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Twilight films explore virtual branding

Press Release from Launch Group

Summit Entertainment and Habbo (www.habbo.com.au), 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 Jeff Brookes, Regional Director Asia Pacific, Sulake. “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.