www.facebook.com/NikoTheGame
http://twitter.com/nikothegame

Habbo Hotel’s Parent Company Reports Record Year

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:00:00 +0200

- Sulake’s 2010 Revenue Increases More Than 20% Over the Previous Year

Helsinki, Finland – March 31, 2011 - Sulake, the parent company of Habbo Hotel, the world's largest social game and online community for teenagers, today announced the best annual financial results in the company’s history. During fiscal year 2010, Sulake’s revenue was up more than 20 percent over 2009, resulting in sales of €56.2 million ($78.7 million). Sulake’s EBITDA in 2010 totaled €5.4 million ($7.6 million, 9.5 percent of revenue) and thus significantly improved from the previous year (€0.6 or $0.8 million). Net profit was €1.6 million ($2.3 million).*

Habbo Hotel currently has players in over 150 countries and is available in 11 different languages. 11 million unique users spend a total of 45 million hours playing Habbo Hotel each month. Over 207 million Habbo characters have been created since its launch in 2000.

“2010 was a record year for Habbo Hotel in many ways. Not only did we celebrate our 10 year anniversary, but our user base, sales and profitability continued to increase,” commented Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake. “The growth was a result of several successful new product features and improvements, like new virtual pets, marketplace tools for virtual item trading, an all new Habbo Club experience and the launch of user customized games.”

“This year, our focus will be 100 percent on growing Habbo Hotel into an even bigger and more engaging social game and community for teens around the world. New social games and features inside Habbo Hotels and Habbo mobile apps, in particular, are a significant growth opportunity for us this year,” Soininen continued.

As part of its new social gaming strategy and Habbo Hotel focus, Sulake has sold IRC-Galleria, a Finnish social networking service for young adults, to its current management.

* All USD figures are for illustration purposes only. Official currency is EUR.

Habbo Hotel Hits 200 Million Registrations

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:53:00 +0200

- 10th Anniversary Year Marks the Best in the Social Game’s History

Helsinki, Finland, January 20, 2011 -- Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest teen virtual community and social game, has now reached 200 million registrations. Each individual registration equals one virtual character called a “Habbo.” The 200 millionth Habbo was created during the first week of January in Habbo.com in the US.

Habbo Hotel was founded in 2000, when the first community launched in Finland. Since then, it has expanded worldwide, and currently has users from more than 150 countries globally. Habbo Hotel garnered its first 100 million registrations in June 2008. This new milestone indicates growth has accelerated substantially in the past two and a half years.

Habbo Hotel celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010. It was also the site’s most successful year, as 42 million registered characters logged in, representing one-fifth of the total Habbos ever created. These characters spent over 400 million hours enjoying the social game and community over the entire year.

“It’s been a wonderful journey to see Habbo Hotel grow during the past 10 years from a small Finland-based virtual community to a service reaching millions of users every month worldwide. Celebrating 200 million registrations is truly a milestone for us,” said Timo Soininen, CEO of Habbo’s parent company Sulake. “The fast, continuous development of Habbo Hotel has enabled us to make quick changes and create new features according to our users’ needs. We are excited to reveal many fresh and exciting features and improvements in 2011.”

Sulake published two blogs earlier in January regarding the success of Habbo Hotel in 2010. For more details, visit the Sulake blog.

Extent of cyber bullying and importance of teen online privacy issues revealed in global study by Habbo Hotel & Norton

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:09:00 +0200

•    24% of children aged eight and under are using the internet without supervision
•    Almost a third of teens have regretted sharing personal details online
•    Online bullying is witnessed regularly by almost a quarter of teens

Helsinki, Finland, December 1, 2010: A global survey of over 61,000 young people from 33 countries by Habbo Hotel and Norton internet security reveals that today’s generation of young people feel that they are savvy when it comes to their own online safety. Despite this, online bullying and spam risks are still very real issues, which are affecting a large proportion of young people. The survey was done as a part of a global safety campaign in Habbo Hotel. See e.g. a campaign page on Habbo.com. Norton has also provided some online safety tips for all the Habbos.

Online Bullying

Almost a quarter of teenage respondents around the world (24%) witness the online bullying of someone they know in real life at least once a month, with 1 in 10 seeing it happen on a daily basis. This exposure to bullying is seen most among those aged 17 or over, with 28% of respondents witnessing bullying at least once a month compared to 21% of those aged 12 or under. In Brazil, Morocco and the Philippines the levels are much higher with 38%, 39% and 45% of respondents respectively witnessing bullying at least on a monthly basis.

The use of photos or videos as a tool to bully young people was highlighted, with 55% of those questioned having seen nasty comments or alterations made to images or videos purposely to embarrass people. The older the teenagers, the more likely they are to have experienced this with 64% of those aged 17 or over having seen this at least once, compared to half of those aged 13.

Over half of the survey’s teenagers (52%) have found out that a friend is talking about them behind their back online, with a further 20% feeling that they might expect to find this out at some point. In the UK, less than a quarter of teens (21%) felt confident that their friends hadn’t spoken about them behind their back online, and probably wouldn’t do so in the future.

Access & Awareness

54% of the survey respondents say that they have been unsupervised online by the age of eleven, with 23% of those aged eight and under using the internet by themselves. In parts of Europe, many more young people are finding their way around the internet at an early stage with 40% of those questioned in Finland and the Netherlands having access to the internet when under the age of eight. This differs greatly from e.g. Italy where only 11% of those under eight have unsupervised access and 14% in New Zealand and Switzerland.

With young people having open access to the internet so early in life, an awareness of safety is vital. In general, online safety education is of utmost importance - 39% of those questioned felt that they themselves have the responsibility to ensure their own online safety. Parents and online safety providers are also considered to play an important role with 29% and 26%, respectively viewing them as responsible. Almost half (49%) of those questioned have online access limited by their parents to some extent, but 43% claim to have deliberately hidden online activities from their parents with 14% admitting to doing this most of the time.

Although teens might be hiding some of their online lives from their parents, they show a strong awareness of the importance of being safe and how to go about it with 97% unwilling to share their home address online and 96% unwilling to share their phone number. Young people are most happy to share their avatar name (47%), age (33%) and real names (26%) online, whilst 24% of those surveyed don’t want to post any private details of themselves at all. Of those teens that have shared details, almost a third (32%) has at least once regretted posting them.

Online Protection

Having grown up with the internet, young people are smart when it comes to spotting potential spam with 55% of those surveyed stating that they would never or rarely open an attachment or link sent to them by someone unfamiliar. 43% have rarely or never ended up visiting websites they hadn’t heard of before and 59% have rarely or never been redirected to websites with malicious content. When asked which celebrity young people most regularly search for and read about online – and if they would click on links or attachments that offered information on them - Lady Gaga took the top spot.

Though the young respondents are confident in making their way around the internet safely and 44% claim to know it better than their parents, sometimes the risks aren’t obvious. Of those surveyed, 43% claim to have unknowingly downloaded malicious software or a virus to their computer at least once. Teens in Ireland, Spain and Portugal feel best protected against these risks with more than half of respondents claiming to never expect to download malicious software or viruses.

“The Internet is a place where teenagers can express themselves, have fun and explore, but it is important to be aware of the risks attached,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, Executive VP, Business Development and Communications, Sulake, parent company of Habbo Hotel. “Young people know and understand the Internet better than many adults, and it is great to see that they have a strong awareness of their own safety. We continuously work with our community to educate and advise them on how to act safely, something which will remain vital in their lives as they grow up.”

“As young people are getting access to the internet earlier and earlier these days and more often unsupervised, it is vital that they know how to behave securely online to get the most from their experiences," said Farhana Rafi, Norton Internet Safety Advocate. "They are aware of the importance of safety but not all of the potential risks, so when in doubt they should still consult an adult to ensure that they don’t become victims of cybercrime.”

Download the Habbo Hotel Global Online Safety Survey.

For images go to the Habbo Hotel image bank.

For more information please contact Sulake press.

About Norton From Symantec
Symantec’s Norton products protect consumers from cybercrime with technologies like antivirus, anti-spyware and phishing protection -- while also being light on system resources. The company also provides services such as online backup, PC tuneup, and family online safety. Fan Norton on Facebook at www.facebook.com/norton and follow our international Twitter feed @NortonOnline on Twitter. You can follow UK PR on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nortonpruk.

Habbo Hotel and MTV join forces to bring The 2010 MTV EMAs to the world’s largest teen virtual community

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:07:00 +0200

Helsinki / Madrid, October 11, 2010 -- MTV International and Habbo Hotel, a virtual community and game environment for teenagers have partnered to bring the 2010 MTV EMAs to the Habbo virtual community. The partnership is a follow-up to last year when the EMAs were successfully brought to Habbo Hotel for the first time.

This year Habbo Hotel will also be filled with lots of EMA related activities, competitions and specially designed Habbo Hotel rooms where fans can get into the MTV EMA mood. Voting for the favorite nominees in all categories of this year’s MTV EMAs is possible through the specific themed virtual spaces and fan group pages. One of the competitions specifically built for MTV EMA fans requires Habbo Hotel users to come up with innovative supporting messages for their favourite artists in the different EMA categories, tell that to everyone in specific rooms, and enter a screenshot of the situation to the competition. The most innovative contestants will win special EMA prizes, including celebrity goodie bags, clothing and other branded items. One of the innovative and lucky winners will receive a special guitar signed by an EMA artist!

The Habbo Hotel virtual environments for the MTV EMAs include e.g. the main stage, lounge, as well as red carpet and back stage areas. Also this year the EMA voters in Habbo Hotel have a chance to win a very rare item, the virtual 2010 MTV EMA trophy, which they can show off to all their Habbo friends.

“We are honoured and happy to partner with MTV again this year,” said Simonetta Lulli, SVP Global Marketing for Sulake, the parent company of Habbo Hotel. “Last year we managed to attract a massive music-loving user base to take part in the Awards, and as music continues to be the sole biggest interest area for our users, we are sure this will happen again.”

“After the massive success of last year's partnership, we're really excited to once again partner with Habbo Hotel and give EMA fans another unique way to interact with the show and vote for their favorite artists,” said Gary Ellis, VP, Content & Operations, MTV Networks International Digital Media.

Visit the MTV EMA group page on Habbo.com.

Habbo Hotel virtual community and game environment will also be embedded to all MTV EMA web sites, see e.g. the MTV EMA UK site.

Download Habbo EMA press images (right-click and choose "save target"):
Low-res
High-res

Other Habbo / Sulake press images can be found in our image bank.

About MTV Networks International:
MTV Networks International (MTVNI) includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTVNHD, Tr3s: MTV, Musicá y Mas, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Comedy Central and Game One. MTV Networks' brands are seen globally in 645 million households in 161 territories and 34 languages via 165 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 500 digital media properties. The company's diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, licensing & merchandising and feature films. MTV Networks International is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
www.ema.mtv.co.uk/press

Universal Pictures and Habbo Hotel bring ‘Despicable Me’ to life in the virtual community

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 06:41:00 +0200

HELSINKI, October 6, 2010 -- Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest teen virtual community and social game, has produced a campaign for Universal Pictures to bring to life the upcoming animation movie ‘ Despicable Me’ in 15 different Habbo Hotel communities around the world. Habbo Hotel currently attracts 15 million unique visitors each month.

The month long animation campaign is already live in many countries, and has already received lots of positive feedback from teenagers. At the heart of the campaign is a new promotional feature called ‘Pixel Effect’ which allows users to modify their in-game avatar. The special Despicable Me effect lets users role play as one of the movies favorite characters - a one eyed yellow minion.

This ‘minion effect’ is free of charge to Habbo users who are encouraged to wear an animated one-eyed goggle and take part in a virtual mass minion march with their friends. The fun new feature generates a huge amount of buzz in world with Habbo regularly being invaded by yellow one-eyed goggle wearing minions, spreading the excitement of Despicable Me amongst their community of friends.

Habbo has successfully tested this new pixel effect on other recent campaigns finding that the community really enjoys dressing their avatar and getting involved in a promotion that is fun.

“The Habbo pixel effect is a truly engaging promotional format that allows the audience to become part of the promotion,” says Phil Guest, Sulake EVP Global Advertising Sales. “We are seeing hundreds of thousands of teens wearing the effect and even more asking what it is and how they can get involved which is leading to unprecedented levels of word of mouth promotion”.

Other elements of the campaign include various Despicable Me themed competitions and events, a series of collectable virtual badges, embedded movie trailers and a branded community page which has already attracted over 29,000 members to date.

Habbo Hotel is tracking buzz around the movie through its proprietary ‘Habble buzz chatter tool’ and has seen a significant uplift in conversations about the movie since the pixel effect launched. The pixel effect is just one of the many planned new promotional formats that Habbo expects to release to advertisers this year.

See more information on Despicable Me.

Despicable Me news in Habbo Hotel.

Habbo Hotel Turns 10 Years Old and the Success Story Continues!

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:03:00 +0200

- Starting as a Hobby, Habbo Hotel Has Transformed into the World’s Largest Teen Virtual Community

Helsinki , Finland, June 14, 2010 -- Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest teen virtual community and social game, is celebrating its 10th Anniversary and the success continues. More than three million new Habbo characters are created each month to participate in the virtual hotel.

Habbo Hotel by the Numbers (June 2010):
-    172 million characters / avatars created
-    40 million monthly user hours, average session 42 minutes
-    15 million monthly unique visitors
-    120 million active user-created rooms
-    Users from over 150 countries
-    11 language versions

Click here to watch a Habbo 10-year anniversary video interview with Co-Founder Sampo Karjalainen and CEO Timo Soininen.

From a Hobby to an International Phenomenon
The Habbo Hotel story began in 1999 when founders Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä, both in their 20s, created an online application called “ Mobiles Disco”. It was purely a hobby, a kind of graphical chat site for friends’ band, and it quickly gained lots of fans in Finland and around the world. Karjalainen and Kyrölä decided to develop the idea further and used it in an advertising campaign for a Finnish mobile operator in February 2000. It was a simple snowball fight game, but it became the beginning of Habbo Hotel.

At this time, Karjalainen and Kyrölä were also thinking about virtual payments, and created the Habbo Hotel micropayments business model. The company, Sulake, was founded in May 2000, and “ Hotelli Kultakala”, the original Finnish Habbo Hotel, opened a couple of months later.

The first international Habbo Hotel opened in the UK in early 2001, and over the next couple of years the company founded most of the current Habbo Hotel sites and language versions. Over the past few years Sulake has further expanded its reach by making the virtual hotel service and local payment methods available in new countries, which now total 32.

The Secret is…Continual Development!
Habbo Hotel is one of the oldest active teen online services in the world and it is still growing. Habbo’s success factor has been its continuous development and commitment to make the user experience better. The goal has always been to keep the service fresh and relevant by frequently introducing new features and gaming elements, arranging engaging campaigns, enriching the virtual economy and payment models and nurturing the community.

The site’s persistent efforts to stay current have always been strongly influenced by user feedback and deep insight into teenagers’ lives, whether it’s about their values and attitudes, purchasing behavior or brand preferences. Updated on a yearly basis, the Global Habbo Youth Survey examines the interests and online habits of Habbo Hotel’s vast audience and provides an enormous amount of information on the world’s teens.

Habbo Hotel also regularly surveys and polls its users, asking about various hot topics. To celebrate its 10-year anniversary, Habbo asked its users about the future of social online services and internet usage in general. The findings reveal an array of interesting predictions from nearly 50,000 teens globally.

Future Outlook is Upbeat
Sulake, the company behind Habbo Hotel, recently announced the best quarterly financial results in its history. With Q1/2010 sales up 25% compared to the same time last year, Sulake expects revenue growth to continue at the current rate and to maintain healthy profitability. A decade of continual development and rigorous work combined with favorable market growth is now paying off for the company.

All Habbo Hotel 10-year anniversary press images can be found here.

