Earlier this week, the mainstream press in the UK was filled with coverage of the impending relaunch of Friends Reunited. Now the site has released a video that shows a bit more about how it’s pitching its new direction.
Huge in the UK in the early-to-mid part of the last decade, this site was similar to the USA’s Classmates.com, but aimed mainly at the British market. It was designed as a way of getting old schoolfriends and work colleagues back in touch with each other. Then Facebook came along and ate its lunch, dinner, and breakfast.
Since being sold off by previous owner, broadcaster ITV, in 2010 for a fraction of the price it paid for it, new owner Brightsolid aims to attract users back by focusing on tight privacy controls and “a nostalgic journey through all of those “Remember when?” moments, using the power of iconic images.”
As much as some Facebook owners may moan about privacy and enjoy trips down memory lane, we can’t see that being enough to tempt people back from Facebook. Even if it’s not being pitched as a ‘Facebook replacement’, the brand perception of Friends Reunited as being old-hat is going to be tough to overcome. But hey – now Brightsolid owns the service, it’s got to do something with it, right?
The site, which claims to pull in 7 million users per year, is set to launch its new approach next week. In the meantime, it’s published this video as a teaser. Will it be enough to tempt you back?
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