Be Free, Inc. Partners With Leading Marketing and E-commerce Companies.Business/Technology Editors MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2000 CyberSource and Middleberg + Associates Among Eight Companies Aligning a·lign v. a·ligned, a·lign·ing, a·ligns v.tr. 1. To arrange in a line or so as to be parallel: align the tops of a row of pictures; aligned the car with the curb. with Be Free to Drive the Adoption of the Pay-for-Performance Marketing Model Be Free, Inc., (Nasdaq:BFRE BFRE Besoin en Fonds de Roulement d'Exploitation (French: Working Capital Requirement for Exploitation) ), a leader of performance marketing, today announced strategic partnerships with eight category-leading companies, including CyberSource(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: CYBS CYBS CyberSource (NASDAQ symbol) ) and Middleberg + Associates. Be Free will work in partnership with these companies to expand its reach within the industry and promote the valuable adoption of performance marketing programs with the partner companies' customers. "At Be Free, we value continuous learning and industry relationships and we are always looking to expand our marketing and 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. knowledge," said Rick Houpt, director of channel sales at Be Free, Inc. "By partnering with leading companies in this industry, we are growing our knowledge and enhancing the value of the services we provide to our customers, all while encouraging the adoption of our performance marketing services." "Performance marketing has proven to be effective for driving traffic to a web site and retaining customers," said Tracy Wilk, vice president of product management at CyberSource. "We're pleased to work with Be Free, another leader in outsourced e-commerce services, to introduce our customers to their valuable performance marketing tools." "This partnership will allow our clients to benefit from Be Free's full-service performance marketing services," said Chris Hayes Chris Hayes may refer to:
Open furnace for heating metal ore and metal for working and forming, or a workshop containing forge hearths and related equipment. From earliest times, smiths (see smithing) heated iron in forges and formed it by hammering on an anvil. a relationship with a proven provider of strategic, customer-focused marketing solutions demonstrates Middleberg's commitment to helping clients build every facet facet /fac·et/ (fas´it) a small plane surface on a hard body, as on a bone. fac·et n. 1. A small smooth area on a bone or other firm structure. 2. of their businesses." "As a `full-line' supplier of eMarketing services, iPares is constantly on the lookout for in search of; looking for. See also: Lookout ways to provide clients with the lowest possible cost of customer acquisition," said Tom Harold, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of iPares Ltd. "Pay-for-performance affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a method of promoting web businesses (merchants/advertisers) in which an affiliate (publisher) is rewarded for every visitor, subscriber, customer, and/or sale provided through his/her efforts. has been shown to be the most cost-effective cost-effective, n the minimal expenditure of dollars, time, and other elements necessary to achieve the health care result deemed necessary and appropriate. way to do this, and with Be Free as our joint solutions partner, we are then able to furnish fur·nish tr.v. fur·nished, fur·nish·ing, fur·nish·es 1. To equip with what is needed, especially to provide furniture for. 2. our clients with a totally turnkey See turnkey system. executional capability." Following is a summary of Be Free's newest strategic partners:
-- Carat Freeman Interactive (www.carat-na.com) is the leading
integrated media agency for companies looking to fully leverage
their investment in advertising media strategy and placement.
Carat Freeman Interactive provides strategic media planning,
buying, and analysis for all forms of interactive media from
e-mail to rich-media campaigns. Their dedicated Affiliate
Marketing Group offers fully integrated solutions for companies
exploring performance-marketing initiatives, including strategic
program development and launch, pro-active program management, and
custom recruitment and marketing programs. Founded in May of 1986
and named to the "Inc. 500" list of fast-growth companies in
October 1997, Carat Freeman pioneers integrated media strategies
for clients, such as America Online, RadioShack, MBNA, Pfizer, and
Smarterkids.com. Carat Freeman is a freestanding unit within Carat
North America, the largest independent, full service advertising
media planning and buying agency in the US, with billings
exceeding $1.6 billion.
-- CyberSource Corporation (Nasdaq: CYBS) (www.cybersource.com) is a
leading provider of mission-critical e-commerce transaction
services and a pioneer in the area of Internet fraud detection.
The CyberSource Internet Commerce Suite(SM), offers
merchant-controlled, real-time services including Payment
Services, Tax Services, Gift Certificate and Promotional
Services, Risk Management Services, Distribution Control Services
and Fulfillment Management Services. Customers of CyberSource
include leading Internet merchants and businesses selling online
including Ashford.com, Beyond.com, BUY.COM, Compaq Computer,
Mercata.com, MotherNature.com, Nike.com, Priceline, Rx.com,
Remedy and Shopping.com.
-- iPares Ltd. (formerly Dillon New Media Corporation)
(www.ipares.com), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., is a
rapidly growing provider of world-class e-business results. In the
areas of performance marketing and affiliate programming, iPares
provides clients with turnkey capabilities in the design and
day-to-day administration of such initiatives, as well as online
promotional events, super affiliate negotiation and complete
graphic support. iPares has U.S. offices in Minneapolis-St. Paul,
Minn., as well as St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. iPares also has
international company-owned offices in Oslo and Hamar, Norway,
Dublin, Ireland, London, UK and Ontario, Canada, along with
several other affiliate locations throughout the Nordic region,
the Baltic States and the U.S. iPares' client base is comprised of
many leading multinational corporations, as well as numerous
Internet-specific venture partners.