For more information, contact Sulake Press.

Generation Z Reveal Expectations for a Digital Future in Global Study by Habbo Hotel

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:02:00 +0200

- Young people share their views that will shape trends in content consumption, online safety and interactive education

•    A third of young people never pay for content online whilst on the internet
•    Generation Z doesn’t see a place for traditional print media in the future, but TV and radio will remain important
•    61 per cent feel online safety will become increasingly important

Helsinki, Finland, June 14, 2010 -- Research conducted worldwide to mark the 10th anniversary of teen virtual community Habbo Hotel, reveals how the internet will continue to impact the future of today’s teenagers. Over 49,000 digital natives aged 11 - 18 shared their predictions of how the internet will shape content consumption, online safety, language and education in the future.

A Digital Content Diet
As the debate over how to make money from online content continues, it is clear that for the generation who has grown up in a digital playground, the future is mostly free. Almost a third (32 per cent) of respondents stated that currently they never pay for content, whilst a further 26 per cent are only willing to pay if there are no free channels available. In Spain and Italy 48 per cent of teenagers claim to never pay for content, compared to the UK where only 21 per cent are determined to access all of their content for free.

Once young people have accessed their content, sharing doesn’t seem to be a big priority, with only 23 per cent of respondents regularly sharing content online and 39 per cent rarely or never sharing. Of those that do share, the majority of content shared is music (54 per cent), games (35 per cent) and images (35 per cent).

Habbo Hotel residents expect to access content through a range of mediums, with the majority unable to imagine a world without traditional TV or radio. The TV also joins the mobile phone as the device that Generation Z would be most upset to live without – ranking higher than content streaming or the downloading of MP3s.

However, whilst the TV remains a relevant and important medium to this media-savvy generation, traditional print media (newspapers, magazines and books) won’t fair as well with 55 per cent of respondents saying that they will be extinct either very soon or some day in the future. Only 18 per cent feel that printed media will always have a place.

Digital Safety
Online safety is a concern for Generation Z. The survey findings show that schools and parents have the most influence in terms of educating young people about responsible and safe online behaviour. The Habbos surveyed stated that they learn most about online safety at school (29 per cent) or with family (20 per cent). Friends only represented 10 per cent.

55 per cent explained that they feel fairly safe in most online environments, yet 19 per cent state that they don’t feel safe in lots of online spaces. 61 per cent of those teens questioned felt that online safety would become increasingly important in the future; whilst a quarter feel it will be as important in the future as it is now.

A Digital Community
For Generation Z, interacting online is second nature and is as important as interacting in the real world. Over a third (34 per cent) of those surveyed thought that in the future physical meetings would decrease to be replaced with online interaction. When asked about where virtual worlds could be utilized in the future, 55 per cent of respondents said ‘home’ – suggesting that we may soon be creating a virtual home where we interact with our families online rather than just visiting a virtual world.

The study also shows how teens are incorporating a new internet vernacular within their vocabulary. SMS and online chat abbreviations are being used alongside more traditional language. Over a third of those surveyed (34 per cent) felt that the informal language they use online could be transferred into offline situations and used as they grow up. 29 per cent still believe that they need to speak more formally in offline contexts while 31 per cent felt that they needed to stop using abbreviations outside of the internet.

Beyond the impact on language, the teens questioned felt that the internet is having an impact on education, with 46 per cent of teens believing that virtual worlds will one day be used regularly in schools. Teens also prefer the digital approach to learning with 43 per cent of those questioned finding it easiest to learn from the internet. Only 16 per cent chose books as their preferred way of learning new things whilst 38 per cent liked to use a combination of the two.

With 64 per cent of the teens questioned claiming that online interaction has improved their confidence, it comes as no surprise that Generation Z are building social networks beyond those which are physically within reach - the majority of teens having between 100 and 200 online friends.

"This global study provides a clear indication of the way the internet is impacting the lives of Generation Z and how it will go on to shape the future. In the past ten years we have seen the digital landscape change dramatically and it is the current generation of teenagers who are at the forefront of this," says Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake.

For more information contact Sulake Press.

Sulake's Habbo Hotel Reports Strong Growth in First Quarter of 2010

Thu, 20 May 2010 07:34:00 +0200

- Company Behind Pioneering Social Game Habbo Hotel Posts its Best Quarter Ever

Helsinki, Finland – May 20, 2010 - Sulake Corporation, the parent company of Habbo Hotel, the world's largest virtual community and hotel for teenagers, today announced its best quarterly financial results in the company’s history. Between January and March 2010, Sulake’s revenue increased more than 25 percent compared with the same period last year, resulting in sales of $20 million (€14.7 million). The strong revenue growth, combined with operating model improvements and cost savings in the final quarter of 2009, has also led to a significant increase in the company’s profits. Sulake’s EBITDA in Q1/10 totaled $3 million (€2.3 million, 15 percent of revenue).

Habbo Hotel is currently open in 32 countries in 11 different languages. More than 15 million unique visitors spend a total of 45 million hours playing Habbo Hotel each month.

Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake commented:

“Habbo Hotel's solid growth this quarter has been a result of our continual new and relevant features, exciting campaigns and monetization improvements to the Habbo virtual goods economy. Better Habbo user experience has also led to increased viral recommendations and a larger user base. Additionally, our activities and presence on social networking sites like Facebook, and other new acquisition partnerships have contributed to our growth. Also, the global online advertising market recovery resulted in solid growth in our ad sales business.”

At a time when many online services are still searching for sustainable revenue models, Sulake’s outlook is upbeat, as the company expects its revenue growth for this year to continue at the current rate and to maintain healthy profitability, as well as positive cash flow.

Sulake’s 10 years' experience with continual service improvements, attentive community nurturing, inventive virtual goods and multiple international micropayments is now paying off. With its current effective operations and user focus, Sulake is ready to take advantage of the persistent online market growth both in virtual goods and in ad sales.

Sulake’s 2009 revenue was $60 million (€49 million), approximately on par with 2008, despite the year’s difficult economic conditions. The numbers were also affected by a substantial technology transition from Shockwave client technology to Flash and operating model improvements related to restructuring costs.

For more information, please contact Sulake press.

Global Habbo Hotel Fashion Survey Reveals: Lady Gaga top teen fashion icon

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 06:18:00 +0200

• Top teen fashion icons also include Paris Hilton, Gisele Bündchen and Miley Cyrus
• Nike, Adidas & Puma rule in teen fashion brands

Helsinki, Finland, April 28, 2010 – To coincide with the launch of the international fashion design competition Habbo Runway running in April-May, the world’s largest teen virtual community Habbo Hotel conducted a global fashion survey to look into teen fashion consumption patterns, top brands and fashion icons of teens today. The survey was conducted in over 31 countries, with over 60,000 respondents.

Habbo Runway is a global fashion event, during which millions of Habbo Hotel users take part in various beauty and fashion related activities and events. The campaign’s highlight is a global fashion design competition where teens around the world get to design their own clothing lines, with the winning designs included in the Habbo clothes catalogue. The global competition is judged by teen fashion icon Miley Cyrus.

Teen’s favorite fashion icons
According to the survey, the top fashion icons for teens are Lady Gaga, Paris Hilton, Gisele Bündchen and Habbo Runway star Miley Cyrus. Lady Gaga was the number one fashion icon for both boys and girls, in all countries surveyed, excluding Spain where Ronaldo took the number one spot. The icon to fill the number two slot varied between girls and boys, with boys ranking Michael Jackson next on the list, whilst for girls Miley Cyrus was next after Lady Gaga.

Fashion is a very important aspect of teens’ lives, with nearly 70 per cent of all respondents stating so. A vast majority (82%) also state that they enjoy shopping for fashion, with slight differences between girls (92%) and boys (74%). Over half (56%) of the respondents say they shop for clothes, shoes and accessories at least every couple of weeks.

Fashion has a strong influence on teen life
A third of the survey participants say that the latest fashion trends always impact on the way they dress, with 47 per cent saying that trends make an impact sometimes, but they don’t always look to the latest trends. The survey results highlight that compared to European countries, fashion trends have a bigger impact in South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru.

Teens also seem confident when it comes to new, different styles, with 72 per cent of all respondents saying they wouldn’t be afraid to try out something different in fashion. 45 per cent also see themselves as trendsetters, always being the first to try out new fashion styles.

Fashion inspiration
Clothes shops (46%), friends (37%) and magazines (37%) are the first places where teens look for fashion tips, with TV and the internet following closely behind. The top three online sources of inspiration consist of clothing store websites, fashion brands’ own web pages, and fashion blogs. Fashion blogs are more popular among girls, with 34 per cent following them actively, compared to only 19 per cent of boys. In contrast, boys are more enthusiastic than girls to take fashion tips from social networks such as Facebook.

The top teen fashion brands
The global results show that Nike, Adidas and Puma are the top three fashion brands for teens, with H&M following in fourth place. For the girls, the top three brands were Adidas, H&M and Nike, compared to the boys who preferred Nike, Adidas and Puma.

Check out one of the Habbo Runway campaign pages on Habbo.com. You can check out your local campaign group pages by logging in to your local Habbo Hotel!

Press images can be found in the Sulake image bank.

For more information please contact Sulake PR.

Habbo Hotel Fashion graphs - for larger files click on the images!

Teens are more willing to friend and actively support brands online

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 01:23:00 +0200

- 72 per cent of teens say they are willing to friend a brand in Habbo Hotel compared to 40 per cent of adults on Facebook

Helsinki, April 26, 2010 – Habbo Hotel, the worlds largest virtual community for teens, discovers that brand friending for teenagers online is a powerful way to build brand advocacy.

Brands play a key part in how teenagers define their interests and beliefs and it seems this association is just as strong online as it is offline. Today’s teenagers don’t differentiate between the online and offline worlds and brands that engage and involve teens are just as likely to form a part of their digital persona, as they are a part of their real life identity.

In January 2010 Habbo Hotel asked over 5,300 teens what they thought about brands appearing in their favorite digital spaces. The Habbo Hotel survey was influenced by FEED Razorfish’s annual study, charting how technology is changing the way consumers engage with brands. FEED asked 1,000 connected adult consumers about their opinions on how online brand activity influences their decisions. The Habbo Hotel survey revealed that adults and teens think very differently about brands and branding in online environments with younger consumers willing to more actively engage if the brand conversation is relevant.

The biggest differences between adults and teens were seen in their willingness to associate themselves (“friending”) with brands online. 72 per cent of teens say they are willing to friend a brand in Habbo Hotel compared to 40 per cent of adults on Facebook. In Habbo Hotel this applies especially to branded items.

Not only are more teens friending brands but they are far more engaged as well. Compared to 70 per cent of Facebook or MySpace’s connected adults, some 92 per cent of teens want to take part in brand activities or contests in Habbo Hotel. Moreover, 40 per cent said they have produced content for these brand activities, which matches Habbo’s experience.

Perhaps even more impressive is how teenagers are willing to continue showing their allegiance long after a brand promotion has finished. Some 93 per cent of Habbo Hotel teens continue to show their loyalty through showcasing branded badges or virtual goods long after the event. This high degree of loyalty defies the rapid brand switching culture of today and provides indications as to the long-term value of branded content in the form of virtual goods as a new marketing platform.

“Teenagers are a pretty discerning bunch and gaining their support and loyalty can be tough for brands. They live their lives as much online as offline, which gives brands an ideal opportunity to engage with this hard to reach group,” says Phil Guest, Executive Vice President of Global Advertising Sales, Sulake. “Engagement happens when relevant brands involve rather than interrupt. We see this happening in Habbo Hotel everyday, where unrivaled levels of engagement are measured in many ways including the level of friending and brand conversations.”

Download the Habbo Hotel “A Teenager’s Brand Experience” survey results.

Habbo Hotel press images: www.sulake.com/press/image_bank.

For more information, please contact:
Phil Guest, EVP, Global Advertising Sales, phil.guest@sulake.com or press@sulake.com.

About the survey
Habbo Hotel’s survey “A Teenager’s Brand Experience” was conducted anonymously on Habbo.com, Habbo UK, Habbo Canada, Habbo Singapore and Habbo Australia during January 2010. The survey was promoted within the site content and only fully completed surveys were included in the results. Over 5,300 teens and tweens mainly between 13-16 took part in the survey.

Miley Cyrus kicks off Habbo Runway - Global Designer Competition

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 07:00:00 +0200

Helsinki, Finland, April 21, 2010 – Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest virtual community has turned into a fashion house, as the Habbo Runway campaign launched with a search for the best Habbo Fashion Designer. The competition will be judged by multi-platinum Hollywood Records' recording artist and teen fashion icon Miley Cyrus, who kicked off the campaign.

Habbo Runway is a global fashion campaign, taking place in all 31 Habbo Hotel communities around the world. A celebration of teen creativity, during the four weeks of fashion campaign, millions of Habbo users will be able to participate in various beauty and fashion related activities. The campaign’s highlight is the fashion designer competition, as all Habbo users around the world will have the chance to compete for the title of the Best Habbo Fashion Designer.

After local competition rounds and user voting, Habbo’s fabulous celebrity judge Miley Cyrus will select and announce the global winner. In addition to fame and fortune in the virtual community, the winner will get his/her winning clothing designs produced and released as Habbo Hotel virtual clothing, available to millions of users around the world.

“I’m honored to choose the global winner and crown the Best Habbo Fashion Designer! I’m looking forward to see lots of creativity and innovative designs throughout the challenge,” Habbo Runway’s judge Miley Cyrus comments.

Check out the Habbo Runway campaign group page on Habbo.com.

To access Habbo Runway press images go to Sulake Image Bank.

About Miley Cyrus:
Miley Cyrus is a multiplatinum recording artist and is the youngest ever recording artist with four #1 albums in less than three years. Cyrus stars in the hit Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana,” which is currently in production in its fourth season. She also stars in the feature film “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which topped the box-office on its opening weekend. She currently stars in the drama “The Last Song” scripted by Nicolas Sparks. She is also the best-selling author of Miles to Go, her first book that shares her inspiring story, spanning from her Southern roots in Tennessee to the excitement of her record-setting triumphs in TV, music and film.
www.mileycyrus.com
www.myspace.com/mileycyrus
www.facebook.com/mileycyrus

Habbo Hotel and Facebook are now connected

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:17:00 +0200

- World’s largest teen virtual world is now easily accessible for all Facebook users

Helsinki, Finland, December 22, 2009 -- Today, Habbo Hotel announced that the world’s largest virtual world and community for teenagers is connected to the world’s largest social network site. Through Facebook Connect, Habbo users (Habbos) can easily find their Facebook friends in Habbo Hotel and share their in-world experiences.

All 31 of Habbo Hotel’s international communities are now connected to Facebook. 15 million monthly visitors to the virtual world can share their Habbo experiences on the popular social network; from checking into the Habbo Hotel, building rooms, training pets and sending gifts. Brands creating engaging in-world content will also see their campaigns extended with in-world activity into the Facebook communities of their target audience.

Habbos spend currently on average 43 minutes per visit and through Facebook friend feeds awareness of the virtual world is expected to grow significantly. Joining the virtual world through Facebook is incredibly easy as new users can sign up simply through the Habbo Hotel FB application. With no need to register, Facebook users have instant access to the virtual world to name, dress and style their avatar and chat with friends. Both new and old visitors to the virtual world will find it easy to connect with Facebook friends, as they will automatically show up on their Habbo friend list.

"Combining the Habbo virtual world with real-life Facebook friend networks is a very exciting step for us,” says Timo Soininen, CEO, Sulake. "Facebook makes it easy to find and stay in touch with friends, while Habbo takes playful real-time interaction and meeting new people to a completely new level inside Facebook. Habbo is all about meeting friends and having fun together and the Facebook connection gives this a totally new meaning. Also brands wanting to engage with our international Habbo communities will benefit from the increased viral effect."

