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Verizon
Information Services Announces Agreements With Engage and Eversave
SuperPages.comsm
Service Introduces Targeted Banner Ads And Online Coupons for Small-
to Medium-Sized Businesses
DALLAS, TX (April.
16, 2001)-- DALLAS - Small- to medium-sized businesses with
a Web presence on SuperPages.com, the Internet's #1 online directory
service, now can use the same advertising tools as their big company
counterparts - targeted banner ads and online coupons.
Verizon Information Services, the world's largest directory publisher
and creator of SuperPages.com, today announced marketing agreements
with Engage, a leading enterprise marketing software and interactive
media company, and Eversave, the leading provider of infrastructure
to power local online coupons.
With these agreements, Verizon's national Yellow Pages sales force
is offering SuperPages.com advertisers SuperNetwork banner ads and
online coupons.
"Our research shows that small- to medium-sized companies with a
Web presence increase their local business marketshare," said Patrick
Marshall, group vice president - marketing for Verizon Information
Services. "With SuperNetwork banner ads and online coupons, SuperPages.com
is offering advertisers the tools they need to drive targeted, qualified
leads and ready-to-buy customers through both Web and foot traffic."
With LocalNet,
Engage's local channel sales initiative, SuperPages.com advertisers
can target relevant consumers by distributing SuperNetwork banner
ads to subject-oriented Web sites, such as automotive and travel
sites. In addition, SuperNetwork banners can be distributed to reach
consumers who are conducting Web searches within specific geographic
areas, such as Dallas County, Texas, or the Los Angeles metropolitan
area.
With online coupons, local advertisers can enhance their SuperPages.com
listings with coupon offers, which appear as a button next to the
listings. SuperPages.com online coupons also will be distributed
through Eversave's network of partner Web sites, greatly increasing
exposure and value for SuperPages.com advertisers.
Verizon makes designing an online coupon and SuperNetwork banner
ad easy by providing customers with in-house design templates. Advertisers
simply provide customized text copy to their Yellow Pages sales
representative, and select the subject matter category and the geographic
area to target.
"With Engage, one of the largest online advertising networks, SuperPages.com
advertisers can access nearly 41.5 million unique users*," said
Tony Nuzzo, president and CEO, Engage. "Engage's subject and geographic-targeting
capabilities will allow Verizon's local advertisers to extend their
reach and distribution to qualified online consumers."
According to The Kelsey Group, a research company specializing in
local advertising and electronic commerce, the $306 million that
small- to medium-sized businesses spent last year in Internet Yellow
Pages is expected to exceed $1.5 billion by 2006. "The combination
of online Yellow Pages and targeted Internet-based marketing tools
are becoming an important part of the local marketing mix for traditionally
cost-conscious small businesses," says Daniel N. Miller, senior
vice president for The Kelsey Group.
"Eversave's online coupon strategy enables the local merchant to
adopt the power of the Internet by promoting relevant offers directly
to local customers via digital coupons," said Jere Doyle, president
and CEO, Eversave. "With 75 percent of American households using
coupons, SuperPages.com online coupons are a great way to connect
shoppers with their neighborhood retailers and services."
*Media
Metrix/AdNetwork Reports, U.S. Reach Only, December 2000.
"With approximately seven million visits a month, SuperPages.com
has become one of the fastest advertising mediums available for
local businesses," said Verizon's Marshall. "By working with leaders
in online marketing and advertising, such as Engage and Eversave,
we are one step closer to our goal of increased traffic, loyal users
and savvy advertisers."
About Engage
Engage, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENGA) is a leading enterprise marketing software
and interactive media company and a majority-owned operating company
of CMGI, Inc (Nasdaq: CMGI). Founded in 1996, Engage enables companies
to harness the power of interactive marketing to create more loyal
customers, maximize revenue and increase their brand's visibility
and recognition. Based in Andover, Massachusetts, Engage has European
headquarters in London and offices worldwide in Canada, UK, Japan,
Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.
LocalNet, a division of Engage, began in 1998 as a Small & Medium
Enterprise (SME) channel initiative focused on delivering local
solutions to online marketers.
About Eversave
Launched in January 2000, Eversave is a leading e-marketing infrastructure
company that powers geographically-targeted promotional Internet
content from more than 20,000 merchants nationwide, builds and maintains
proprietary email lists for clients and deploys personalized email
marketing campaigns. Eversave's clicks-to-bricks strategy attracts
a highly active member base and enables businesses to harness the
power of the Internet by marketing directly to customers via digital
coupons and targeted email promotions, driving foot traffic into
their stores. For more information visit www.eversave.com.
About Verizon Information Services and SuperPages.com
Verizon Information Services is a world leading print and online
directory publisher and a content provider for communications products
and services. The largest directory publisher in the world, Verizon
has annual revenues of more than $4.1 billion and employs more than
11,000 people.
Verizon Information Services also produces and markets SuperPages.com,
the Internet's preeminent online directory and shopping resource.
SuperPages.com has received up to 7.7 million visits and 3.4 million
unique visitors per month, and is the Yellow Pages provider on Excite,
Lycos, Ask Jeeves, AOL Service, AOL.com, Digital City, HotBot, and
BigFoot.
Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services is a unit
of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), which was formed by the
merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Verizon is one of the world's leading
providers of communications services. For more information on Verizon,
visit www.verizon.com.
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