ADVO Agrees to Acquire Controlling Interest in Netserts.com.Business Editors WINDSOR, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 16, 2000 Provides a Dedicated Advertising Vehicle for Driving On-line Traffic to Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the Sites In recognition of its growing business in dot.com advertising, ADVO, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AD), announced today it has agreed to acquire a controlling interest controlling interest The ownership of a quantity of outstanding corporate stock sufficient to control the actions of the firm. Controlling interest often involves ownership of significantly less than 51% of a firm's outstanding stock because many owners fail in Netserts.com, an advertising magazine dedicated to driving on-line traffic to internet sites. This investment will add to other investments ADVO has made in this area, including a relationship with R.L. Polk which provides on-line advertisers with additional targeting capabilities, and the recent addition of CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). insertion insertion n. the addition of language at a place within an existing typed or written document, which is always suspect unless initialled by all parties. capabilities. The agreement represents another step in the marriage of ADVO's print advertising with the dramatic growth and evolution of e-commerce e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers. on the internet. With a strong group of e-commerce advertisers, the Netserts.com magazine has quickly grown to reach approximately 10 million households on a monthly basis. Beginning in late-April, Netserts.com will be distributed as an advertising supplement exclusively dedicated to e-commerce and internet advertising Delivering ads to Internet users via Web sites, e-mail, ad-supported software and Internet-enabled cellphones. Also called an "ad network," Internet advertising organizations act as a middleman between the advertiser and the Web sites and software publishers that display the ads. within ADVO's shared mail package. By providing consumers with a focused source of on-line values, the magazine will serve to further enrich the content in ADVO's advertising packages, benefiting advertisers and consumers alike. In addition, as part of the arrangement, ADVO will work with Netserts.com to further develop its website to integrate the print advertising with an on-line presence. Gary Mulloy, ADVO's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "We are pleased to announce this exciting new venture. As e-commerce continues to grow and evolve at a dramatic pace, on-line businesses are increasingly challenged to attract traffic and transactions to support their business models. Our investment in Netserts.com will further strengthen our core capabilities in these areas, and provide us with a vehicle exclusively dedicated to dot.com advertisers." Mr. Mulloy further stated, "While the magazine will initially be distributed in ten million households once a month, we expect to be able to grow both its reach and frequency substantially over the next twelve to eighteen months." Bryan Brazell, Chief Executive Officer of Netserts.com, said, "We are excited about the opportunity our relationship with ADVO will provide to further grow our business. We are generating exponential growth Extremely fast growth. On a chart, the line curves up rather than being straight. Contrast with linear. , and we believe that our relationship with ADVO and the associated access to their sales infrastructure and unmatched targeting and distribution capabilities will enable us to continue to grow our business at a dramatic pace." In a related announcement, ADVO also indicated today that its SuperCoups subsidiary has formally extended its on-line partnership with CoolSavings.com for a three-year period. This partnership provides consumers with the ability to download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. coupons and offers from SuperCoup's neighborhood merchants through the CoolSavings.com website. ADVO is continuing to have discussions with several additional potential on-line partners, but does not believe at this time that the CoolSavings.com relationship will be further expanded beyond its SuperCoups subsidiary. ADVO is the nation's largest full-service targeted direct mail marketing services company with annual revenues of over $1 billion. ADVO specializes in shared and solo direct mail services and provides Microtargeting solutions at an affordable price for its clients' print advertising needs. The Company's core shared mail program is distributed nationally to approximately 60 million households weekly. An additional 28.5 million households can be reached, on a shared mail basis, through ADVO's National Network Extension (A.N.N.E.). ADVO's wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. , MailCoups, Inc., produces SuperCoups, a cost-effective, direct mail-based advertising solution for local neighborhood businesses which utilizes an envelope format. ADVO has 20 mail processing facilities and 65 sales offices nationwide. ADVO's corporate headquarters are located at One Univac Lane, Windsor, Connecticut Windsor was the first English settlement in the State of Connecticut, the 5th Colony to receive Statehood in the United States of America. Windsor is a suburban community in Hartford County, adjacent to the north to Connecticut's Capital, Hartford, with a relatively diverse 06095. The Company can be visited at its website at www.advo.com. The forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. in this report are based upon current information and expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties in the Company's operations and business environment. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in customer demand and pricing, the possibility of consolidation throughout the retail sector, postal and paper prices, the efficiencies achieved with technology upgrades, the continuing success of the Company's Year 2000 program and its transition into and through the year 2000 and other general economic factors. |
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