Habbo Hotel will soon be connected also with many other social networks and web services, including MySpace, Yahoo! and Google.

Habbo & Facebook press images:
Habbo FB login
Habbo frontpage in FB
Habbo room in FB

Check out your local Habbo Hotel in Facebook:

Habbo Hotel offers teenage marketing insight through new conversation measurement tool

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:38:00 +0200

"Habble" will provide fly on the wall marketing insight into the hard to reach under-18’s demographic

Helsinki, Finland, December 11, 2009 – Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest virtual world for teens, today introduces a new measurement tool that will provide marketers with insight into the level of conversations taking place about their brands in the virtual environment.

The global Habbo community currently consists of over 155 million registered avatars with the majority of users being under 19 years of age. Habble enables marketers to track the level of online conversations taking place about their brands amongst these young people, providing the insight to measure the effectiveness of marketing communications to this media savvy group.
Habble enables marketers to measure brand names, slogans or key phrases over a defined period. The data is updated daily and displayed and analysed in a chart that maps peaks of activity.

Habble was recently piloted for MTV International during a campaign promoting the MTV European Music Awards. After the campaign commenced in September, Habble showed that conversations around the awards were up by 371% in the UK and 762% in the Netherlands.

Habble has been developed to help advertisers measure the value return from advertising within Habbo Hotel and is used in conjunction with existing metrics such as click-through rates, time spent, friending levels and impressions. Brands not directly engaging within the virtual world can also use Habble to analyse teen perceptions amongst product categories. This allows brands to see conversation levels related to messages targeted at young people, which could help shape future marketing plans.

All conversations remain anonymous and brands using the tool do not have access to personal information relating to Habbo users. Habble monitors the level of brand mentions and then cross-references them with other measurement data to see if messages are getting through.

Teens today expect to engage with brands online and are aware of online marketing and advertising campaigns. Habbo research shows that 75% of users accept advertising promotions in Habbo and 56% tell their friends about promotions they have seen; 17% say they do this often.

Phil Guest, SVP Global Ad Sales at Sulake, comments:
"Habble helps brands understand if a message is getting through. To engage with young people brands first need to become part of the conversation and this new tool provides another level of insight to this hard to reach demographic. It is helping our advertisers understand the value of running advertising promotions in Habbo Hotel, not only showing the uplift from a promotion but more interestingly, the continued discussion long after the brand promotion has finished. Knowing this, brand marketers can build on the conversation by engaging brand advocates to spread the word."

Habble press images:
Highres
Lowres

Introducing Bobba Bar, a virtual bar on-the-go

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:46:00 +0200

- Bobba Bar is now available for the iPhone / iPod touch, Nokia Smart Phones and other S60 devices

Helsinki, Finland, November 9, 2009 – Social entertainment company Sulake today announces the launch of Bobba Bar, a virtual bar for the mobile phone. The service - a first of its kind - is available now at iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch and at Nokia’s OVI store for Nokia smart phones and at GetJar and www.bobba.com. Bobba Bar’s exciting bars, cafés and clubs provide a fun environment for over 17 year-old mobile phone owners to make friends and date with people from all over the world.

The launch of Bobba Bar is a continuation of Sulake’s past mobile experiments, including research project Mini Friday and Bobba beta for Nokia phones. Based on user feedback, the service has been crystallized into an easy-to-use social meeting place. It is also a natural extension to Sulake’s Habbo Hotel, the world’s largest teen virtual hangout.

Bobba Bar’s simple user interface makes talking to other bar guests incredibly easy; users simply tap in text, which appears as speech bubbles on other users’ phones. Bobba Bar users can create their avatars from a large amount of designs for the face, body, hairstyle, skin colour and clothing; altogether there are over a billion combinations to choose from. Each avatar is easily customised with life-like outfits or more unusual and quirky accessories.

The Bobba Bar virtual environment is navigated with simple gestures like tapping, panning and pinching on the iPhone. Bar guests can add friends to their friend list, invite friends by using SMS, email and Twitter, and send messages to each other. Visitors can also get free virtual drinks by chatting to the virtual bartenders.

“We’re really excited to launch our new mobile virtual bar,” said Sampo Karjalainen, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Sulake. “As the first virtual hangout for the iPhone, iPod touch and Nokia smart phones, Bobba Bar makes it fun to meet and make friends on-the-go.”

Bobba Bar is a free download. In the near future Sulake plans to provide virtual content purchases inside Bobba Bar.

- Ends –

To download Bobba on your iPhone, iPod touch, Nokia Smart Phone, or other S60 device, visit www.bobba.com.

Bobba press images can be downloaded from the
Sulake press image bank.

For more information please contact:
Sampo Karjalainen, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer,
+358 50 382 7321, sampo@sulake.com

Juhani Lassila, Director, PR & Communications,
+358 40 541 2365, press@sulake.com

Details Revealed as the 'Twilight Saga: New Moon' Takes Over Habbo Hotel

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:19:00 +0200

- Interactive Experience to Include Virtual Items and Chats with Cast Members Hosted by the Largest Global Virtual World for Teens

Los Angeles – November 5, 2009 - Summit Entertainment and Habbo Hotel, the largest virtual world for teenagers, today revealed new details for the exclusive The Twilight Saga: New Moon-themed activities, rooms, virtual goods and much more planned to kick-off at Habbo Hotel this week to celebrate the highly anticipated release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon on November 20.

Beginning November 6, log in to Habbo Hotel or join for free by going to www.habbo.com and clicking on the “Register Now” button. Habbo Hotel will introduce The Twilight Saga: New Moon-themed virtual items and activities throughout its 31 communities worldwide. Users will have the opportunity to decorate their online rooms with virtual goods based on the film, including a dreamcatcher, a piano, the Volturi crest and a table topped with a birthday cake and gifts.

To show support for all the activities happening in Habbo Hotel, a select actor from The Twilight Saga: New Moon is scheduled to log in, which may be announced or may be a surprise, to check out the festivities and conduct an in-world chat. You never know who may be stopping by Habbo Hotel during the festivities. Will it be your favorite Twilight Saga character? Log in and don’t miss out.

“Habbo users have been very vocal in expressing their interest in the Twilight Saga film series,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, president, North America, Sulake Inc. “Our goal is to provide a fun and easy-to-access online venue for Habbo members around the world to meet up and share their excitement for the upcoming movie, The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

There are currently Habbo Hotel communities in 31 countries on six continents. To date, more than 151 million Habbo characters have been created and nearly 14.6 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month making it the largest virtual environment for teens anywhere in the world.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon is directed by Chris Weitz and stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. In the film, the romance between mortal and vampire soars to a new level as Bella Swan (Stewart) delves deeper into the mysteries of the supernatural world she yearns to become part of—only to find herself in greater peril than ever before. Following Edward Cullen’s (Pattinson) departure from Forks, Washington, Bella discovers his image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. In time, Bella’s frozen heart is gradually thawed by her budding relationship with Jacob Black (Lautner) who has a supernatural secret of his own.

The action-packed, modern day vampire love story Twilight, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception. The third film in the franchise, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, is due in theaters on June 30, 2010.

Download press images here. For more information contact Sulake PR.

About Summit Entertainment, LLC
Summit Entertainment, LLC is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio. The studio handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures. Summit Entertainment, LLC also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product. Summit Entertainment, LLC plans to release 10 to 12 films annually.

Habbo Hotel and MTV International partner to bring the MTV Europe Music Awards to the world's largest teen virtual world

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:25:00 +0200

Helsinki, October 14, 2009 -- MTV International and Habbo Hotel, a virtual world for teenagers, today announced a global partnership that will extend the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) to the virtual world. With its 14 million monthly unique visitors, Habbo is the world’s largest virtual world and online community for teens.

From September 21, in conjunction with the opening of voting for the nominees in all categories of this year’s MTV Europe Music Awards, Habbo launched a MTV EMA-themed virtual space within all Habbo communities worldwide. Habbo users have the opportunity to visit the virtual MTV EMA space, vote for their favourite artists, and join their friends in activities and competitions around the world-famous MTV Europe Music Awards event.

The Habbo virtual environment provides a unique opportunity for teens to interact and hang out with other music fans. The campaign in Habbo includes MTV EMA branded spaces, such as the main stage, lounge, red carpet and back stage areas, and Habbo users can take part in different themed activities and competitions. From the Habbo user’s perspective the highlight of the campaign may well be their chance to win a virtual MTV Europe Music Award, which they can show off to all their Habbo friends. A select amount of these virtual awards will be awarded to participants in the campaign’s events.

"Music is the sole biggest asset that our teens users value in their lives, and thus we are extremely happy to partner with MTV Europe Music Awards,"said Christian Batist, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sulake Corporation. "The highly involving activities in Habbo will allow us to activate a massive music-loving user base to take part in the awards. We aim to generate massive amount of votes for the MTV Europe Music Awards from our Habbo audiences around the world."

There are currently Habbo communities in 31 countries on six continents. To date, over 148 million Habbo characters have been created and close to 14 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month. (source: Quantcast). More than 90% of Habbo users are 13-18 years old and the gender split is roughly equal (56% boys; 44% girls). Habbo users spend an average of 43 minutes on the site per visit.

Check out an example of a Habbo EMA group page (UK example).

Download Habbo EMA press images:
Awards ceremony low-res
Awards ceremony high-res

Awards, close up low-res
Awards, close up high-res

For more information contact Sulake PR.

About the MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards is one of the world’s most prestigious live music events. In 2008, the EMAs generated more than 4 million unique visitors to www.mtvema.com and over 100 million online votes.
The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards will be broadcast live in the following countries : Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

About MTV Networks International
MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTVNHD, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Flux, Paramount Comedy, Comedy Central, Game One, Neopets, GameTrailers, Shockwave, Addicting Games, Atom Films and Xfire. MTV Networks' brands are seen globally in 578 million households, in 162 countries and 33 languages via 168 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 400 digital media properties. The company's diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

Habbo Signs with Cint to Build Youth Panels Across the Globe

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:00:00 +0200

Helsinki, September 24, 2009 - - Sulake, the company behind Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teenagers, has signed an agreement with online research company Cint to build youth panels across the globe. The panels are already available to access in Cint Panel Exchange, a global platform for managing online panels where market researchers can login and buy access to online sample in a secure, controlled environment.

Habbo has so far set up and started recruiting 32 panels across Europe, North and South America and Australia. The response from their members has been impressive with over 60,000 members joining their Brazilian panel in the last two months, 15,000 in the US and over 10,000 in the UK and Germany. Habbo can already claim to have one of the largest teen panel networks in the world and the number of members grows daily.

Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight at Sulake, comments:
“Not only have we added another revenue stream for Sulake, we now have the opportunity to survey our members around the world and find out more about their opinions and preferences. We also see this as an excellent way to provide another appreciated service, which reinforces our brand with our members.”

Lauri Löfveblad, Cint Country Manager for Sweden, Norway and Finland says:
“This is an exciting opportunity to offer our clients access to teenagers. This next generation of consumers is a group, which until now has been a difficult for researchers to find, particularly in an environment which is in compliance with market research industry guidelines. What’s great about this opportunity is that Habbo earns an income from the panel activity, while their members appreciate receiving credits that can be used in their local Habbo community.”

About Cint
Cint is a software company that produces and sells market leading, innovative online research products for businesses and organizations involved in market research. The company specializes in SaaS, web-based software offering efficient, user friendly online sample management and access, as well as online panel management products that are accessible worldwide 24/7. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Cint has offices across Europe and the USA.

Cint’s rapid growth is due to Cint Panel Exchange which was launched in 2004. The platform is the only open marketplace for conducting online research where panel owners and sample buyers can buy and sell access to 10,000’s of individuals every day. All users of the platform work in a controlled environment for conducting high quality online research that often exceeds industry guidelines. Today you can access over 2 million panelists in more than 30 countries direct from your computer.

The company has an extensive list of clients and partners spanning most of the large market research groups, the main panel providers, media and web-based companies, branding, PR and advertising agencies, plus medium and small market research agencies, and other software companies that provide services to the market research industry.

Habbo study: teens worried about the economy and their future

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:26:00 +0200

•    73% of the worlds teens are worried about the global economic situation
•    59% fear they will have difficulty finding employment
•    45% have been persuaded to carry with their studies due to difficulty finding a job
•    50% know somebody who has been made redundant

Helsinki, 16 September 2009. Research conducted by Habbo, the largest virtual world for teenagers, has revealed the impact of the economic downturn on teens’ lives around the world. Over 61,000 teenagers aged 12-17 from over 30 countries were surveyed to garner their thoughts on what the falls in the global markets mean for them.

Despite the stereotypical view of carefree youngsters, the economy is preying heavily on teens’ minds, with 73% revealing that they are worried about the current global situation. The highest rates are found in Brazil and Portugal (89%), Singapore (88%), Spain and Latin America (86%) and the US (84%). The study showed only minor differences between younger and older respondents; the older were only slightly more worried than the young.

Study or get a job?
As teens make their way into adulthood, thoughts naturally turn to their future and whether to pursue further education or to enter employment. Finding a job has never been easy and 59% of teens are worried it will now be even harder. Teens in the Spanish-speaking Habbo world are the most worried about their prospects with 80% expressing concern, followed by Brazilians and Portuguese with 78%, and Singaporeans with 77%.

Fears of gaining employment are encouraging 45% of teens to carry on with their studies (76% are currently students). The countries with the lowest levels of prospective students are Finland with 19%, the Netherlands with 24% and Sweden with 25%. Conversely the highest rates are found in Brazil, Italy, Spain and Portugal, all with 60%.

Cash worries
The recession hits close to home for teens, with 50% knowing someone who has been made redundant. The US has the highest rates with 69% and Norway the lowest with 33%. When it comes to making cutbacks, 52% percent have noticed a change in their family’s spending habits and 36% have noticed a change in the weekly shopping budget.

With fluctuations in their family’s spending power, some teens are receiving less pocket money and as such have had to change their behavior. Globally 51% of respondents say that their parents are giving them less spending money or they don’t receive any money. As a result 41% of teens say they are consciously spending less. Spanish teens are being the most cautious (66%) compared to only 19% of Swedish teens.

Shopping for clothes and accessories is the first thing that teens cut back on with 23%, followed by console and PC games (19%), food, sweets and beverages (16%), going to the movies (15%), online entertainment (13%) and music (9%). However, staying in is clearly not an appealing option to teens as only 33% say that they are in more in the evenings.

How long will it last?
Although teens are generally worried about the economic climate, they’re not that keen to discuss all the doom and gloom, with 39% saying they don’t talk to anyone about it. When it comes to thinking how long the situation will last, 15% predict that recovery will come in less than a year, 44% believe it will happen between 1-2 years, 27% think 3-5 years and 15% think it will take over 5 years.

“Despite the stereotype of teenagers only being interested in themselves, they are far more aware of the economic, political and social climate than people give them credit for,” said Emmi Kuusikko, Director, User and Market Insight, Sulake. “Our research shows that they have deep concerns about their future prospects given the levels of instability that we currently find ourselves in.”

Summit Entertainment and Habbo Partner to Bring the Twilight Experience to the Virtual World

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 07:05:00 +0200

Producers of the Popular Film Series and the Largest Virtual World for Teenagers to Create Engaging Virtual Brand Experience

LOS ANGELES – September 2, 2009 – Summit Entertainment and Habbo, the largest virtual world for teenagers, today announced an exclusive, first-time global partnership that will extend the Twilight film franchise and brand experience to the online virtual community of Habbo. The deal will provide Habbo licensing rights to produce virtual furniture and accessories for the Twilight series of films.

