Russian Social Network Collaborates with Groupon

Groupon might have screwed it up in China but things still look rosy elsewhere. Mail.Ru recently announced a newly formed partnership between Odnoklassniki (a Russia-based social-network) and Groupon. The collaboration allows Odnoklassniki users to ‘like’, share, discuss and purchase Groupon offers without leaving the social network website. This is also the first time Groupon has integrated with a social network platform.

“This joint service signals the beginning of Mail.Ru Group’s enhanced collaboration with Groupon which is further expected to embrace Mail.ru Group’s other projects. Buying discount vouchers on the Internet is a growing trend and we continue to deliver value to our customers by getting involved in the newest global trends. Our cooperation with Groupon makes Odnoklassniki the first social network in the world to offer its members the full scope of the significant discounts that social commerce offers. Thus, our audience will have the ability to use their social graph more effectively,” Ilya Shirokov, VP of Mail.Ru Group and the Head of Odnoklassniki said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Elena Masolova, the co-founder of Groupon Russia (formerly DarBarry) said:

“We’re happy about this cooperation. We have been impressed with the success of Odnoklassniki and Mail.Ru Group. We very much appreciate that such a quality audience is vital for the further development of Groupon in the Russian-speaking Internet market. We make significant efforts to negotiate the most attractive discounts to our users and we’re confident that the Odnoklassniki users will appreciate the service and will like our exclusive offers.”

Groupon has been really aggressive in expanding its sales channel in Asia. Besides massive acquisitions in the region, I’m also seeing Groupon’s Google ads on multiple websites (probably targeting Asians since I’m an Asian).

This collaboration gives Groupon a chance to test water with social networks. Perhaps, positive results could persuade other social networks to join the collaboration. Facebook probably wouldn’t buy the idea. But other niche social networks like Renren of China, Zing Me of Vietnam or even Indonesian mobile social network, Korpol might see value in the collaboration.

Special thanks to Jasonmm for the heads up.