Wanadoo Bolsters High-Street Presence With Maplin Deal
Wanadoo, the UK’s largest internet service provider, has secured a high-profile deal to promote its range of internet services in more than 85 Maplin Electronics stores across the country.
The new deal, which soft-launched last month, will see Wanadoo become Maplin’s exclusive internet provider, which means that computers bought from the electronic retailer’s stores will come pre-loaded with the company’s dial-up internet service.
The agreement comes just months after Wanadoo, which was then called Freeserve, decided not to renew its exclusive five-year link with Dixons on the grounds that it would hamper its goal of reaching profitability in 2004 (see AOL Signs Major Internet Marketing Deal With Dixons).
Rival internet service provider, AOL, was quick to take advantage of the opportunity by signing a £100 million deal to promote its dial-up internet services in the electrical retailer’s 1,100 stores throughout the UK.
Wanadoo’s new agreement with Maplin Electronics is significant because it brings the total number of retail outlets that the internet service provider is available in to more than 4,000, giving it a larger high-street presence than any of its rivals.
Duncan Beard, director of partner marketing at Wanadoo, said: “Since we rebranded, the investment in our product and our strong consumer offering is making Wanadoo an even more attractive proposition for retailers. We are delighted to have agreed our partnership with Maplin Electronics, whose customers are interested in the internet today, but importantly are also the early adopters for the technologies we will be selling in the near future.”
Freeserve rebranded as Wanadoo, which is the name of its French parent company, last month with the backing of an extensive £20 million cross-media campaign created by M&C Saatchi. To mark the move, the company has unveiled ambitions to offer a range of television services and cheap voice calls over the internet as part a concerted effort to grow the high-speed broadband market in Europe (see Freeserve Marks Rebrand With New Broadband Services).
Wanadoo: 020 7553 7567 www.wanadoo.co.uk
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