Beginning this fall, in conjunction with the release of The Twilight Saga: New Moon (November 20, 2009), Habbo will launch a New Moon-themed virtual space within Habbo’s 31 communities worldwide. Habbo users will have the opportunity to decorate their personal rooms with virtual goods from the Twilight series of films.

“Habbo’s understanding of the teen online audience means they can build a unique virtual experience for their users and increase the scope and interaction of the brand with our fans,” said Jack Pan, executive vice president of Marketing for Summit Entertainment. “This is the first time Summit has partnered with a virtual world, so we wanted to be sure to work with a company with a proven track record for providing exciting, engaging activities.”

The Habbo virtual environment will provide a unique opportunity for teens to interact and hang out with other fans of the Twilight film series. It will include the creation of movie-branded rooms, new movie-related virtual items, activities and polls.

“Habbo is an established promotional platform for entertainment properties. We are extending Twilight’s brand presence online and creating innovative interactions between the biggest, most successful movie franchise for teens and its primary audience,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, executive vice president, Marketing and Business Development, Sulake Corporation and president, North America, Sulake Inc. “The campaigns within Habbo will allow us to link fans of the Twilight film series to their favorite movie series in a multitude of meaningful ways.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 31 countries on six continents. To date, over 142 million Habbo characters have been created and more than 13 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month. (source: Quantcast). More than 90% of Habbo users are 13-18 years old and the gender split is roughly equal (56% boys; 44% girls). Habbo users spend an average of 43 minutes on the site per visit.

ABOUT SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
Summit Entertainment is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio. The studio handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures. Summit Entertainment, LLC also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product. Summit Entertainment, LLC plans to release 10 to 12 films annually.

Mika Salmi Appointed Chairman of Sulake, the Company Behind the World’s Largest Teen Virtual World Habbo

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:12:00 +0200

- Digital Entertainment Pioneer and Visionary, Mika Salmi, Delivers Deep Media Industry Knowledge to Sulake’s Board of Directors

Helsinki, Finland/Los Angeles, California -- August 6, 2009 – Sulake, the company behind Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teens, has appointed Mika Salmi as chairman of the Board of Directors as of June 2009. With his long and successful career in digital entertainment, Salmi is a great addition to Sulake’s current international expertise in casual virtual worlds and social media.

Most recently, Salmi was president of Global Digital Media for MTV Networks/Viacom, where he oversaw more than 1500 employees in 60 countries and worked across MTVN’s many brands, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and 30 others.

Previously, Salmi founded Atom Entertainment, one of the world’s first online entertainment companies. The company was sold to Viacom in 2006.

Throughout his career, Salmi has been at the forefront of new digital entertainment developments. He started in the music business in 1988, discovering and signing Nine Inch Nails, which went on to multi-platinum success, won several GRAMMY® Awards and most recently pioneered the digital distribution of its music direct to fans. In the early 1990s while working for EMI Music, Salmi was among the first Western music executives to explore opportunities in post-communist Eastern Europe. He was early to jump onto the Internet, first at his job at Sony Music in 1994 and then as an early employee at RealNetworks in 1996.

“Mika Salmi is an excellent addition to Sulake’s Board and we are delighted to announce his appointment as the chairman,” said Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake. “Mika has a long and impressive track record in the interactive entertainment industry and he is one of the online pioneers and visionaries. His insight into industry trends will bring great value to Sulake’s future strategy.”

“Social entertainment is the convergence of social networking, gaming, virtual worlds and real time broadcasting,” said Mika Salmi, chairman of the Sulake Board. “Already a leader in virtual worlds and online communities with Habbo, Sulake is perfectly positioned to lead this new and rapidly developing converged business with innovative products, a profitable business model and an effective global operation.”

Mika Salmi was born in Finland and lives and works currently in San Francisco, California. Check also the complete bio of Mika Salmi.

Download image of Mika Salmi:
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For more information please contact: press@sulake.com.

Seventeen Magazine and Habbo.com join forces to offer teens fresh and fun activities online in the virtual world

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:48:00 +0200

- Best-Selling Teen Magazine and the Largest Virtual World for Teenagers to Provide Tips and Tricks on Dating, Fashion, Beauty, Fitness and Much More!

LOS ANGELES – June 10, 2009 – Seventeen Magazine and Habbo.com have teamed up this summer to bring Seventeen.com’s content exclusively into the world’s largest virtual world for teenagers. Over the next several months, Habbo.com is featuring articles from the Seventeen Web site, as well as hosting special in-game events, fun quizzes and polls, advice from the Seventeen editors, surprise celebrity chats and more.

Habbo.com and Seventeen will showcase exciting, teen-friendly topics from dating to health & fitness and back-to-school fashion. Teens that visit Habbo.com can register and hang out in the Seventeen branded Beauty Salon (at no cost) to get the latest dating secrets, share beauty and fitness tips and hear the scoop on the hottest celebrity gossip. Seventeen will also invite surprise celebrity visitors to Habbo.com to answer Habbo users' questions.

When Habbo users join the in-game Seventeen group, they can download the current Seventeen magazine cover as wallpaper for their home pages. In addition, visitors to Habbo can take part in lively forums, win cool prizes and link back to Seventeen.com for even more great stuff.

“During the summer months, when teenagers may be away from their friends, Habbo.com is a really fun and safe online destination for our readers to socialize and meet new people,” said Ann Shoket, editor-in-chief, Seventeen. “Teens can share everything they have learned from Seventeen about dating and fitness and prepare to go back-to-school with the latest styles.”

Teens can interact and explore the thousands of destinations within Habbo’s safe online community. With proprietary monitoring software and more than 200 adult moderators, Habbo is a fun and secure place for teenagers.

“Seventeen has its finger on the pulse of the teen. And Habbo research shows that it is the most popular magazine among our female readers,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, executive vice president, Marketing and Business Development, Sulake Corporation and president, North America, Sulake Inc. “ This relationship allows Habbo to bring in-world the articles and topics our user base will already be talking about to merge their real lives with their virtual ones.”

ABOUT SEVENTEEN
Seventeen is the best-selling monthly teen magazine, reaching more than 13 million readers every month. In each issue, Seventeen reports on the latest in fashion, beauty, health and entertainment, as well as information and advice on the complex real-life issues that young women face every day. Readers can also interact with the brand on the digital front, with Seventeen mobile (m.seventeen.com). In addition to its U.S. flagship, Seventeen publishes 13 editions around the world. Seventeen is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, with nearly 200 editions around the world, including 15 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in the United Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (70.6 million total adults, according to MRI, Fall 2008).

Habbo Global Youth Survey 2009 reveals the brands at the forefront of teens’ minds

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:08:00 +0200

Helsinki, June 3, 2009. The Global Habbo Youth Survey (GHYS) Brand Update 2009 conducted by Habbo, the largest virtual world for teenagers, has revealed the relationships teens around the world have with brands. The research reveals teen attitudes to brands and highlights their preferences from a range of categories including consumer electronics, clothes, sportswear and media consumption habits.

112,000 teens from over 30 countries took part in the survey, which is a follow-up to 2008’s GHYS, published a year ago. These new results reveal deeper understanding of what teens think of brands, along with the properties that are hitting the mark in 2009.

Brand values
The relationship that teenagers have with brands is complex; the survey indicates a number of contradictions typical to teenagers. The majority of teenagers (63%) will nearly always buy their favourite brand with just over a quarter disagreeing with this statement. However when asked if brands influence their purchasing decisions, whilst over a third (35%) said brands do, half agreed this wasn’t the case.

Teenagers do view brands in general positively: over half (52%) prefer the most popular brands, 60% don’t dislike brands (42% strongly disagreed with this statement) with 45% staying loyal to their favourite brands. The survey intimates that trust and familiarity is an important factor when choosing brands as over half (53%) said they did not prefer less well-known brands but, encouragingly for newcomers, a quarter said they do.

Brands and Self Expression
The importance of ensuring relevancy when targeting teenagers is highlighted by the majority of respondents (61%) who prefer brands that are targeted at them. Status is the most important attribute brands can offer teenagers. 42% cite that they prefer brands that make them look well off and over a third (34%) claim it’s important that others see what brands they are wearing. This was further reinforced by the number of teens (48%) who don’t prefer to buy clothes where the branding is not visible.

Standing out from the crowd is the second most important attribute a brand can offer with 38% of teens indicating that this is important. A third (30%) like to use the same brands as their friends but half (51%) disagreed with this statement.

Across markets these brand attributes have different degrees of importance. In the US and UK brands are used to express individuality and for standing out from the crowd. For many other countries that participated, the opposite rings true: brands are used to showcase membership of a certain group.

“The teenage years are developmentally very important when moving into adulthood,” said Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight, Sulake. “Status is important, being recognised for who you are and what you stand for. Brands provide means to show which group you belong to and which you do not want to be associated with. For the youth, brands play an important part of helping to build their identity and self image among their friends.”

“Targeting this young audience is often key to brands’ success, as teenagers are beginning to take responsibility of their own consumption habits. Although teens are often seen as fickle, the brands that they align themselves with stand to gain as they grow up,” Kuusikko comments.

Global brand rankings:

Some sportswear brands are doing well, Roxy, Billabong and DC, are rising up the ranks. The brands’ associations with surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding mean they are linked to sports that rely on the skill of the individual, which offers teens a way of building their status. On the other hand, traditional team sports such as football (supported by brands such as Nike and Puma) rely on the abilities of the team and are less linked to an individual’s style.

Elsewhere in apparel, girls tend to favour high-street buys, with H&M, Zara and Roxy being their top three preferred brands; with Zara moving up the ladder. Sportswear brands, even though slipping, do still resonate strongly amongst boys, Nike and Adidas remain in first and second place respectively (although both have lost share), whilst Lacoste has moved up the rankings in boys’ clothing.

About the research
The research was conducted within the virtual world, Habbo, and the total amount of respondents (after data cleaning) was 112,000. The research was conducted during April 2009 and results on favourite brands are based on answers written in open text fields. Over 30 countries were surveyed and statistical weighting was employed to give all participating countries an equal weight in the global results.

Research is available from the Sulake Web Store http://webstore.sulake.com

Sulake reports strong growth and profits for 2008

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:00:00 +0200

Helsinki, March 30, 2009 – Sulake Corporation, the parent company of Habbo, the world ‘s largest virtual world for teenagers, broke all previous records with sales 20% up in December 2008. As a result the company reached an annual revenue milestone of 50 million Euros (74 million USD) leading to profit; 4.8 million Euros (7 million USD) of EBITDA and a positive net result.

By year-end the Habbo community had also grown: 121 million Habbo characters had been created and the number of returning visitors increased by over 40%. Traffic to the virtual world also reached an all time high in December with over 11,5 million unique visitors.

Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation explains:

“Our success in 2008 was a realization of the hard work we have put into Habbo. Constant site updates, usability improvements and a refresh of avatar clothing and accessories have all contributed to boosting our user experience and numbers. More teens than ever are visiting Habbo and they are staying longer.”

“We are confident that our Habbo business model, which is based primarily on user sales and supported by advertising, is a clear strength in the current economic climate. We do see opportunity to grow our advertising revenue with advertisers looking for targeted and cost effective social media solutions. Furthermore, IRC-Galleria, our social networking service for young adults, has continued to grow both in user and advertising revenue.”

In 2009 Sulake aims to continue driving growth and profitability. In addition, the company plans to extend its product portfolio into new platforms and target audiences with the launch of a new service later this year.

For more information, please contact:
Outi Henriksson, Chief Financial Officer, tel. +358 40 5455810
Juhani Lassila, Director PR & Communications, tel. +358 40 541 2365, press@sulake.com

Virtual world Habbo switches off for Earth Hour 2009

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:35:00 +0200

Helsinki, March 24th, 2009 – Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teens, is supporting the WWF’s global climate change initiative Earth Hour 2009. The campaign encourages individuals, businesses, governments and communities to turn off their lights for one hour on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM.

Habbo’s millions of teen users are all urged to take part at home by switching off their lights, computers and television sets. All Habbos taking part will be rewarded with specially designed badges for their avatar and stickers to use on their profile pages. To further spur users into action, the Habbo virtual world itself will not be accessible in all countries for the duration of Earth Hour.

According to a global Habbo survey of 75,000 of its users, almost 75% of the teens pledged to support Earth Hour 2009. 51% of Habbos were already aware of Earth Hour, and it is hoped that they use the educational materials available in Habbo to further spread the word throughout the virtual world.

Teenagers are very conscious of climate change issues, and the survey shows the vast majority of them (over 80 %) believe that movements like Earth Hour really do make a difference.

Check out one of the local Earth Hour campaign Habbo group pages.

Download the Habbo Earth Hour campaign image here:
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For other press images go to: Habbo / Sulake press images.

About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour on Saturday March 28, 2009 at 8:30 PM to show their support for action on climate change. The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities. www.earthhour.org

NBC.com brings 'Heroes' to Habbo's Virtual World

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:42:00 +0200

- The Leading Virtual World for Teenagers Creates New ‘Heroes’ Character

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – January 27, 2009 – NBC.com and Habbo, the largest online virtual world for teens, announced today the launch of a new, virtual ‘Heroes’ character, which was created by Habbo and will live on Habbo.com and ‘Heroes’ Evolutions, the on-air show’s interactive Web site at www.nbc.com/Heroes/evolutions/.

While following directions from a mysterious virtual messenger, the new character will take the audience on an adventure as she discovers the history of ‘Heroes’ through a journey that travels back and forth between Habbo.com and the ‘Heroes’ Evolutions site.

“We're excited to work with Habbo to introduce a new character that will extend the enormously popular and Emmy® Award winning ‘Heroes’ interactive story beyond the official Web site on NBC.com,” said Stephen Andrade, senior vice president, Digital Development and General Manager, NBC.com.

On Habbo.com, fans of the show will be able to interact with the new virtual hero through a variety of in-game activities. Habbos participating in a weeklong quest will discover their own special powers and will be recruited as new heroes. Those who successfully complete the mission will be awarded various virtual prizes.

On the ‘Heroes’ Evolutions site, the new virtual hero will be woven into several of the in-universe, interactive extensions of the on-air show, including a character profile, the Primatech Paper Assignment Tracker and new chapters of the ‘Heroes’ graphic novels.

"Habbo is taking an original approach to working with an incredibly popular TV show," said Teemu Huuhtanen, executive vice president, Marketing and Business Development, Sulake Corporation and president, North America, Sulake Inc. "By partnering with NBC.com, we are extending the 'Heroes' brand and connecting our audience to the television program in a unique and creative way."

The agreement was brokered by the William Morris Agency and marks the first time ‘Heroes’ has partnered with a virtual world.

About NBC.com
NBC.com, the Emmy Award-winning broadcast network website, is a leading online and mobile destination for television and interactive entertainment. With both derivative and web-exclusive programming, NBC.com pioneered the "360" experience with "Heroes 360," which gave viewers a way to extend their entertainment experience beyond the broadcast, and the first weekly social networking experience attached to a primetime entertainment program with "Dunder Mifflin Infinity." The site offers full episode streaming of many NBC Entertainment shows as well as short clips, interactive games and social networking, including user-generated content. NBC.com continually develops new ways for consumers to experience entertainment content on both existing and emerging platforms. The site is the recipient of multiple Emmy and Webby awards for its content and applications. Please log on to www.nbc.com to learn more.

FremantleMedia Enterprises partners with Habbo.com to bring American Idol center stage in the virtual world

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:49:00 +0200

FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, and Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teens, today announced a partnership that would extend the American Idol® brand to the online virtual community of Habbo. The deal will provide Habbo in-game merchandising and sponsorship rights for the American Idol brand.

Beginning in January, with the kick-off of the eighth season of American Idol, FME and Habbo will introduce an American Idol virtual world within Habbo.com. This partnership will enable the American Idol brand, and potential sponsors, to form an extended interactive relationship with Habbo’s U.S. audience of more than 3 million teens. The partnership is the first for American Idol with a teen virtual world.

