Bebo And Paramount Collaborate On Movie-Web IntegrationBebo And Paramount Collaborate On Movie-Web Integration

Social media network Bebo has landed a deal with Paramount Pictures to integrate one of Paramount's movies into Bebo's popular interactive Web drama, "Sofia's Diary."

Bebo called the deal a first. The social network site said Friday it will introduce its "Sofia's Diary" audience to Paramount Pictures' teen comedy movie, Angus, Thongs, And Perfect Snogging. The British comedy is being integrated into "Sofia's Diary" during two episodes, with incorporation of its lead character, Georgia Nicolson, into the plotline of the online drama.

Sofia's Bebo profile shows her briefed by her editor at Wicked about video blogger Georgia. Then, Sofia interviews Georgia to find out why teens are obsessed with the minutiae of her life. Finally, Sofia visits Georgia's Bebo profile to watch the video blogs and conduct an interview through Bebo's messenger service.

Georgia's profile launched before the official integration, so Bebo users could become familiar with the character and the movie. Both characters' profile pages include video blogs, statistics, and other characters, including their friends.

Ad agency MeC Interaction brokered the deal, which has already attracted nearly 9,000 friends, drawn more than 120,000 profile views, and resulted in more than 1 million video blog views. Carl Reid, account director for MeC Interaction, said the deal represents a new twist on engagement marketing.

"A format such as 'Sofia's Diary' offers a unique opportunity for advertisers and consumers to engage on this level because they can't do this on television," he said.

"Sofia's Diary" has drawn 16.2 million online interactions and is now on TV in the United Kingdom. Viewers influence the show and control its storylines by voting each week on how she should handle an important decision. A free mobile service allows viewers to receive daily updates on Sophia's life. Fans leave more than 1,000 comments daily on the character's profile page.