Hubert Burda Media is the First Partner to Implement Wetpaint’s Proprietary Social Distribution System

Burda and Wetpaint Partner to Build and Monetize Audiences via Social Media

SEATTLE & MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hubert Burda Media, a global media company with strong leadership in digital media, announced a license agreement with Wetpaint, a technology platform company that drives audiences and monetization for online publishers. Wetpaint is providing its expertise in social media and licensing its proprietary Social Distribution System to Burda to drive increased reach, engagement and monetizeable actions from social networks back to its online properties. With this license agreement, Hubert Burda Media draws on its considerable experience in identifying international market trends, and using this knowledge to grow its businesses.

“The Burda team is on the forefront of digital media and they understand the importance of social in building a long-term, valuable audience. This, coupled with our expertise, will help them accelerate audience growth across their digital properties, which leads to new monetization opportunities.”

“We strive to be a leader in digital media, from our DLD Conferences to our online properties,” said Dr. Paul-Bernhard Kallen, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Hubert Burda Media. “Being the first partner of Wetpaint emphasizes our competence in identifying market opportunities early. We are vigilant in assessing new ways to invest in and import new technologies to advance digital media.”

Burda, the first partner to license Wetpaint’s technology, will utilize Wetpaint’s platform across its portfolio of brands, beginning with its three largest media properties to drive traffic from social networks. Wetpaint’s Social Distribution System will be integrated with Burda’s existing content management systems via a simple, one touch implementation.

“As a leader and market expert in digital publishing, Hubert Burda Media is the perfect inaugural partner to develop our business,” said Ben Elowitz, co-founder and CEO, Wetpaint. “The Burda team is on the forefront of digital media and they understand the importance of social in building a long-term, valuable audience. This, coupled with our expertise, will help them accelerate audience growth across their digital properties, which leads to new monetization opportunities.”

About Wetpaint, Inc.

Wetpaint is a technology platform company that uses its proprietary state-of-the-art technologies and expertise in social media to build and monetize audiences. Wetpaint’s own online property, Wetpaint Entertainment, an entertainment news site that attracts more than 12 million unique visitors monthly and has over 2 million Facebook fans, is a proof point to the company’s success in building and engaging audiences. The Social Distribution System is available to media companies to license and begin monetizing their social presence. Founded by Internet pioneer Ben Elowitz, and with offices in New York and Seattle, Wetpaint is backed by Accel Partners, the investors behind Facebook.

About Hubert Burda Media

Hubert Burda Media is one of Germany’s largest media companies. It comprises the divisions Domestic Publishing, Foreign Publishing, Digital and Printing. This ‘Four Pillar Strategy’ has been making the Hubert Burda Media Group strong and enabled its stable growth. Burda publishes 313 magazines, of them 229 magazines outside of Germany. The main focus of the company's international media activities (Publishing and Digital Business) is placed on the growing markets of Eastern Europe, Turkey and Asia. Burda Digital pools Hubert Burda Media’s successful growth companies with a focus on business-to-consumer operations. These include, firstly, the group’s strategic internet activities, such as Burda ConsumerTech Group, the shareholding in Tomorrow Focus AG, DLD, Burda Digital Entertainment and Xing AG, and secondly the Burda Digital Ventures financial investment portfolio. The consolidated group turnover increased 2011 by 26.5 percent to $ 2,798m. Hubert Burda Media employs more than 8000 people.