Partners and sponsors will have the opportunity to connect with the top-rated television show’s fan base and the Habbo user base in a new way through customizable branded engagement within the Habbo world. Sponsors involved have the potential to be incorporated throughout the American Idol virtual world, including opportunities like sponsor-branded event signage, green rooms, as well as other virtual goods inspired by the show.

“Partnering with Habbo to bring a unique virtual experience to their teen user base is a wonderful opportunity for us to deepen the user’s association with the on-air show and increase the reach and interaction of the brand with our core viewers,” said David Luner, senior vice president, Interactive & Consumer Products, FremantleMedia Enterprises, North America. “’American Idol’ aligns itself with best-in-class partnerships, and Habbo’s understanding and connection to the online teen audience is an ideal match.”

The American Idol and Habbo partnership is a unique opportunity for new and existing American Idol partners to associate their brands with the American Idol brand/virtual world in Habbo. To help keep Habbos engaged throughout the 20-week long program, Habbo will introduce new virtual items and activities in-game each month as the on-air American Idol season progresses.

“Partnering with FremantleMedia Enterprises is a ground-breaking relationship for Habbo. We have the opportunity to present American Idol, its sponsors, and potential new partners unique access to extend their brand presence online and form a valuable and engaging connection with the hard-to-reach teen demographic,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, president, North America, Sulake Inc., the parent company for Habbo. “Brands are able to engage and creatively interact with teens in meaningful ways never done before online.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 33 countries on six continents. To date, over 121 million Habbo characters have been created and more than 11.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month. (source: Google Analytics). More than 90% of Habbo users are 13-18 years old and the gender split is roughly equal (56% boys; 44% girls). Habbo users spend an average of 45 minutes on the site per visit.

For More Information Please Contact:
Lauren Parr
Edelman, for FME
+1 (212)-704-5750
lauren.parr@edelman.com

Erik Fairleigh
Edelman, for Habbo
+1 (323)-202-1026
erik.fairleigh@edelman.com

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ABOUT FREMANTLEMEDIA ENTERPRISES & FREMANTLEMEDIA
FremantleMedia Enterprises is the brand extension arm of FremantleMedia, offering a one-stop-shop for all Licensing, Distribution and Home Entertainment. It is a division of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is a subsidiary of RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company, which is 90% owned by Bertelsmann AG, an integrated media and entertainment company that commands leading positions in the world's media markets. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com.

ABOUT “AMERICAN IDOL”
Now approaching its eighth season, AMERICAN IDOL continues to dominate the television landscape, averaging more than 30 million viewers per episode. The latest record-breaking installment of the nation’s most-watched television show laid claim to the most text messages ever received (78 million), as well as a mind-blowing 31.7 million viewers for its finale episode. AMERICAN IDOL is created and executive-produced by Simon Fuller, founder and CEO of 19 Entertainment; and executive-produced by Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO, FremantleMedia North America; Nigel Lythgoe, President, 19 Television; and Ken Warwick, Executive Producer, FremantleMedia North America.

ABOUT FREMANTLEMEDIA NORTH AMERICA
FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon “American Idol" (FOX), “American Idol Rewind” (syndicated), “American Idol Extra” (Fox Reality), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), “Celebrity Family Feud” (NBC), “The Osbournes: Reloaded” (FOX), “Hole In The Wall” (FOX), “Farmer Wants A Wife” (The CW), “The Phone” (MTV), “Rock The Cradle” (MTV), “Can You Duet” (CMT), “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” (Oxygen), “Match Game” (TBS), “Family Feud” (syndicated), “Million Dollar Password” (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, “The Price Is Right” (CBS).

ABOUT 19 ENTERTAINMENT
Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment (of CKX, Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ National Market® under the ticker symbol “CKXE”) is recognized as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful music-based entertainment, or “entertainment brands.” The company has attracted a unique collection of expertise in people who work together to integrate and leverage activity across television, film, touring, merchandising, music publishing, recording, artist / writer and producer management, sponsorship and promotion. Simon Fuller is the most successful British music manager of all time having sold over 116 million CDs in North America alone, and is known as the creator of “ American Idol,” the most valuable TV format in the world with an estimated value in excess of $2.5 billion. For further information, visit www.americanidol.com.

Habbo Introduces Dual Currency Economy

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 08:54:00 +0200

- Users Can Now Buy Virtual Goods with Credits or Rent Virtual Effects with ‘Pixels’

Helsinki, December 10, 2008 - Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teenagers, today announces a dual economy in the virtual world. From now on, Habbo users will be rewarded for spending time on the site with ‘pixels’, a currency that allows users to rent a diverse range of special effects for their avatar and virtual room.

The ‘pixel’ economy compliments the existing ‘credit’ system; Habbos can exchange real money for virtual credits in order to buy items such as virtual furniture (furni), clothes and accessories. Pixels and credits can also be used together to purchase special items.

The simple way to earn pixels in Habbo is by logging in regularly – the longer you stay online the more pixels you earn. Habbos also receive pixels by completing ‘Achievements’ (in-world tasks), and by joining the Habbo Club (a paid-for members club).

Users can rent a number of special effects to invigorate their virtual rooms and avatars for a set period of time. New effects include hover-boards that let Habbos glide around the virtual world, a ‘frozen’ avatar that turns a Habbo into a moving block of ice, or bubble machines that blow bubbles into virtual rooms. The pixel economy will be constantly developed based on user feedback.

Sampo Karjalainen, the co-founder of Habbo comments, “Habbo has always encouraged users to express their own creativity. Credits allow users to buy innovative and exciting clothes, furni and accessories to personalise their virtual experience.” He continues ”Now pixels let Habbos rent new accessories and effects, to create a constantly changing and engaging virtual environment and I really look forward to seeing how this experience is adopted by the users.”

Thousands of teens to take part in the Habbo Global Peace Gathering to mark the UN International Day of Peace

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 08:24:00 +0200

32,000 teens participate in Habbo and War Child research to reveal:
•    81 per cent of teens globally are worried about conflict
•    92 per cent of teens feel it is important for governments to intervene to stop existing conflicts
•    A quarter of teens believe they will not experience a 3rd World War in their lifetime

Helsinki, September 18, 2008 - Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teenagers, and War Child are staging the world’s largest online gathering on Friday 19th September. Raising awareness of the impact of conflict on young people, the gathering will allow teens to show their support for the UN International Day of Peace on Sunday 21st of September.

To mark this day Habbo and War Child conducted a worldwide poll to explore young people’s views on conflict. Over 32,000 teens, in 32 countries participated in the poll, revealing the importance of this issue to teens around the globe. The poll explored the fears and concerns shared by teenagers, and their awareness of conflicts such as war in Iraq, and opinions of issues such as government aid, asylum and military service.

Seven teens with whom War Child have been working with in Uganda will also take part in the virtual event, and will share their experiences of living and working in regions that have encountered conflict.

“We work with young people who have been impacted by conflict and who often do not have a platform to make their own voices heard” comments Nivi Narang, Campaigns Director, War Child. “This survey has given teenagers a platform to voice their opinions and understanding of global issues. 68 per cent of teens who took part in the survey were aware that people as young as seven are fighting as soldiers in some conflicts in the world.”

Many of the teens (41 per cent) asked thought that they would see a Third World War, in their lifetime. The survey also revealed that 92 per cent feel it is important for their governments to intervene to stop existing conflicts.

As well as giving young people a platform to discuss their worries and concerns, the survey revealed teen opinions on how governments can work together to tackle these problems. According to the survey, the majority of teens think that the UN is the most responsible for helping to stop children become victims of war (57 per cent).

The research was commissioned to coincide with the Habbo Global Peace Gathering, an event that will allow teens around the world to unite in support for the UN International Day of Peace.

“According to our survey, over 50% of teens globally think that social networking sites should be used to raise awareness of important issues, and are more effective than real-world marches or petitions submitted to governments,” comments Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake. “Teens around the world are passionate about serious subjects and they are using new communication tools, such as virtual worlds and social networks, to make their voices heard.”

For more information visit http://www.habbo.com/groups/peacegathering

About War Child International
War Child believes it is unacceptable that children continue to be victims of war and yet 66% of people who die in conflict are, in fact, children. War Child is an award-winning charity that protects children affected by war. We work with children who have been hit hardest by the joint forces of poverty, conflict and social exclusion. Our groundbreaking work with former child soldiers, street children and children in prison has supported and helped thousands who would otherwise not have been able to reintegrate with their community, gain access to education and enjoy sustainable livelihood support.
For more information visit www.warchild.org.uk

Habbo Selected by AlwaysOn as an AO Global 250 Winner

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 03:00:00 +0200

Recognized for game-changing technology and market value

Los Angeles (July 17, 2008) – Habbo, the largest global virtual community for teens, today announced that it has been chosen by AlwaysOn as one of the AO Global 250 Winners. Inclusion in the AO Global 250 signifies major developments in the creation of new business opportunities in the global technology industries. Habbo was specially selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team and other industry experts spanning the globe, based on a set of five criteria: innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value, and media buzz.

Habbo and the AlwaysOn Global 250 Top Private Companies will be honored at the AlwaysOn & STVP Summit at Stanford scheduled to occur on July 22-24, 2008 at Stanford University. This two-and-a-half day executive event highlights the significant economic, political and commercial trends disrupting the global technology industries and features the most innovative companies, eminent technologists, influential investors and journalists in keynote presentations, panel debates and private company CEO showcases.

Fifty of the top CEOs from the AO Global 250 will present their market strategies to a panel of industry experts in a “CEO Showcase.”

“The AO Global 250 winners have excelled in key strategic areas in the global technology markets,” said Tony Perkins, founder and CEO of AlwaysOn. “We congratulate them for their success in introducing new tools, services, and platforms that are driving the next phase of innovation and creating real value at an economically uncertain time.”

The AO Global 250 was selected from over hundreds of companies, nominated by a panel of industry experts in the online technology, media, entertainment, enterprise and greentech sectors from around the world.

“Habbo is pleased to be included in the AO Global 250 this year and delighted that AlwaysOn recognizes our industry leadership, achievements and growth over the last year,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, EVP, marketing, ad sales and business development, Sulake Corporation and president, North America, Sulake Inc. “Virtual worlds are evolving daily as future-looking brands better understand the value of online social media and how to best use it as a communications vehicle. Over the past eight years, Habbo has grown and developed expertise in this arena, and we will continue to leverage our experience to benefit our partners and users.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 32 countries on six continents. To date, more than 103 million Habbo characters have been created globally and 9.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: ComScore).

A full list of all the AO Global 250 winners can be found on the AlwaysOn Web site.

About AlwaysOn:
AlwaysOn ignited the open-media revolution in early 2003 by being the first media brand to launch a community blog network. In 2004, AlwaysOn continued to lead the industry in innovation by engaging its bloggers in a social network. AlwaysOn is also revolutionizing the media business by applying its open-media principles to its executive event series (Stanford Summit, OnHollywood, OnMedia, GoingGreen, NordicGreen, and Venture Summit East and West) and quarterly print “blogozine”. No other media brand has dared to create such open interaction with its readers and event participants.

Habbo Reaches 100 Million Registered Avatars Worldwide

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:25:00 +0200

The Leading Online Virtual Community for Teens Reaches Century Mark Milestone for User Created Characters

Helsinki (June 26, 2008) - - Habbo, the world’s largest virtual community for teenagers, announced today that its 100 millionth avatar has been created. As a pioneer in the virtual world landscape, Habbo has steadily grown its teen audience since launching in 2000. Currently Habbo attracts close to 10 million monthly visitors to its services worldwide.

The 100 millionth avatar was created by a Habbo user in UK. As a gift to celebrate the milestone, Habbo presented the lucky teen special virtual Habbo prizes including a tailor-made Habbo room with some extremely rare items as well as a wealthy amount of Habbo coins. In addition, the 100 millionth Habbo gets to work on creativity ideas with a brand new MacBook Air laptop computer.

“During the past eight years, Habbo has maintained its vitality by listening to its users’ wishes and by adapting the service to meet Habbo’s needs,” said Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake, the parent company for Habbo. “We humbly recognize the fact that Habbo is essentially our user’s own place and our role is to build and maintain a fun environment for them.”

During the last six months, Habbo has seen an amazing growth of nearly 20 million registered new users. A successful site redesign in late 2007 including e.g. lots of enhanced features for new users, various marketing and in-game campaigns, celebrity appearances in various countries are just a few factors credited for this amazing growth.

“This is an important landmark for Habbo,” added Timo Soininen. “Attracting 100 million Habbos is a testament to how user generated content and activities in a fun cartoony setting create a compelling service and experience for teens. We have also lots of exciting plans for the future, and look forward to watching how Habbos engage with the world around them.”

Originally introduced in Finland, Habbo has now expanded to 32 communities in countries across six continents. Globally, Habbo has nearly an equal split between boys and girls; 70 percent of users are 13-16 years old and 64 percent visit Habbo every day. On average, Habbos users spend about 39 minutes per visit to the site.

Read more about the Habbo history.

Double Fusion Connects Advertisers with Millions of Teens in Habbo's Virtual World

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 07:13:00 +0200

The Leading Virtual World for Teens Offers Unique Online Advertising Opportunities

Los Angeles (April 7, 2008) – Habbo, the premier and largest global virtual community for teens, announced today that Double Fusion, the leading independent in-game advertising firm, is now the exclusive advertising sales agency for the Habbo.com property in the US. Double Fusion will manage media sales and coordinate in-game, integrated marketing campaigns that position brands in an exciting and authentic way to Habbo.com’s massive and hip teen audience.

As the exclusive advertising representative for Habbo.com, Double Fusion will handle advertising sales, sponsorships and promotional opportunities with brands seeking to reach Habbo.com’s growing base of 2.4 million unique visitors per month (source: Comscore). Utilizing their extensive sales experience in 2D and 3D environments for in-game advertising and marketing campaigns, Double Fusion will work with advertisers from the entertainment industry, retail, fashion and sports arenas to create relevant and interactive brand campaigns. By integrating branding elements into its virtual world, Habbo builds exposure and increases awareness without the use of intrusive ads. The partnership aims to build campaigns that support the Habbo experience, and that organically grow due to the community support.

“Habbo teens are savvy and insist on interacting with brands in a way that is both fun and enhances the online experience, and Double Fusion is unique in its ability to blend traditional media with immersive online campaigns which our users will enjoy,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, Executive VP, Marketing, Ad Sales and Business Development, and President, North America, Sulake Inc. “ Over 200 advertisers have used Habbo globally and the trend is growing. The average Habbo user spends nearly 40 minutes on the site per visit, which provides a rich foundation for a company seeking to build an identity in a virtual world environment.”

Leveraging Habbo’s virtual world for real world branding, advertisers can execute a variety of marketing initiatives, including in-game billboards, contests, interstitials and instant-console messaging, customized brand rooms, sponsored quests, – all of which create a natural integration that adds value and appeals to teens.

“Double Fusion understands the power of Habbo, and the richness and depth of the audience and environment,” said Jonathan Epstein, president and CEO, Double Fusion. “The virtual world environment is a natural extension of our vast experience building both sponsorship and media programs in the gaming landscape.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 32 countries on six continents. To date, more than 94 million Habbo characters have been created globally and 9.5 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics).

About Double Fusion:
Double Fusion is the game advertising expert. The company brings together the leading in-game ad serving technology, the broadest network of games across a wide variety of genres, and a sales force that has helped create and evolve the in-game advertising industry. Double Fusion provides marketers and their advertising agencies with the broadest range of in-game, around-game and web-based solutions with which to engage and sell the valuable and hard-to-reach gamer demographics. Double Fusion is privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Jerusalem, London, and Tokyo. More information on Double Fusion is available at www.doublefusion.com.