-- Middleberg + Associates (www.middleberg.com) is a private
communications and public relations firm that is a recognized
leader in online marketing. Middleberg's online initiatives
generate recognition for their clients, drive traffic to their
sites and increase their ad impressions, thereby helping them to
establish a distinct, recognizable, digital brand. Located in the
new media hubs of New York, Boston and San Francisco, Middleberg
provides leading-edge marketing solutions that help companies
reach new audiences and grow their businesses. Clients include
MTVi, Nickelodeon, Britannica.com and Zagat.com, among others.
-- ReleaseNow.com (www.releasenow.com), based in San Carlos, Calif.,
is a provider of outsourced e-commerce solutions for software
publishers and vendors of other digital goods. The company
enables the marketing, sales and delivery of digital goods
through a comprehensive line of e-commerce services, including
online store creation and operation, transaction processing,
digital downloads, e-marketing and e-merchandising.
-- TargetMarket Interactive (www.tmii.net) is a Santa Monica,
Calif.,-based provider of integrated marketing solutions that
help clients build their online businesses. TMi offers a range of
services to help companies understand their market and where
their dollars will be best spent to maximize capture of their
target market's "mind share." Strategic services include online
advertising, direct e-mail marketing, online PR, affiliate
marketing and promotions.
-- Vectrix (www.vectrix.com), headquartered in Dallas, with offices
in Washington D.C., Palo Alto, Oklahoma City, and Portland,
designs, develops, deploys, maintains and markets turnkey
e-business solutions. Vectrix achieves these goals by providing a
unique, customer-centric approach, whereby services are clearly
aligned with customers' goals. Unlike its competitors, Vectrix
delivers all the core e-business competencies from a single
vendor. This results in a rapidly deployed and comprehensive
solution for customers, providing one point of contact for all
e-business solutions. With roots in e-business enterprise
application development, national award-winning design, unique
performance-based marketing and media services, cutting-edge
hosting, and rapid transaction-processing services, Vectrix has
brought these key components together to develop profitable
e-business strategies for its customers.
-- Xcelerate (www.xcelerate.com) based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
with offices in New York, Atlanta, and Dallas, is an innovative
e-business solutions provider that rapidly transforms existing
businesses and start-ups into successful e-corporations. By
integrating strategy, technology, user experience design,
interactive marketing and digital program management, Xcelerate
provides true end-to-end solutions to help companies expand
customer relationships, increase revenue, and streamline
operations. The company's speed of delivery translates into
significant time-to-market advantages; and an unparalleled
commitment to client service ensures focused, high-impact
results.
About Performance Marketing Performance marketing allows online marketers to increase sales, drive traffic, generate qualified leads and extend brand reach, all while paying only for the performance of their promotions. By paying only for results, marketers lower their customer acquisition costs and increase the power of their marketing budget. Be Free offers a truly customer-focused approach to performance marketing, producing superior overall results for its customers and enabling cross-promotions and cooperative marketing. In addition, Be Free offers a full-service suite of performance marketing services, from leading edge and scaleable infrastructure and tracking technology, to reliable reporting and channel management tools, to industry knowledge and value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. services. About Be Free, Inc. Be Free, Inc. (Nasdaq: BFRE) is a leader in performance marketing--the next generation of online marketing. Be Free helps its customers build and manage uniquely branded online sales channels, enabling these sites to capture revenue by driving site traffic, generating qualified leads and selling products in context on locations throughout the Web. Be Free's customers include some of the Internet's leading merchants, online services and portals such as IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : IBM), America Online See AOL. , Inc. (NYSE: AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. ), barnesandnoble.com (Nasdaq: BNBN), GoTo.com (Nasdaq: GOTO), Mercata, Reel.com (Nasdaq: HLYW), C|Net (Nasdaq: CNET (body) CNET - Centre national d'Etudes des Telecommunications. The French national telecommunications research centre at Lannion. ), Garden.com (Nasdaq: GDEN), PC Connection (Nasdaq: PCCC PCCC Passaic County Community College (Paterson, NJ) PCCC Platform Communication on Climate Change (The Netherlands) PCCC Porsche Ceramic Composite Clutch ), Lycos (Nasdaq: LCOS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) A technology used to make microdisplays for rear-projection TVs and head-mounted displays (HMDs). Each LCoS chip hosts a grayscale LCD shutter sandwiched between a cover glass and a mirror. ), About.com (Nasdaq: BOUT) and Yahoo!(R)GeoCities (Nasdaq: YHOO YHOO Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ symbol) ). Collectively, Be Free's customers have more than 3.5 million affiliates in their sales channels. Affiliates can enroll in performance marketing programs using Be Free's technology with a streamlined application form called FastApp, located at http://www.reporting.net/networks/affiliates/bf_fast_app. Founded in 1996, Be Free has offices in Marlborough, MA, Pittsburgh, PA, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , CA, Campbell, CA, Austin, TX and New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY. For more information, visit http://www.befree.com. Statements in this news release about Be Free, Inc. may be considered 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. as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations, hopes, beliefs and estimates. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated or projected. Further information about the risk factors that could affect the Company's performance are contained in the Company's filings with the Securities Exchange Commission, including but not limited to its S-1 dated November 3, 1999. |
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