Bigfoot Interactive's Q2 2005 Email Benchmark Results Highlight Continued Success Across All Leading Vertical and Performance Metrics.

NEW YORK -- - Strategic Messaging Initiatives, Persona Marketing and Service Messaging Play an Increasing Role in Optimizing Performance and Customer Relationships -

Bigfoot Interactive, the leading provider of strategic, ROI-focused email communications solutions and marketing automation technologies, today announced the release of its quarterly vertical benchmark analysis for email campaigns launched and delivered in Q2 2005.

This quarter's results confirm the continued growth and high performance of strategic email initiatives, including contextually relevant persona-based marketing messaging as well as service, lifecycle and integrated automated email messaging between email, Web and inbound activity. Additionally, the overall delivery rate across all industries tracked - total emails attempted minus all failures - remains very strong at 94.4% with several key vertical markets and messaging initiatives reaching record levels (Retail Promotional messaging - 95.9% and Media Editorial messaging - 98%).

One of the leading causes of non-deliverables continues to be the number of invalid email addresses or hard bounces across client lists. In addition, recent policy changes at several local cable and DSL providers have introduced new complexities to the email delivery landscape for those marketers unequipped to adapt to these changes. These include the emergence of new limitations around simultaneous SMTP connections and volume rates as they are taking more aggressive steps to manage the challenges associated with protecting their customers from spam as cost efficiently as possible. To further explain and guide marketers through these new policy changes and their potential impact, Bigfoot Interactive has released a new white paper entitled "Navigating Deliverability in the Broadband Age".

"Marketers are thinking more strategically about their email communications efforts," said Al DiGuido, CEO, Bigfoot Interactive. "The ability to combine strategy with data analytics, marketing automation technologies and enhanced delivery capabilities is increasingly in demand by marketers looking to further differentiate themselves in the marketplace and optimize customer relationships and marketing return on investment."

Additional Performance Highlights Across Key Business Segments Include:

Travel - Lifecycle communications take center stage. Top-performing campaigns include first purchase welcome, trip guides and up-sell messaging to travelers who have purchased and are planning a trip. Campaigns launched this quarter brought an unprecedented average unique open rate of 51.5% for Service messaging and an equally impressive average unique click-through rate of 13%.

Retail - Focused, contextually relevant marketing campaigns, particularly persona or special-interest categories, fared well. The average unique click-through rate for Promotional messaging jumped more than 10.5% year-over-year to reach 4.1% overall.

Media - Overall, use of relevant dynamic content within existing newsletter efforts continues to yield impressive results. Personalized news feeds and A.M. headlines, weather/storm updates as well as enthusiast subjects such as jobs, sports, health and personal finance held strong interest. Editorial messaging fared well with an 11.9% average unique click-through rate - a 2.6% lift from Q1 2005.

Financial Services - Continued strong performance across Service messaging with the average unique click-through rate out performing the same period last year reaching 20.3% overall.

Methodology, Transparency Remains Key in Reporting

Bigfoot Interactive's transparent delivery reporting includes total emails attempted minus all failures (hard and soft). Findings from the Q2 2005 trend analysis were aggregated from Bigfoot Interactive's automated email technology platform, DREAMSM (Direct Response Email Application Manager) and were based on all retention-based mailings from April 1, 2005 through June 30, 2005. Individual campaign results can dramatically vary based on audience, creative, subject line/offer and more.

For further information on the Q2 2005 benchmark data or for an executive summary of Bigfoot Interactive's white paper "Navigating Deliverability in the Broadband Age" please contact Mary Beth Keelty at [e-mail].

About Bigfoot Interactive

Bigfoot Interactive (www.bigfootinteractive.com) is the leading provider of strategic, ROI-focused email communications solutions and marketing automation technologies. Through its combination of innovative technologies, professional services and vertical market expertise, Bigfoot Interactive helps marketers acquire, grow and retain profitable customer relationships through highly relevant and personalized email communications. The company's end-to-end suite of industry-specific products and services includes scalable email campaign technology, delivery optimization, marketing automation tools, turnkey integration solutions, strategic consulting, and creative expertise to produce email programs that generate measurable results throughout the customer lifecycle.

Since 1997, Bigfoot Interactive has developed successful permission-based email programs for more than 150 top companies, including Expedia and The Washington Post./Newsweek Interactive. Privately held and based in New York, the company's investors include JPMorgan Partners, Flatiron Partners, Hudson Ventures, Mitsui & Co., Grey Ventures, HPJ Media Ventures and Syndicat Technologies.

On September 8, 2005, Alliance Data Systems (NYSE: ADS) announced it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Bigfoot Interactive through its Epsilon subsidiary. Upon closing, Bigfoot Interactive will be known as Epsilon Interactive and will serve as Epsilon's key offering in the interactive marketing and communications space. The acquisition is anticipated to close this fall. For more information visit: http://www.bigfootinteractive.com/site/pressroom/press_releases/ pr2005/pr-09-8-05.htm (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field.Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Bigfoot Interactive, DREAM, and the Bigfoot Interactive logo are trademarks, service marks or registered trademarks of Bigfoot Interactive in the United States and other countries.