For more information, please contact:

Erik Fairleigh
Edelman Public Relations, for Habbo
323-202-1026
erik.fairleigh@edelman.com

Sibel Sunar/Brian Rubin
fortyseven communications for Double Fusion
323-658-1200
sibel@fortyseven.com / brian@fortyseven.com

Habbo’s second Global Youth Survey reveals the digital profiles of teens online

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 10:23:00 +0200

Leading Virtual World for Teens Surveyed Over 50,000 Youths Worldwide on Brand Preferences, Spending Habits and Other Topics

Helsinki, Finland, 3 April 2008 - Habbo, the largest virtual world for teenagers, today unveiled the results of its second Global Habbo Youth Survey. Examining the interests, values, attitudes, online habits of a global audience, the survey reveals teens' current media usage, consumption behavior and brand preferences in order to better understand what compels youth around the world.

For the study, Habbo surveyed 58,486 teens between the ages 11 and 18 from 31 countries, and identified five clearly defined behavioral segments amongst the respondents. With each group representing approximately one-fifth of the total teens surveyed, the five groups were categorized and described as the following:

•    Achievers: Ambitious, strong minded and materialistic. They value material success and whilst having lots of friends do not consider other people's feelings as much as other segments
•    Rebels: Value gathering lots of experiences in life and enjoy a fast-paced lifestyle. Like Achievers they want to become “rich and famous”, but they are not willing to compromise on having fun in order to achieve this goal
•    Traditionals: Value having an ordinary life and see themselves as honest, polite and obedient. They are keen to help others but are less ambitious and pleasure seeking compared to other segments
•    Creatives: Share many of the same positive traits as Traditionals, but with a focus on creativity. They place value in getting a good education and being influential in life, but they are also active, social and have an interest in travelling
•    Loners: More introverted and less likely than other segments to identify with any specific personality traits. They rarely see themselves as active or self-assured, but are more open minded in their attitudes compared to Traditionals or Achievers

A major focus of the survey was how teens communicate today. 76 per cent of teens globally use the internet to Instant Message friends. Overall, Instant Messaging is the most popular communication tool in most of the countries. Though 72 per cent of teens still hold active email accounts, the majority of communication with peers is no longer conducted over email. The survey revealed that email is generally reserved by teens more for non-personal needs such as school or work, or correspondence with family members.

“According to the Global Habbo Youth Survey, the most popular global websites amongst teens are YouTube and MySpace,” said Emmi Kuusikko, Director of User and Market Insight for Sulake, Habbo's parent company “Of those surveyed, 50 percent responded that they forward humorous links and videos to their friends, while 30 percent regularly upload content, confirming the notion that teenagers have an active online presence.”

“Perhaps surprisingly social networks appear as relatively low online priorities for young people, as 40 per cent of teens do not view social networks as an important part of their online experience on a global basis. This is due to the English-language bias of most social networks but considering Habbo's global success this also suggests that the localisation of sites is important for teens communicating online. In countries where social networks are considered popular though they have become a regular communication channel between friends.”

Habbo has worked in partnership with leading brands that enter the virtual world to engage creatively with teens online. The survey showed that brand familiarity clearly affects teens' choices as consumers, with 74 percent saying that familiar brands guide their purchasing decisions. Reinforcing the brand familiarity findings, global well-known brands, such as McDonald's, Coca-Cola and Nokia ranked high for both boys and girls. Gender differences are more visible for example in clothing brands. According to the results, boys favor Nike, Adidas and Billabong as their top clothing brands, whereas girls preferred Hennes and Mauritz, Nike and Roxy.

A report of the Global Habbo Youth Survey 2008 is available to buy as a hard copy book of 250 pages. To place an order visit the Sulake webstore.

For inquiries and orders, please contact: marketinsight@sulake.com

Further survey results on different topics will be published in the sulake.com blog in the following weeks. The first blog concerns mobile phone usage among youth, you can read it here.

About the research
The research was conducted within the virtual world, Habbo, and the total number of respondents (after data cleaning) was 58, 486. The research was conducted between October and November 2007. 31 countries were surveyed and statistical weighting was employed to give all participating countries an equal weight in the global results. The results of the research are available on request.

Habbo Partners with William Morris Agency to Expand Entrance into the Entertainment Industry

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 08:00:00 +0200

New Partnership Will Provide the Leading Virtual World for Teens New Entries into Film, Sports, Television and Music

LOS ANGELES (February 6, 2008) - - Habbo, the largest virtual world for teens, today announced it has partnered with William Morris Agency, the world’s largest and most diversified talent and literary agency. Habbo is the first online virtual world the agency will represent in the rapidly growing digital entertainment industry.

To expand the virtual world’s reach into the entertainment industry, the William Morris Agency will help Habbo facilitate new strategic partnerships to generate cross-marketing and promotional opportunities. Additionally, William Morris will provide popular Hollywood and music celebrities for in-game interview appearances within the Habbo community.

“The William Morris Agency is the preeminent talent agency in the business,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, EVP, Habbo business and President, North America. “They will play a crucial role in expanding the Habbo brand across North America by initiating for us new relationships with advertisers in the entertainment industry and developing high-profile promotional opportunities.”

Working together, the William Morris Agency will leverage Habbo’s presence as the leading teen virtual world to develop new revenue-generating business opportunities with major studios, television and cable nets, record labels, and professional sports leagues, to name a few.

“As the Habbo community continues to increase, their audience will demand a mainstream in-game entertainment presence,” said Jim A. Wiatt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, William Morris Agency. “William Morris’ Digital Group will be a key partner helping Habbo develop ideal business and marketing opportunities with the leaders of the entertainment industry.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 31 countries on five continents. To date, over 86 million Habbo characters have been created and more than 8 million unique user’s worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Google Analytics).

About William Morris Agency:
Founded in 1898, the William Morris Agency is the leading talent and literary agency in the world, with principal offices in New York, Beverly Hills, Nashville, London, Miami Beach and Shanghai, China. The Agency represents clients in all segments of the entertainment industry, including Motion Pictures, Television, Music and Personal Appearances, Broadway Theatre and Theatrical Touring, Book Publishing, Commercial Endorsements, Sports Marketing, Corporate Consulting, Digital Media, and Video Games. The William Morris Agency can be found at http://www.wma.com.

Virtual Goods Get a Hollywood Makeover

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 12:00:00 +0200

Habbo, the Leading Virtual World for Teens, to Create Virtual Goods Inspired By Three Paramount Pictures Titles

LOS ANGELES, January 29, 2008 - Habbo, the largest online virtual world for teens, today with Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, announced a licensing agreement to create virtual goods based on titles including “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Beowulf”* and “Mean Girls.” The deal will provide Habbo merchandising rights throughout the U.S. and Canada for all three properties. The partnership marks one of the first of its kind between a major motion picture studio and a virtual world commodity.

Starting in February with the upcoming fantasy-adventure title, “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” Habbo will introduce into their North American community of more than 1.8 million teens items that include themed apparel to accessorize avatars, virtual furniture and accessories, as well as other virtual goods based on the movie. Habbo will follow up by producing themed virtual merchandise for the popular, previously released titles, “Beowulf”* and “Mean Girls” in the upcoming months.

“The Habbo audience demands that their community reflect today’s real world pop culture entertainment landscape,” said Teemu Huuhtanen, EVP, Habbo business and President, North America. “By establishing a licensing deal with a leading studio like Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, we are able to produce themed virtual goods relevant to the movies our teen audience is watching, while simultaneously implementing impactful promotional campaigns for the studio.”

“Many of our movie properties naturally lend themselves to unique and innovative opportunities in the traditional, digital and virtual worlds,” said Alex Carloss, Executive Vice President & GM of Worldwide Digital Distribution for Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment. “This agreement allows us to access Habbo’s exceptional virtual community and built-in audience base where users can extend and enhance the film experience with a suite of themed-virtual goods.”

There are currently Habbo communities in 31 countries on five continents. To date, over 86 million Habbo characters have been created and more than 8 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month. (source: Google Analytics)

For more information email: press@sulake.com.

About Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment:

Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies and DreamWorks Studios. PPC operations also include Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studios, and Worldwide Television Distribution.

* Produced by Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment

Habbo and Greenpeace survey reveals teens more concerned about greenhouse gases than drugs, violence or war

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 12:00:00 +0200

49,243 teens polled on their views towards environmental issues ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali from 3 to 14 December

Helsinki, Finland, 6 December 2007 - A new survey of nearly 50,000 teenagers from around the world today reveals that 74 per cent of teens believe that global warming is a serious problem and are more concerned about it than any other issue including drugs, violence or war. The results are being released as governments meet in Bali, Indonesia, for one of the most important UN conferences ever held on climate change.

The research conducted jointly by Habbo, the world’s largest virtual world for teens, and Greenpeace International examined the attitudes and behaviour of the global teen population towards environmental issues and gave teens a chance to speak out on the most pressing problem facing the world.

Governments come under scrutiny in the survey: teenagers believe that governments are lagging behind them in their level of concern over climate change. Whereas the teens surveyed regard climate change as more important than terrorism (56 per cent versus 46 per cent, respectively) they think that governments consider climate change a lower priority. 33 per cent think governments are ‘very concerned’ about climate change compared to 42 per cent who see governments being ‘very concerned’ about terrorism.

North America has come under the most fire, with 39 per cent of teens citing the continent as being responsible for the majority of greenhouse gases, followed by Europe (24 per cent) and Asia (19 per cent). Despite teens in every country pointing fingers at North America for the crisis (except in Asia where they blame themselves), a quarter of North American teens are still not sure if global warming is even a problem.

“The response from the teens to this survey conducted in Habbo is phenomenal and really highlights the concern felt around the world,” explains Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake. “Giving teens a voice on this matter is essential and we need to find practical ways to work together and engage our youth to help combat this problem.”

Although 64 per cent of teens believe it’s still possible to stop global warming, nearly 40 per cent don’t actually know what’s causing it or how to prevent it. One thing is clear though: teens do not regard this as a future problem; two thirds of those polled believe that global warming will affect their lives in a negative way.

“Today’s teenagers are tomorrow’s decision makers. They are ‘Generation C’ – the generation that has to beat climate change,” said Gerd Leipold, Greenpeace International Executive Director. “ It will be up to them to create a revolution in non-polluting, renewable energy to prevent global warming from affecting the lives of billions of people and threatening the survival of countless species of animals and plants.”

Scientists of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change say that emissions of greenhouse gases need to be halved globally by the middle of this century to avoid severe impacts such as water shortages, floods and the spread of diseases.

The 49,243 teens participating in the November 2007 Habbo survey came from 18 countries. Those completing the survey were given the option of finding out more about climate change at the ‘ Habbos against climate change’ campaign group page. 16,000 Habbos registered as the supporters of the group.

Habbo Ready for Next Generation with Refreshing New Design and Features

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:00:00 +0200

Helsinki, Finland, December 5, 2007 – Habbo, one of the world’s largest virtual worlds for teens, has unveiled its new-look website. The new design gives members easy access to their personal pages, friends and groups whilst providing new users with a simple introduction to the virtual world. With a wide range of new accessories, including hats, belts, jewellery and facial hair, teens can give their Habbos a revamp too.

The new site layout was based on research undertaken by Sulake into the features that its teen members most value. These include chatting with other users in guest rooms, making new friends and building new rooms. Quick menus and personal landing pages have been created to give them easy access to these important activities. For newcomers, the landing page provides an illustrated insight into the virtual world and simplifies registration to a one-step process.

In addition, there are a wealth of new customizable avatar features including gas masks, paper bags and hairstyles. Teens can now make dramatic changes to their appearance bringing another level of engagement to the world.

The launch of the new site is the latest milestone in the development of this seven year old virtual world, which now counts over 83 million registered characters.

Habbo's Avatar Count Rises to 80 million

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 07:06:00 +0200

Helsinki, Finland, October 25, 2007 – Sulake Corporation, the company behind Habbo, one of the world’s largest virtual worlds for teens, has announced that Habbo has hit 80 million created characters. The announcement was made in London at the Virtual Worlds Forum Europe yesterday.

In 2000 Habbo launched in Finland and has since grown into 31 country sites across five continents. On average, 75,000 members join each day and each user spends 32 minutes per site visit. The global community of teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17 have already created over 80 million characters and currently over 6 million unique users visit the site every month. But as co-founder Sampo Karjalainen explains this wasn’t always the plan:

“When we first created the idea behind Habbo it wasn’t our intention that it should be an online community for teenagers explicitly or that it would run for so long! The first version of Habbo (called Mobiles Disco) was a hobby project that myself and my partner, Aapo Kyrölä were working on, and one which we would only focus on for a month or two. But as the community grew based solely on word of mouth we of course could not take the service down.

“In 2000, when we officially launched Habbo in Finland, we realised that the majority of the community consisted of teenagers. On that basis we took a decision to continue to develop the site but only for teens. Now seven years on with 80 million characters created, it's clear that teenagers get more out of virtual world experiences and that we made the right decision!”

Peter Levin joins the Board of Directors of Sulake Corporation, the company behind the world’s largest teen virtual world Habbo

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:07:00 +0200

- Entertainment and sports industries veteran, Peter Levin, adds deep media knowledge to Sulake’s top management

Helsinki, Finland / Los Angeles, California -- September 5, 2007 – Sulake Corporation, the company behind Habbo, one of the world’s largest virtual worlds for teens, has appointed Peter Levin to join its Board of Directors. Peter has been selected to build on Sulake’s business development, marketing and entertainment expertise. He started in his new role on August 22, 2007.

Currently Peter serves as president and co-founder of Bellrock Media, producer and distributor of online and mobile content in the United States and in Japan. He is a veteran of the entertainment and sports industries, and worked for many years in the Corporate Advisory Group of CAA with a client list that included Matsushita Electric Industry Company, Sony, Nike, The Coca-Cola Company and Credit Lyonnais. In 1996, Levin joined The Walt Disney Company in the Corporate and Strategic Planning Groups and later joined Disney Online as a senior producer. Leaving Disney in 1998, Levin became managing director of investment and consulting vehicle, Lynx Technologies. Lynx’s investments included Applied Semantics (sold to Google 4/03), Gamespy Industries (sold to IGN 12/03), Ask.com (sold to IAC 3/05) and Atom Entertainment (sold to Viacom 8/06).

“We are delighted to announce Peter’s appointment to Sulake’s Board of Directors. As an online entertainment and media company, Sulake has focused on engaging teenagers and online marketers in all parts of the world,” said Jussi Nurmio, chairman of the Sulake Board. “With Peter’s deep industry knowledge and insight we believe we can continue to produce cutting-edge entertainment products and services that will enhance the Habbo subculture to an even greater degree.”

“In the era of web 2.0, teenagers are an acutely influential group who rapidly share ideas and information across borders and constantly drive new trends,” said Peter Levin, member of the Sulake Board. “The delivery of such an attractive and elusive demographic to entertainment, sport and marketing partners in a contextual package is a unique proposition. I am excited to have joined an organization which, in addition to entertaining teens, empowers them with the tools to entertain themselves.”

Peter Levin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Double Fusion, Power Challenge and the Arena Football League. He also serves on the steering committee of The East/West Sports Council. Levin is the founder and co-owner of the 2006 World Champion Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League and is the managing partner of Palisades Baseball, which owns and operates two Minor League Baseball franchises.

Download image of Peter Levin: www.sulake.com//gallery/people/Peter_Levin_high_res.JPG

Hooray for Habbowood! Digital Movie-Making Awards Beckon Filmmakers of the Future

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 07:55:00 +0200

- Habbo issue call to action for teens across the world to partake in the global animated Digital Movie Awards
- Spaghetti Westerns are out and action comedy is in, as Habbo announces results of international teen film poll of 32,000 teens

4 September, 2007 – Quiet on the set, lights, roll cameras - action! The time is at hand for bedroom filmmakers across the world to enter the inaugural Habbowood Digital Movie Awards 2007. Habbo, the largest virtual world for teens challenges youngsters to take to the director’s chair and create, share and star in their own animated movies.

