Morning guys & gals:
PTEK is a growing concern, closed at 14 5/8 & had two great news releases yesterday .. this one after the bell
Monday June 7, 5:15 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Premiere Technologies Launches Major Campaign to Attack $31 Billion
Unified Messaging Market
Marketing Push for Orchestrate(R) E-Mail by Phone Designed to Capture Category Leadership
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 1999-- Premiere Technologies (Nasdaq:PTEK - news) has launched a multi-million dollar national marketing
campaign supporting the launch of Orchestrate® E-Mail by Phone in a move designed to capture category leadership in the $31 billion emerging unified messaging
market.
Orchestrate E-Mail by Phone is Premiere's latest advance in Web-based communications solutions that allows users to hear their e-mail over the phone and
respond to it with their own voice from any phone, anywhere.
''The marketing proposition behind the launch of this service is potentially explosive,'' said Boland T. Jones, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Premiere
Technologies, Inc. ''Picture this, we're telling people that we can give any telephone, a device they use everywhere everyday, the power to extend the reach of
their computer.''
The marketing campaign, designed to solicit individuals and small businesses to sign up for Orchestrate E-Mail by Phone with a flat monthly fee of just $19.95,
launches this week and runs throughout 1999. Orchestrate E-mail by Phone users dial a local number to access the service without incurring additional per minute
charges for usage when calling from their home area. Premiere has built a worldwide IP-network that allows local access in more than 4,500 cities in eight
countries. This existing network differentiates the Orchestrate E-mail by Phone service from any competitors and provides Premiere with a strategic low-cost
advantage.
''Premiere's installed base of customers, coupled with their worldwide sales effort, gives them a strong first mover advantage in this growing category,'' said Berge
Ayvazian, Executive Vice President of The Yankee Group. ''When you add the fact that they plan to seed the market with free accounts to get people hooked on
the service, Premiere is trumping the competition to position themselves as the market leader in unified messaging.''
Premiere will introduce the product over the next 30 days to the more than one million customers currently using Premiere's Voice & Data Messaging and/or
Enhanced Calling services. In addition, Premiere will begin offering the service to approximately 4 million customers through its long-standing relationships with
leading multi-level marketing companies. A 600 person direct sales force has been deployed worldwide to begin calling on small to mid-size businesses.
A national print campaign, targeting mobile professionals and small to mid-size growth companies, includes advertising in publications such as THE NEW YORK
TIMES, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, FAST COMPANY, INC., YOUR COMPANY, BUSINESS 2.0, DELTA SKY, AMERICAN
WAY and UNITED HEMISPHERES.
Premiere has also launched a new Orchestrate® E-mail by Phone Website, found at www.orchestrate.com, which features product demonstrations and sign ups.
A toll-free number, 877-HEAR-MAIL, is also available.
The campaign runs in seven major U.S. markets as well, each selected based on demographics and efficiency, coupled with high penetration of cell phone and
e-mail usage. The marketing efforts will be tailored to fit the unique opportunities and profile of each market. In Atlanta, for example, the campaign places special
emphasis on visibility at SuperComm, the international communications show opening this week, and at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.
The campaign's tagline, ''Give Your E-Mail A Voice,'' will be exposed to consumers via newspaper, outdoor and transit advertising, and an arresting series of
radio spots using the friendly computerized voice of Orchestrate E-Mail by Phone as the spokesperson.
The advertising effort is supported with a national public relations campaign and aggressive promotions marketing designed to engender grassroots enthusiasm and
word-of-mouth endorsement of the product. A specially designed mobile demo and sign-up van will travel to major events, and kiosks with live product demos
and sign-ups will be placed at key office buildings.
''The number one thing consumers want from a new technology is simplicity,'' said Randolph W. Salisbury, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Premiere.
''We've intentionally made Orchestrate E-Mail by Phone as simple as voice mail, and everyone understands voice mail. The marketing effort is designed to bring
that point home.''
To use the new service, users dial a personalized number from any phone and their e-mail is read to them via text-to-voice translation. Customers will have the
option of replying to the original sender by voice or forwarding the original message with comments to other users within Premiere's vast voice-mail network, all for
a flat-rate of $19.95 per month.
About Premiere Technologies
Atlanta-based Premiere Technologies, Inc. provides innovative solutions to simplify communications by combining the power of the Internet with the reach of the
telephone. Founded in 1991, Premiere has operations in 32 countries and can be found at www.premtec.com.
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