Wednesday October 13, 8:38 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Audio Book Club, Inc.
Audio Book Club Expands Reach Through Exclusive
Marketing Alliance With iVillage.com
- Campaign Targets Premium Online Demographic -
MORRISTOWN, N.J., Oct. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Audio Book Club, Inc. (Amex: KLB - news) announced today that it has entered into a strategic online marketing alliance with iVillage Inc. (Nasdaq: IVIL - news) to become the exclusive online retailer of audiobooks and old-time radio programs within iVillage.com, the leading women's network online
(http://www.ivillage.com or AOL keyword: ivillage).
The Audio Book Club-iVillage.com alliance provides Audio Book Club with access to a highly specific demographic audience, targeting women between the ages of 25 and 54. iVillage.com members will be introduced to Audio Book Club and its various product offerings within iVillage.com's Shopping Central and allHealth channels through links and banner advertisements.
iVillage.com also will feature various travel-related audiobook titles and a ''bestseller'' list in its Travel channel, and will promote relationships-related audiobooks within its Relationships channel. In addition, Audio Book Club will sponsor message boards within iVillage.com's Parent Soup channel, and will offer astrology-related audiobooks within the Astrology.net channel.
Audio Book Club also will work with iVillage.com to develop special offers to be sent to iVillage.com members through periodic e-mails.
Norton Herrick, Chairman and CEO of Audio Book Club, stated, ''Geared specifically towards today's busy women, iVillage.com provides an excellent opportunity to expand our reach in what is certainly our leading target market, representing nearly 60 percent of our total customer base. Whether women are interested in travel, parenting, self-help or other specific topics, our alliance with iVillage.com allows us to customize our e-commerce offerings depending on the specific channel within the site, thereby increasing the likelihood of a transaction.''
Added John McMenamin, VP and General Manager of Sponsorship for iVillage, ''As a leading provider of audiobook content, Audio Book Club complements our strategy of providing solutions to women in a wide gamut of relevant topic areas, and allows our members and visitors to make a great selection from thousands of titles with only the click of a mouse.''
About iVillage.com: The Women's Network iVillage.com: The Women's Network (http://www.ivillage.com and AOL keyword: ivillage) is the leading women's network online providing practical solutions and everyday support for women between the ages of 25 and 54. iVillage.com is organized into branded communities that focus on issues of most importance to women and provides interactive services, peer support
and online access to experts through 14 content channels and three stores. Content channels include Parent Soup, allHealth, MoneyLife, Career, Work from Home, Relationships, Fitness & Beauty, Click!: Where Computers Make Sense, Pets, Travel, ParentsPlace, Food, Book Club and Astrology, and are complemented by stores such as iBaby and iMaternity and Shopping Central. Established in 1995 and headquartered in New York City, iVillage Inc. (Nasdaq: IVIL - news) is a new media company, widely recognized as an industry leader in developing innovative sponsorship and commerce relationships that match the desire of marketers to reach women with the needs of iVillage.com members for relevant information and services.
About Audio Book Club
Audio Book Club, Inc. is the world's largest marketer of audiobooks and old-time radio shows through its membership club which markets and sells audiobooks, old-time radio shows and music via the Internet at www.audiobookclub.com and by mail order. MediaBay.com, an affiliate of Audio Book Club, Inc., is the Company's media portal and e-commerce site located at www.mediabay.com. MediaBay.com offers visitors a single location for premium spoken word content available in both hard
goods and in secure digitally downloadable formats. The MediaBay.com network of websites includes audiobookclub.com, audiobook.com, radiospirits.com, videoyesteryear.com,
and downloadbay.com. Audio Book Club, Inc. is also a publisher of audio and video content including classic radio and video programs and markets and sells that content on audio cassettes, CDs and video cassettes via numerous distribution channels including the Internet at radiospirits.com, catalogues, radio shows, retail and other outlets. Since commencing operations in January 1994, Audio Book Club, Inc. has engaged in an aggressive membership recruitment program to establish a core Audio Book Club member base. Following its recent acquisitions of Doubleday's Audiobooks Direct and Columbia House's Audiobook Club, Audio Book Club, Inc. now has a combined membership and customer database of more than 2 million names. The company's shareholders include Time Warner, Sony, Harvard Management Company Inc. on behalf of Harvard College and a fund advised by Soros Fund Management LLC.
Safe Harbor Statement Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements which are not historical facts contained in this press release are forward looking statements that involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to successfully integrate the newly acquired
businesses into its operations and the uncertainty regarding the actual effect of the acquisitions on the Company, risks relating to
the Company's direct mail campaigns and its ability to retain members to its book club, risks relating to the Company's growth
strategy, dependence on third party service providers, uncertainty of the scope of future product returns, collection and risks
associated with selling products on credit, competition and other risks detailed in the Company's Securities and Exchange
Commission filings. The words ''believe'' and ''should'' and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Readers
are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date the statement
was made.
SOURCE: Audio Bo |