The finalist in each country will be entered into a global heat, where they will be judged by an expert panel from the world of animation and Computer Generated visual effects (VFX), including Matt Johnson, VFX Supervisor at world leading film visual FX house, Cinesite; Award winning 2DTV animator, Tim Searle and Jim Thacker, the editor of 3D animation bible, 3D World. Antti Jokinen, who has directed funky music videos for greats such as Missy Elliot, Kelly Clarkson and Amerie will also cast his vote.

32,000 teens reveal recipes for film success in online poll

To mark the opening of the awards, Habbo has conducted an international film poll of nearly 32,000 teens to gauge opinions of the ‘secret-sauce’ behind a winning film. The majority of respondents (32 per cent) voted poor story lines as the greatest cause of bad films, followed by terrible acting (18 per cent).

With Habbo filmmakers in the director’s chair, future film audiences can say goodbye to The Good the Bad & The Ugly and The Sound of Music – and hello to Hogwarts. Westerns (34 per cent) and Musicals (31 per cent) received the majority of votes for the least favourite film genre and the most popular film was Harry Potter with 18 per cent of votes. Don’t be surprised if rough & tumble howlers play a large role in The Digital Movie Awards: comedy and action came out on top as teens’ most popular film genres with 61 and 54 per cent of votes respectively.

Winning Habbo goes to Hollywood

Unlike its offline counterparts, The Habbowood Digital Movie Awards are judged democratically by the Habbo community, which has 7 million unique users per month. The most viewed movies in each country will be entered into a global finale where in the beginning of October an overall winner will be awarded a star studded trip for two to Hollywood.

Matt Johnson, Cinesite said: “You only need to spend a little time within Habbo to see the incredible amount of creativity and enthusiasm for film that teens have. The prize and the international prestige of being the winner of the Digital Movie Awards should hopefully raise the bar even further.” Cinesite is a critically acclaimed visual effects house responsible for making “impossible” effects “real” through CG artistry and effects on blockbusters such as The Golden Compass, and the Harry Potter films.

The Habbowood MovieMaker tool will allow teens to render a romantic remake of Gone With the Wind, or a sequel to Harry Potter with magical explosions. A wide range of sets, props, FX and soundtracks are available, and directors are tasked with every aspect of filmmaking - from writing witty dialogue down to the body language of the actors. Viewers can ask to be a friend of acknowledged directors and users can promote their or other films by inviting friends to view their or other movies or watch the current top movies of the community. As well as showcasing movies on Habbo, teens are able to post their movies to external sites, such as myspace.com.

Habbo opened the doors of Habbowood already last year in a global movie-making campaign. Habbos created over 700,000 animated short films which were sent over one million times and viewed over six million times by Habbo community members.

Habbowood MovieMaker and the Digital Movie Awards can be found on local Habbo pages at www.habbo.xx/habbowood.
UK: www.habbo.co.uk/habbowood
US: www.habbo.com/habbowood

Watch these sample movies to get an idea of Habbowood:
“In the mood for love”:
http://www.habbo.com/entertainment/habbowood/movies/622

“The Cokeymonster”:
http://www.habbo.com/entertainment/habbowood/movies/350

Download Habbowood and other Habbo/Sulake press images at:
www.sulake.com/press/image_bank

Sulake enters the social networking market - acquires a highly successful social networking service in Finland with intention to launch internationally

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:17:00 +0200

- The company behind easy to use virtual world Habbo expands its product portfolio and becomes the largest online community company in the Nordics.

Helsinki, Finland, April 23, 2007 –- Sulake Corporation, the company behind Habbo, one of the world's largest virtual worlds for teenagers, takes a strong step towards the social networking scene by acquiring Finland's leading social networking service IRC-Galleria. The acquisition makes Sulake the biggest company in online communities and virtual worlds in the Nordic region. Sulake's online services now reach more young people than any other media in Finland.

Sulake's long-term goal has been to broaden its product portfolio with new online services, which can be launched internationally by utilizing the unique international network Sulake has built for Habbo. Currently Sulake has offices in 19 countries with a staff of over 300, over 150 payment methods in 32 countries, global hosting centers as well as distribution and marketing partners all over the world.

The objective of the deal is to launch a new social networking service based on IRC-Galleria concept to carefully selected countries using Sulake's infrastructure and experience. The IRC-Galleria concept has localized versions already in Russia, Estonia, Lithuania and Germany.

Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation: "Sulake's objective is to become a major global player in online entertainment by focusing on virtual worlds and social networking services. We want to build a portfolio of products, which offer a wide range of social interaction services and entertainment for different target groups and for different user needs. Our new service IRC-Galleria fits this goal perfectly. The company behind the service and its skilled employees together with Sulake's current resources gives us a magnificent opportunity to build up a new internationally successful social networking service. Sulake has managed to make Habbo one the most spectacular success stories in the area of virtual worlds and communities and I'm confident we can do this again."

Taneli Tikka, CEO of Dynamoid comments: "Our service has always been about real and active users. Our average user spends more than 20 hours in the service monthly, which is over ten times more than an average user in MySpace. An active IRC-Galleria user spends more than 35 hours per month using the service. Being a part of the Sulake group gives us a perfect chance to develop our business for international markets. We are thrilled about the opportunity to join the international network that Sulake offers."

2.2 billion monthly page impressions in IRC-Galleria

IRC-Galleria is by far the largest and most used social networking service in Finland. The site is visited by more than 850 000 Finns every week (source: TNS Metrix) and the service has over 415 000 active members. The site receives an astonishing 2.2 billion monthly page impressions, which makes it one of the most active online communities in the world.

IRC-Galleria is an interactive service where users can e.g. post and share their photos and music on their own customized site, joint different communities and communicate with people in many ways. Currently the members are on average 19.5 years old and over half of the registered are over 18. Basic usage of IRC-Gallery is free, but users have an option to purchase additional services and enhancements. The service can also be used with a mobile phone. (wap.irc.fi)

Finland: http://irc-galleria.net
Russia: http://my-gallery.ru
Germany: http://ircgalerie.net
Estonia: http://minugalerii.ee
Lithuania: http://manogalerija.lt

Habbo has over 75 million registered avatars

Sulake's main product Habbo, one of the world's largest and most popular virtual worlds for teenagers, has already over 76 million registered avatars. Currently operating in 29 countries, the Habbo communities are visited by 7 million users per month, each user spending an average of over 30 minutes per session in the virtual world and community.

For more information, contact:

Juhani Lassila, Communications Director, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 40 541 2365, juhani.lassila@sulake.com

Press images: http://irc-galleria.net/press

Virtual World Habbo Teams Up With Earth Day Network To Encourage Teens To Go Green

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 10:17:00 +0200

- Earth Day Network Joins Online Community Habbo to Launch "Green Teen" Campaign to Encourage Teens to Spread the Word about Green Living and Celebrate Earth Day

Los Angeles, CA, April 4, 2007 – Sulake Corporation, parent company of HABBO, one of the largest and most popular online destinations for teens, announced today it has partnered with Earth Day Network (www.earthday.net) to launch an awareness campaign in North America to encourage teens to take part in being more eco-friendly in their daily lives. As part of the "Green Teen" effort, Habbo will feature tips for teens on green living from Earth Day Network, along with tips for greener schools. Habbo has also added a line of "Green Furni" to its selection of virtual furniture teens can use to decorate and personalize their online rooms. Between April 4th and April 22nd, 10% of the "green furni" sales from its North American sites habbo.com and habbo.ca, will go to Earth Day Network. The "Green Teen" campaign will last through April 22nd, in recognition of Earth Day.

"In a recent survey we conducted on Habbo, we found out that many of our users really care about the environment. We wanted to give them a real chance to help out in important ways, and in encouraging other teens to be more eco-friendly," said Teemu Huuhtanen, President, North America, Sulake Corp. "The Green Furni line is an interesting way to symbolize how important it is to be more aware of how they can help the environment, and the simple green living tips we will include are easy ways to make a difference. We are also very happy to be partnered with Earth Day Network in our campaign." Kathleen Rogers, president of Earth Day Network, added, "Today's teenagers are our biggest hope for the future of the environmental movement. Earth Day 2007 is the perfect opportunity to get our younger generations involved in the fight against climate change, and we are glad that Habbo has decided to promote green living during this month leading to Earth Day."

Habbo members will celebrate Earth Day with a virtual Earth Day rally held on the communities Lido Pool Deck April 22nd.

Earth Day Network and Habbo have created some tips for becoming a "Green Teen." They include:

Encourage your family to replace 10 old fashioned energy hungry light bulbs with new cool energy saving light bulbs - reduce your carbon footprint by 1500 pounds a year.
Start a recycling program for your school. If you already have one, evaluate the current program to find new ways to reduce waste and conserve more materials.
Create an environmental mascot for your school. Have an inner-classroom contest to see who can come up with the best mascot and slogan.
Organize a clean-up day for your school and the surrounding area. Beautification projects such as tree plantings are quick solutions to many common problems.
Walk or bike to school and invite your friends to join you. If you do not have bicycle racks or a safe route to school, tell your school and local officials to add bike racks, safety courses or clubs, and a pedestrian/bike friendly trail to school.
Turn off lights when you're not using them, along with other electronic items such as your computer, DVD player, or printer. You can go even greener by unplugging items you're not using.
Organize to have healthy food served at your school and reduce the availability of junk food, sodas, and other unhealthy options, as well as choosing reusable utensils, trays, and dishes in the cafeteria.
Take shorter or cooler showers because showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs.
On Earth Day, have everyone write down one way to help the Earth. Take them to your principal and start a daily Help the Earth PA announcement.

About Earth Day Network

Earth Day Network, www.earthday.net, seeks to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. It pursues these goals through education, politics, cultural events, and consumer activism. Current grassroots programs include the Climate Change Solutions Campaign, Campaign for Communities, and the National Civic Education Project. Earth Day Network works with more than 105,000 K-12 teachers in the United States alone. In 2006, EDN launched Earth Day Television, greatly expanding its reach to a global network of more than 15,000 partners and organizations in 174 countries. More than 500 million people participate in Earth Day civic activities, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

Habbo Takes Creativity and Self-expression to a New Level

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 06:21:00 +0200

- The world's fastest growing online community for teens introduces Habbo Home, uniting a virtual world and social networking in a completely new way

Helsinki, Finland, February 1, 2007 – HABBO, one the world's largest and fastest growing online destinations for teens takes on the social networking world by introducing a totally new and versatile feature, Habbo Home. This is the first time that a virtual world is tightly linked to a social networking site. Following Habbo's country roll-outs there will be customizable Habbo Homes available to all Habbo fans. Currently there are over 70 million registered Habbo community characters in 29 countries.

Habbo Home allows all Habbo community members to create their individual Habbo Home pages by customizing the layout and then adding their own innovative touches. The appeal of Habbo Home is that it gives community members a further opportunity for integrating personal expression with creativity. Now the members have a chance to express themselves and use their ingenuity in a completely new way. The Habbos' identity and favored activities within the online community are viewable to everyone from a centralized location. In addition, celebrities, artists, and select brands will also be invited to have official Habbo Home pages.

Social Networking Habbo Style

Habbo takes a gigantic leap towards social networking with the introduction of this product - in its own style. Within the Habbo community, users create their own identity and accentuate their self-expression without real-life restrictions. Habbo Homes are an extension of this. With the fully customizable pages, the idea is to show your Habbo personality to your friends and potential friends.

The wide selection of layouts and decorative elements give the users millions of options in presenting their Habbo personality. These choices include e.g. an extensive selection of different backgrounds as well as fully customizable stickers, sticky notes and widgets. On the page users can show various info about their Habbo life, e.g. Habbo character info, friend lists, room descriptions and Habbo game score listings. The Habbo Home page is tightly linked to the virtual world: with a click of a button you can e.g. access the user rooms shown on the page.

Habbo Home provides companies and brands with a completely new and exciting way of building their brand value among teenagers around the world. By sponsoring certain elements in Habbo Home, the partner gives Habbos the opportunity to decorate their pages with cool objects, but free of charge.

Safety is a key priority in Habbo

Habbo prides itself in offering premium safety features for both the Habbo Online Community and the new Habbo Home pages. In addition to the safety moderation activity and the language filtering tool "Bobba filter", the Habbo Home concept has a user activation system including buttons that immediately allow users to report inappropriate content.

For more information, contact:

Juhani Lassila, Communications Manager, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 40 541 2365, juhani.lassila@sulake.com

Habbo / Sulake press images: www.sulake.com/pressroom_material.html.

Lionsgate and Habbo team up to let millions of teens decide the fate of a Hollywood movie

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 05:17:00 +0200

- Innovative step in new media will allow Habbo users worldwide to determine the viability of an animated feature film based on the Habbo virtual world taking place online January 2007

SANTA MONICA, CA/LOS ANGELES, CA, January 17, 2007 – Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, goes viral this January as the company, identifying the next step in new media opportunities, has partnered with HABBO, one of the world's largest online communities for teenagers, to allow today's teens to determine the fate of a Habbo animated release. Utilizing this interactive technology, Lionsgate will tap directly into the online community for feedback on a potential filmmaking endeavor with Habbo. Starting on January 15, "Habbos" will be able to view ten very different animated shorts based on the Habbo World, which will be posted on Habbo.com and local Habbo sites around the world and voted on by the millions of registered users of these sites. The animated shorts were created in a variety of styles - from CGI to flash to 2-D animation by renowned animation houses from around the world. The "Habbos" will have the option to vote on whether or not Lionsgate should produce and distribute a longer feature film based on their feedback on the animated shorts.

These ten "Habbo"-sodes will be available for 14 days, where registered users will be invited into the venue to screen the shorts and vote "HABBO movie or not!" Based on the resulting vote, Lionsgate and Habbo will determine whether to green light a full-length film, even using this input to determine the genre and animation style of the movie. The resulting film would be released both on DVD and online, distributed by Lionsgate.

"Lionsgate has established itself as a true leader in the distribution of family entertainment and innovative marketing. Through this unique partnership with HABBO, we are going directly to the online community and putting the power in their hands by allowing them to determine what movie they want to see," said Michael Rathauser, Vice President of Marketing, Lionsgate. "This partnership with Habbo will also provide us with valuable information and the opportunity to explore new and different targeted electronic distribution platforms for content that resonates within a very defined audience. It's an exciting new world of opportunity."

"We're proud to announce our partnership with Lionsgate. We were previously approached from several major studios. However, Lionsgate stands out as an expert in the teen film market and they share Sulake's commitment to quality, innovation and fun," said Teemu Huuhtanen, President, North America, Sulake Corporation.

"Habbo-sodes were submitted by key animation studios located around the world and we appreciate the immense talent contributed to this project. The opportunity to now position Habbo as a leading distribution and promotional channel of all digital content from video to music is tremendous. Furthermore, by integrating our millions of Habbo users into this project, we will be spearheading a new kind of user-generated content as we empower them with the ability to determine the future of this animated film," he added.

This partnership between Lionsgate and HABBO marks the second time the two companies have collaborated to create a unique online experience for consumers. In July 2006, HABBO.com hosted a virtual red-carpet premiere event for Ultimate Avengers 2, the highly-successful direct-to-DVD Marvel Animated Feature. Tens of thousands of Habbos attended the screening, which was the first time the online community was able to view 10 full minutes of a never-before-seen film prior to its release.

