GeoCities Selects MessageMedia to Electronically Deliver Targeted Messages to Its 4 Million Homesteaders
Partnership Represents Largest Out-Sourced Email Marketing Effort Ever Reported
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1999-- MessageMedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MESG - news), the leading provider of email-based direct marketing and customer relationship management services, today announced it has been selected by GeoCities (Nasdaq:GCTY - news) to deliver periodic messages, newsletters and other advisories to its more than four million members every month.
GeoCities, which is the fifth most trafficked site on the Internet, generates more than 19.5 million unique visitors monthly and signs up more than 14,000 new members every day.
''We believe this is the highest volume email messaging contract ever awarded,'' said Larry Jones, president and chief executive officer of MessageMedia. ''To have been selected by GeoCities, the world's largest and leading pioneer in personal Web page communities, is a great achievement for MessageMedia and an indication of the growing reliance on professional outsourced services to deliver email efficiently and effectively. We are thrilled to be working with one of the true leaders of the Web.
''Communicating effectively and efficiently with our members is an important aspect of the growth of GeoCities,'' said Thomas R. Evans, president and CEO of GeoCities. ''MessageMedia gives us the ability to deliver personalized, high volume, graphically rich emails to members who choose to stay informed about new and exciting things at GeoCities.''
MessageMedia will deliver a variety of messages, from weekly emails to special event-driven communications and major announcements. In addition, MessageMedia will be distributing GeoCities' World Report, a weekly newsletter highlighting community events, weekly deals, newly launched products and services, contests and links to important resources and information at GeoCities.
In recent weeks MessageMedia has announced other large assignments with other leading companies including Mail.com and Standard & Poors. ''Few companies can manage a contract of this size,'' said Jones. ''It further cements MessageMedia's position as the leader in outsourced electronic messaging.''
About GeoCities
Based in Marina del Rey, Calif., with offices in New York and San Francisco, GeoCities is the world's largest and one of the fastest-growing communities of personal Web sites on the Internet. Four million GeoCities Homesteaders have created more than 35 million pages of personalized content. In March 1999, the GeoCities site generated more than 1.8 billion page views according to Nielsen I/PRO, and in March 1999, the site attracted over 21.3 million unique visitors and is ranked the fifth most trafficked site on the Internet, according to Media Metrix.
About MessageMedia Inc.
MessageMedia (NASDAQ:MESG, formerly NASDAQ:MAIL) is the leading provider of email-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of outsource messaging services for information delivery, permission-based direct marketing and ongoing customer communications using industry standard Internet protocols.
MessageMedia's customer portfolio includes clients from the financial services, publishing, direct marketing, retailing and electronic commerce industries. Clients include E TRADE, USA Today, GeoCities, Intuit, CMP Media, Barclays Bank and Bertelsmann. SOFTBANK and its affiliates own approximately 49% of the outstanding common stock of MessageMedia Inc. Pequot Capital Management, a Connecticut-based research-intensive investment firm with more than $5 billion in assets under management, is also a major investor in MessageMedia.
''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, 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. 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.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are: the limited operating history and early development stage of GeoCities; its lack of profitability and anticipation of continued losses; the unpredictability and potential fluctuations in future revenues due to factors beyond GeoCities' control, including acceptance of the Web as an advertising medium, the level of traffic on GeoCities' Web site, the uncertainty of revenues from e-commerce revenue-sharing relationships, and the possibility of future government regulation; the unproven nature of GeoCities' Web-based community business model; dependence on member-generated content; GeoCities' substantial reliance on advertising revenues; the limited experience of GeoCities' management in the Internet industry; dependence on key personnel; intense competition by other Web communities and businesses; integration and other risks associated with acquisitions; and other factors detailed in GeoCities' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its filing on Form S-1 and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.
All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
MessageMedia Inc. 6685 Gunpark Drive East, Suite 240, Boulder, Colo. 80301 Phone: 303/440-7550; Fax: 303/440-0303; www.messagemedia.com.
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Contact:
MessageMedia Inc.
Beth Mayfield, 619/410-3759
investor@messagemedia.com
or
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Herb Ritchell, 312/297-7443
herb_ritchell@edelman.com
or
GeoCities
Nick Edgar, 310/302-1794
nedgar@geostaff.com
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