MessageMedia Teams with R.R. Donnelley Online Services on ePublish Web Site Program for Magazine Publishers
E-messaging Leader to Provide Newsletter Delivery as Part of Printing Giant's Innovative Web Offering
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 14, 1999-- MessageMedia Inc., a leading provider of marketing and customer relationship management services, announced today it has signed an exclusive agreement with R.R. Donnelley Online Services, the Internet solutions group of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NYSE: DNY).
Under the agreement, MessageMedia will offer e-mail-based newsletters to customers of R.R. Donnelley Online's ePublish, a unique program designed to allow magazine publishers to quickly develop a quality web site and online presence.
ePublish (http://www.rrd-epublish.com) will design, build and run web sites for magazine companies, incorporating tools and technology that are centered on content management, community building and commerce. The program brings leading technology and functionality to its product platform to meet the demanding needs of magazine publishers and online users. R.R. Donnelley Online selected MessageMedia as its ''best of breed'' alliance for e-mail content delivery, one of several technology planks on the ePublish platform.
''We are very pleased to win the account with R.R. Donnelley Online Services,'' said Liz Wallace, vice president of sales and service for MessageMedia. ''Donnelley understands all elements of the magazine publishing industry. Now the company is leveraging its print leadership position to the Internet. To win 'best-of-breed' designation within the ePublish program is not only a business win but a validation of MessageMedia's reputation as the premier provider of e-mail-based content delivery.''
R.R. Donnelly Online Services has introduced ePublish in order to allow magazine publishers to gain speed-to-market and technological advantages over building their own commercial web sites in-house. The ePublish platform includes chat and message boards, ad serving, a business-to-business ad sales network, content management, site analysis and reporting and an e-commerce solution in addition to the e-mail-based newsletter and content delivery provided by MessageMedia.
''Developing and managing a good web site requires a significant investment of dollars and personnel, yet many magazines simply don't have the internal resources dedicated to developing and supporting an Internet strategy,'' said Kimberly Williams, vice president of R.R. Donnelley Online Services. ''ePublish offers these publishers an opportunity to have a smart, highly functional web site at a manageable cost, while allowing them to focus on their core business. MessageMedia, the industry leader in e-mail-based marketing and customer relationship management and direct marketing tools, provides a seamless solution for ePublish clients to keep in touch with their readers using Internet e-mail to send newsletters and other content. It's a great fit.''
This latest addition to the Online Services portfolio demonstrates R.R. Donnelley's commitment to help its customers reach end-consumers through multiple communications channels and to build on its core competencies in print to launch new growth opportunities. ''We recognize that our customers have a growing need to communicate effectively across a broad range of media to succeed,'' says William L. Davis, chairman and CEO of R.R. Donnelley. ''Through our Online Services group, R.R. Donnelley can offer our customers a full range of integrated, cross-platform solutions, from print to the Internet.''
About R.R. Donnelley and Sons Co.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company is a leading North American commercial printer and information services company. From content management through logistics and distribution, the company offers the broadest range of integrated services to publishers of catalogs, magazines, books, directories and retail inserts. R.R. Donnelley also provides comprehensive document and communications management services for the financial, investment and healthcare industries. In all of these areas, the company applies its superior skill, scale and technology to deliver solutions that efficiently meet customers' strategic business needs.
About MessageMedia Inc.
MessageMedia is the leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of outsource messaging services for information delivery, e-commerce services, permission-based direct marketing, ongoing customer communications and real-time customer feedback solutions using industry standard Internet protocols. MessageMedia's customer portfolio includes clients from the financial services, publishing, direct marketing, retailing, software and electronic commerce industries. Clients include Cisco, E*TRADE, AOL, Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GeoCities, Intuit, CMP Media, Barclays Bank, EDS, CNBC, Universal Studios and Bertelsmann.
Investors in MessageMedia include SOFTBANK and its affiliates, which constitute the world's largest investors in the Internet and Pequot Capital Management, a Connecticut-based research-intensive investment firm.
''Safe Harbor'' Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the integration of a new senior management team, MessageMedia's limited operating history, the integration of recent acquisitions, risks associated with pending and future acquisitions, the anticipated fluctuations in operating results, the uncertain acceptance of new services being offered, and undeveloped and rapidly changing market and other factors detailed in MessageMedia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998, and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MessageMedia undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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