The animations can be seen at www.habbo.com/community/animation.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is the leading independent filmed entertainment studio, winning this year's Best Picture Academy Award® for CRASH, generating two consecutive years of $300 million-plus domestic theatrical box office, operating a $500 million-plus home entertainment business and producing a broad slate of prime time television series for fiscal 2007. It is a premier producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library of more than 10,000 titles is a valuable source of stable, recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

For more information, contact:

FOR LIONSGATE:

Adam Fenton/Lauren McCabe, Bender/Helper Impact, tel. +1-212-689-6360, adam_fenton@bhimpact.com, lauren_mccabe@bhimpact.com
Jodie Magid/Jennifer Sandler, Lionsgate, tel. +1-212-386-6885/+1-310-255-4072, jmagid@lionsgate.com, jsandler@lionsgate.com

FOR SULAKE:

Juhani Lassila, Communications Manager, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 9 681 22 70, juhani.lassila@sulake.com

Sulake ranks as the 12th fastest growing technology company in Europe

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 07:17:00 +0200

-Sulake's sustained revenue growth percent was 8 095% over the last five years

Helsinki - 29th of November 2006 – Sulake Corporation, the creator of Habbo - one of the world's fastest growing teen online communities - was ranked 12th in Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 EMEA list. Sulake is an interactive entertainment company focused on online communities, casual multiplayer games and social media. Sulake was also the fastest growing Nordic technology company on the list. Last year, Sulake was ranked 8th in the same European ranking.

The Technology Fast 500 EMEA is a program that ranks the fastest growing technology companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), highlighting both established and emerging technology companies. Fast 500 measures sustained revenue growth of over five years. The growth of Sulake has been rapid and consistent. Sulake's growth percent over the last five years was 8 095%.

Sulake's main product Habbo is a richly colorful, multi-dimensional virtual world, online community and game environment for teens. Currently there are Habbo communities in 29 countries on five continents. To date, over 66 million Habbo characters have been created and 7 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo each month (source: Nielsen Netratings, October 2006).

"Ranking close to the top ten fastest growing tech companies in Europe for the second time in a row is a remarkable achievement and shows that our growth has been really consistent during the last years. The success of Habbo has continued also during 2006 and we are expecting solid growth for 2007 as well," comments Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation.

"Sulake has successfully created its own global marketplace with excellent people, strong investors and right timing. Being global and local at the same time has been the engine for growth," comments Deloitte partner Matti Copeland in Helsinki.

For more information, please contact:
Timo Soininen
CEO, Sulake Corporation
Tel. +358 10 656 7000
timo.soininen@sulake.com

Sulake promotes Teemu Huuhtanen to President, North America

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 09:11:00 +0200

Huuhtanen also serves as Executive Vice President, Business Development for Sulake Corporation and its Online Community Habbo

Los Angeles, CA, November 20, 2006 – Teemu Huuhtanen has been promoted to the position of President, North America and Executive Vice President, Business Development for Sulake Corporation. Previously he held the position of SVP of Sales and Business Development. Sulake's virtual world and social networking site for teens, Habbo, is one of the world's fastest growing online destinations for teens. Sulake is an interactive entertainment company specialized in developing, publishing and distributing multiplayer online games and communities, like Habbo.

Habbo has been a leading online community for major brands and entertainment/music celebrities to reach teens. North America features 20 million end-user created Habbo characters and more than 2 million Habbo members visit the community each month. Brands such as Sprite, L'Oreal, and Wal-Mart have all taken part in successful integrative and interactive campaigns within the Habbo world.

"Habbo's ability to deliver compelling content for key brands and music labels has made it a leading innovator for integrated consumer advertising," Huuhtanen said. "I believe we've just seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to opportunities virtual worlds can offer brands, and we intend to continue to deliver premiere campaigns with unique, exciting elements that will appeal to the demanding North American teen audience."

Previously, Mr. Huuhtanen served as VP, Sales & Marketing, for Sulake at its headquarters in Finland since January of 2003. Prior to this, he has held several senior posts in consumer & B2B sales & business development functions for several international digital start-ups such as Small Planet, a mobile application company, as EVP and the CEO of Orchimedia, a mobile & internet entertainment company. Huuhtanen has studied at Kuopio Polytechnic and University of Kuopio.

For more information, please contact:
Kristi Blicharski / Kenn Henman
aLine media
+1-310-371-8795
Kristi@alinemedia.com / kenn@alinemedia.com

Teenagers around the world are selective in their media use habits

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 08:18:00 +0200

- Global youth study published: over 42,000 participants

HELSINKI, Finland, October 19, 2006 – Sulake Corporation, the creator and developer of Habbo, one the world's fastest growing online destinations for teenagers, has published the largest global youth study conducted from Finland to date. The research, which was carried out in 22 countries, consisted of respondents from the Habbo Internet online community. The results include various findings on, e.g., media usage, music preferences and subcultures. More than 42,000 teenagers took part in the research.

Internet is the most important media; the importance of newspapers grows with age

89 per cent of respondents from around the world stated that the Internet is the most used media for them; the most important Internet services being instant messaging and e-mail.

According to the research, the main reason for Internet usage in general is socializing; keeping in touch with friends is important. Instant messaging is most popular among 14 to 18-year-olds, whereas e-mail is growing in popularity among those aged 20 years and above.

Only 66 per cent of the respondents think television is an important media, and less than half consider radio as such.

54 per cent of all the respondents think magazines are important, but newspapers were only thought important by less than 40 per cent of the respondents. The importance of newspapers grows with age and passes magazines and radio among 22-year-olds.

Mobile phones are used for various purposes

85 per cent of the global respondents say they own a mobile phone. The study shows that in addition to phone calls, nearly everyone owning a mobile phone uses it to send SMS messages. SMSs are more used in Europe than they are in the USA and Canada. Half of the respondents say they also use their phones for taking pictures. Nearly a third of the respondents listen to MP3 music with their mobile phones.

Using a mobile phone as a camera and MP3 player was considered extremely popular in Great Britain and Italy. Surfing the web with your mobile is still fairly uncommon among the respondents, apart from Japan, where 43 per cent of the respondents state they use it for this purpose. So far, only 6 per cent of the respondents watch television with their mobile.

Green Day and Eminem the most popular bands globally

88 per cent of the respondents are particularly interested in listening to music. Music is considered an important element of youths' lives because they are able to express their identity through music. The three most popular music genres are pop, rock and hip hop.

Rock is enormously popular in the USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Portugal. In France the number one spot is held by R&B, soul and funk, whereas in Great Britain the most popular genre is hip hop.

According to the research, the most popular bands globally in May 2006 were Green Day and Eminem.

Heterogenic youth belong to various subcultures

A variety of subcultures exist, some of them only in certain countries.

Although youth around the world have similar values, beliefs and attitudes, they are nonetheless an extremely heterogenic group. Even the largest subcultures identified in the study consisted of barely half of the respondents. The study shows that, in general, the respondents have a positive self-image and think of themselves as successful and popular. Over half of the respondents consider themselves adventurers. This reflects the importance of gaining new experiences and having fun for teenagers all over the world.

Only in Norway and Japan the number of adventurers was smaller than the other countries, but even there over 40 per cent say they belong to this group. Half of the respondents regard themselves as sporty. According to the study, 46 per cent of the participants think of themselves as trendy, 40 per cent as artists and 36 per cent state they are interested in the environment. Over a third of the respondents identify themselves as technology freaks and 16 per cent say they are nerds. A minority of 14 per cent of the respondents classify themselves as hippies or goths.

The global Habbo youth study was conducted by 15/30 Research in May 2006. The participants consisted of 42,000 Habbo users in 22 countries. The majority of the respondents were 12 to 16 years old. The average age of the respondents was 15 years, and the gender distribution was very even. 75 per cent of the respondents live in urban areas, often with their parents. Those under 14 years old needed permission from their parents to take part in the survey. The study was arranged by Sulake Corporation and it will have a follow up.

For more information, please contact:

Juhani Lassila, Communications Manager, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 9 681 22 70, juhani.lassila@sulake.com

Emmi Kuusikko, Director, User Insight, Sulake Corporation, tel. +358 9 681 22 70, emmi.kuusikko@sulake.com

Movida Group, a SoftBank and Asian Groove joint venture, invest EUR 6 million in Habbo, the leading online teen community and brand

Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:27:00 +0200

Tokyo, Japan, July 10, 2006 – Sulake Corporation, which operates the leading online teen community Habbo, has started a new strategic cooperation in Japan. Movida Group – a joint venture by SoftBank BB Corp. and Asian Groove – has agreed to invest 6 million Euros of equity into Sulake Corporation. The investment is executed through Movida Investment International.

Sulake is an interactive entertainment company focused on online communities and casual multiplayer games. Sulake was established in 2000 and it has more than doubled its annual revenues each year.

Sulake is an interactive entertainment company focused on online communities and casual multiplayer games. Sulake was established in 2000 and it has more than doubled its annual revenues each year.

Sulake's main product is Habbo, a new type of youth brand based on Habbo Hotel, one of the world's fastest growing online communities for teenagers. To date, over 53 million Habbo characters have been created, with close to seven million unique users visiting the Habbo community each month worldwide. The Habbo brand is currently being extended also to include e.g. animation series as well as merchandising and licensing products.

Movida Group is a joint venture by SoftBank BB, a SoftBank Group company, and Asian Groove, one of Asia's leading interactive entertainment companies.

Timo Soininen, CEO of Sulake Corporation, commented:

"We are happy to have such respected companies as our partners. Their investment and know-how will help us to grow both the Habbo Online community as well as new Habbo brand extensions, such as Habbo Mobile."

Taizo Son, President of Asian Groove, commented:

"Habbo Hotel has very superior functions as an online community, and we believe it has an enormous growth potential in Japan. We would like to utilize our Group synergy and support Habbo not just in Japan but also in the rest of Asia."

About Sulake:

Sulake is an interactive entertainment company focused on online communities, casual multiplayer games and social media. Sulake's main product is Habbo, a new type of youth brand, which is based on one of the world's fastest growing online communities for teenagers - Habbo Hotel. There are localized Habbo Hotels in 18 countries on five continents supported by a payment network spanning 30 countries. To date, over 53 million Habbo characters have been created and close to 7 million unique users worldwide visit Habbo communities each month (source: Nielsen Netratings, June 2006).

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 Kyrölä, Sulake's CEO Timo Soininen and other personnel.

Sulake has headquarters in Finland and offices in 17 countries. Currently the company has 270 employees worldwide. Sulake is extending the Habbo brand to include e.g. animation series as well as merchandising and licensing products.

www.sulake.com
www.habbo.jp

About Movida Group:

Movida Group, held by Movida Holdings Inc., is a joint venture founded in December 2005 by SoftBank BB Corp. and Asian Groove. Movida Group companies are focused on a wide range of broadband contents, from gamesto web services and applications.

www.movida.jp

About SoftBank BB:

SoftBank BB Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corporation, is providing Internet contents, fiber to the home (FTTH), IT related distribution and services.

www.softbankbb.co.jp

About Asian Groove:

Asian Groove, founded in 1996 by Taizo Son, is a holding company of broadband online entertainment companies.

www.asian-groove.com

For more information, please contact:
Juha Hynynen, COO, Sulake Corporation Oy, tel. +358 50 3889485
Takahito Uezono, Country Manager/Representative Director, Habbohotel Japan KK, takahito.uezono@sulake.com

Finnish Engineering Award presented to Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä

Wed, 31 May 2006 08:31:00 +0200

- the creators of the virtual Habbo Hotel gaming community

HELSINKI, Finland, May 31, 2006 - Sampo Karjalainen and Aapo Kyrölä, the creators of the virtual Habbo Hotel gaming community, have been awarded this year's Finnish Engineering Award this year. The Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers, TEK, and Tekniska Föreningen i Finland, TFiF, granted the 20,000 euro award for developing and commercializing the software technology of Finnish computer games. The award winners have developed the Habbo Hotel gaming community and product family, and established Sulake Corporation Oy, the company, which manages the brand.

Habbo Hotel is a virtual gaming community operating in 18 countries on five different continents. There are already over 50 million registered Habbo characters and over 7.1 million users visit the hotel every month. Habbo Hotel is particularly designed for 13 to 16 year-olds; in fact the largest user group consists of teenagers. Precise Habbo Way etiquette, which promotes good behavior and non-violence, is followed within Habbo Hotel.

Sulake's head office is located in Helsinki and there are also offices in 17 other countries. The company, established in 2000, employs 270 workers world-wide and 170 in Finland. The company's turnover was nearly 30 million euros in 2005. Currently, the Habbo brand is being expanded into mobile games and content, animation production and different real world products.

According to the jury, the software concept has been quickly utilized and commercialized in the developing international markets and the project has shown innovation and technological expertise. Habbo Hotel was created with personally developed, Java-based FUSE technology. The technological implementation demonstrates the skills of the creators, e.g. scaling works fluently supporting an environment full of simultaneous users. The award is also recognition of the know-how of the software technology for computer games created in Finland in recent years.

The Finnish Engineering Award is annually presented to a person or a team that has greatly advanced technical expertise in Finland. Creative effort, originality and practical implementation of an idea or theory are distinctive features of winning engineering works. Economic viewpoints also receive attention in the assessment. The award was presented for the first time in 1981.

The Finnish Engineering Award was presented this year in Helsinki on 31st of May.

For more information, please contact:
Sulake Corporation Oy, Communications Director Paula Biveson, tel. +358 9 681 22 70
TEK, Unit Director Pekka Pellinen, tel. +358 9 229 121

Sulake Corporation selected for the 2006 Red Herring 100 Europe list

Mon, 08 May 2006 08:29:00 +0200

- Award Recognizes the 100 "Most Promising" Firms Driving the Future of Technology

HELSINKI, Finland, May 8, 2006 - Red Herring today announced that Sulake Corporation is a recipient of Red Herring 100 Europe, a selection of the 100 private companies based in the EMEA region that play a leading role in innovation and technology.

Sulake is an interactive entertainment company focused on online communities and casual multiplayer games. Sulake's main product is Habbo, a new type of youth brand, which is based on one of the world�s fastest growing online communities for teenagers - Habbo Hotel.

"Market obstacles remain but our list shows that great companies are being created in Europe," said Red Herring editor-in-chief Joel Dreyfuss.

Red Herring's lists of top private companies are an important part of the magazine's tradition of identifying new and innovative technology companies and entrepreneurs. Companies like Google, eBay and Skype were spotted in their early days by Red Herring editors as those that would change the way we live and work.

Red Herring's editorial staff rigorously evaluated more than 700 private companies through a careful analysis of financial data and subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution of strategy, and dedication to research and development.

To honor the CEOs of Red Herring 100 Europe companies, Red Herring has invited each CEO to present his or her company at its Venture Market Europe 2006 conference, a forum for technology's most exciting companies to share their insights on the future of innovation and the entrepreneurial journey. Scheduled for May 8-10, at the Westin Paris, this intimate, three-day conference will explore the trends, technologies and people affecting the IT sphere in the EMEA region. Last year's optimistic outlook has been revisited and reflected in the 2006 theme "Old World, New Hope - 100 Reasons to Believe in Europe�s Innovative Edge."

For more information about Sulake Corporation, please contact press@sulake.com.

About Red Herring

Red Herring, Inc., founded in 1993, is a media company whose mission is to cover innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activity. Its staff of award-winning journalists tell readers what's first, what matters and most importantly, why.

Red Herring is dedicated to thorough research, relevant metrics deep financial analysis, in-depth reporting, crisp writing and thoughtful debate. We are a skeptical, intelligent and trustworthy source of information in technology business. Our primary obligation is to provide the most relevant, honest and independent information and analysis to our audience, with the conviction that an exceptional editorial product is the best catalyst for success and the best way to serve our advertisers and investors. Our content is original, compelling and actionable for industry executives and entrepreneurs.

A privately held company, Red Herring, Inc. is headquartered in Belmont, California. For more information visit www.redherring.com