BD&A Closes Out 20th Anniversary Year with Record Sales and Unprecedented Growth; Merchandise Agency(SM) Looks Back on Two Decades That Have Transformed Promotional Industry.

WOODINVILLE, Wash. -- The year was 1984. Apple unveiled the Macintosh. Roger Clemens got his first victory. "Purple Rain" was #1 on the charts. "Miami Vice" premiered. Michael Dell founded a little computer company you may have heard of...and two Seattle high school students turned their love of sports and the Seattle Seahawks into a sale -- the first of many in what would become their nearly $150 million business, BD&A, the nation's Merchandise Agency(SM) and leading promotional merchandise company in the $17 billion industry.

Having just closed the books on its 20th year in operation, BD&A has made company history once again, posting a record $137 million in sales. In fact, since 2001 the company has increased sales nearly 30 percent.

This growth has been fueled by BD&A's work with brands such as adidas, American Idol, AOL, Bank of America, Dell, Eli Lilly and Company, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Nokia and Yahoo!, as well as myriad professional sports team promotions. BD&A manages the majority of all in-stadium promotions for the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.

Back in 1984, though, in-stadium promotions were just beginning to take shape. The evolution of the promotion over time now has people of all ages lining up around stadiums to get their hands on one of BD&A's latest creations -- from the newest bobblehead or Babooshkah nesting doll to a miniature statue or figurine.

And it's BD&A that largely has fueled that craze. Eric Bensussen and Jay Deutsch (the B and D of BD&A) changed the landscape of sports memorabilia collecting by helping make in-stadium giveaways a hobby available to everyone, and they did it in a way that strengthened the brands of the teams and companies they worked with.

That brand-building has spread well beyond the stadium and into the board room as well, with Fortune 500 companies becoming big believers in and supporters of promotional marketing because of its impact on the bottom line. Nothing else enables a company to interact with its target audience -- whether it be consumers or business associates -- for upwards of 6 months.

"The integral part of our approach to both sports and corporate merchandise marketing is in recognizing and harnessing what we call 'brand affinity,'" said Deutsch, BD&A's president and CEO. "We recognized early on that people want to embrace the brands that they tie themselves to. Merchandise is the one way people can experience the true look, tone and feel of a brand."

Over the past 20 years Deutsch and Bensussen have become masters of harnessing that brand affinity into some of the most recognizable merchandise memorabilia in sports, entertainment and corporate wares. From bobbleheads and rally rags to licensed lunch boxes and candies, BD&A knows brands so well that many businesses entrust them not only to supply products, but also operate and manage their company stores.

At the heart of BD&A's success is an entrepreneurial culture that allows the agency to lead the various industries that it is affiliated with in part by predicting the needs of its clients, including such technology innovations as real-time inventory management and reporting. Leadership like this has been instrumental in the company's growth over the years and has been recognized by leading business analysts. Among BD&A's awards and accolades are:

--Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

--Inc magazine's Fastest Growing Companies

--Puget Sound Business Journal's "40 under 40" list

--Puget Sound Business Journal's number one promotional merchandise firm (three years in a row)

--Puget Sound Business Journal's Top Private Companies (seven years in a row)

--Counselor magazine's Top 25 (seven years in a row)

--Washington CEO's Top 150 private companies list (three years in a row)

--Washington CEO's Best Companies to Work For

--PROMO magazine's Top 100 (five years in a row)

What started as a Seahawks sweatshirt in a Seattle garage more than 20 years ago has evolved into a colossal Merchandise Agency(SM) with expertise that is recognized not only by industry watchdogs but by the diverse clients that trust them with their most sacred possession -- their brand. Branded merchandise, sports & entertainment marketing, consumer products, eCommerce, pharmaceutical marketing, sales promotions -- BD&A truly encompasses the breadth and strength of Goliath while at the same time providing the entrepreneurism and agility of David. And visitors to the Woodinville headquarters are reminded of that fact the moment they walk through the front door as they look up to find a framed sweatshirt hanging on the wall.

ABOUT BD&A

BD&A, the nation's Merchandise Agency(SM), works with Fortune 1000 companies around the world extending their brands with custom, three-dimensional merchandise-based marketing campaigns. The Woodinville, Washington-based company is the leading promotional merchandise agency in the United States, employing nearly 300 people in 16 locations worldwide. BD&A's extensive client list includes some of the world's most recognized brands, including adidas, AOL, Bank of America, Dell, Eli Lilly and Company, ExxonMobil, FedEx, Nokia and Yahoo!. Additionally, as the number one in-stadium sports promotion agency in the United States, BD&A provides merchandise and promotions for the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. BD&A is also responsible for fueling the nation's most popular sports crazes, including the bobblehead. For more information, visit the BD&A Web site at www.bdainc.com.