Avenue A leads Publisher Community in effort to Bring more Traditional Advertising Dollars to the Internet.

Business Editors & Technology Writers

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2003

Leading Interactive Agency Hosts Key Industry Executives at

Partner Recognition Event

Avenue A, an interactive agency and operating unit of Avenue A, Inc. (Nasdaq:AVEA), today hosted its first-ever partner recognition conference.

The event brought members of the publisher community together to thank them for their contributions and lead them in an effort to steer more traditional advertising dollars to the Internet in 2003.

"2002 was a good year for Avenue A. We saw successful results for our client campaigns, and because of this, a number of our clients increased online spend at a fairly rapid clip," said Clark Kokich, president of Avenue A. "We know we're fortunate to be in this position, and couldn't have done it alone. This event acknowledges the contributions of our publisher partners and suppliers, and gets them geared up for the accomplishments we can achieve as an industry in the coming year."

Over 200 industry professionals from across the country were in Seattle for this highly anticipated event. Last night, attendees were treated to a cocktail reception and presentation of Teatro Zinzanni, a dinner theatre extravaganza featuring aerial arts, comedy, dance, opera and spectacle in the heart of downtown Seattle.

Today, the focus shifted to business, as participants met to discuss the current state of the industry. Kokich shared case studies that uncovered evidence online advertising works when done correctly, and showed how clients are utilizing personalization and targeting, rich media, branding surveys, and optimizing on meaningful metrics like cost per revenue to drive both online and offline sales. The case study results led to a discussion on how advertisers will increase their online spend if they are utilizing Internet advertising correctly and how Avenue A is working with clients to make online a bigger percentage of their overall marketing budgets.

"Avenue A's client successes and case studies results in 2002 are key examples of effective online advertising," said John Durham, chief operating officer of Interep Interactive. "Fortune 500 companies increasingly are using online advertising to reach their customers because it is a highly effective medium."

Brian McAndrews, president and CEO of Avenue A, Inc., led a leadership panel featuring Bob Sherman, president of AOL, Martin Nisenholtz, CEO of New York Times Digital, Caroline Little, COO of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, and Ted Meisel, CEO of Overture. The industry leaders discussed what the industry's biggest challenges are for 2003, what the focus should be for accelerating the growth of the industry, and some of the main industry trends we'll see from the publisher community this year. Jim Warner, president of Avenue A/NYC, led a discussion on how the publisher community can more effectively work with agencies to bring additional advertising dollars online.

"Avenue A's publisher event reinforces the trend of more traditional dollars beginning to shift online," said Jim Spanfeller, president and CEO of Forbes.com. "Traditional advertising is important, but Avenue A's clients understand that online advertising is key to enhancing their overall brands."

"The insights that Avenue A shared about the successes of client campaigns were invaluable," said Ted Meisel, CEO of Overture. "During this summit, we were able to discuss overall ad spending trends for next year, what works and doesn't work for advertisers, and more importantly, how we can most effectively work with agencies to offer their advertisers the most value."

"Anyone can buy or sell media, but it's Avenue A's strategic partnerships with the publisher community that allows them to buy it, optimize it, and nurture it from beginning to end like few agencies out there," said Keith Kaplan, president of sales and marketing for MaxOnline. "The terrific relationships that the Avenue A team has cultivated are vital to the overall success of their client's campaigns, and they understand that. It's not how you start a campaign, but how you finish it that really counts."

"Avenue A has done an outstanding job developing big online advertising ideas for a bi-coastal array of really smart clients," said Jerry Shereshewsky, executive director of agency relations for Yahoo!. "We at Yahoo! have enjoyed working closely with this terrific group of people and look forward to even more breakthroughs in the year ahead."

About Avenue A:

Avenue A is an interactive agency and operating unit of Avenue A, INC. (Nasdaq:AVEA), a digital marketing services and technology company. It offers a one-stop solution that drives breakthrough results for its clients' web and e-mail marketing initiatives by using innovative technology and rigorous analytical methods that turn campaign data into actionable insights. Avenue A's integrated suite of services includes web advertising, affiliate programs, search engine optimization, strategic portal relationships, e-mail prospecting, e-mail list management, customer targeting, profiling and advanced analytical services. Founded in 1997, Avenue A focuses on achieving the best possible results and the highest possible return on investment for its clients' digital marketing efforts. Seattle-based Avenue A and Avenue A/NYC clients include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, Eddie Bauer, Household Finance, L'Oreal USA, Microsoft, Polo.com/Ralph Lauren Media, and WeightWatchers.com.