This is not new, but....
ZULU Acquires Control of SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing
PR Newswire - January 05, 1998 13:00
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New Company Combines State-of-the-Art Banner Technology with
Internet Sales, Content Sponsorship and Promotions
NEWPORT, R.I., Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- ZULU-tek Inc., formerly Netmaster
Group, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: NETZ), a leading Internet advertising and
marketing technology company, said today that it acquired control on
December 31, 1997 of SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing, a world leader in
interactive marketing and advertising sales representation. ZULU purchased
its equity in SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing from SOFTBANK Holdings Inc.
ZULU's acquisition integrates state-of-the-art "beyond-the-banner"
technology of its subsidiary, echoMEDIA Technology, Inc., with SOFTBANK
Interactive Marketing's innovative Internet advertising sales, content
sponsorship and promotional capabilities. The new company will leap-frog the
current capabilities of Internet advertising firms by utilizing "beyond-the-
banner" advertising technology that delivers movie-quality Internet ads to
each end user. The technology solves a key industry problem by delivering the
appropriate file type to each end user based on modem speed. In addition, the
new venture will offer CD-ROM advertising and other forms of interactive
advertising as well as e-commerce technology to build back-end transactions
systems. These advanced technology offerings complement SOFTBANK Interactive
Marketing's products: The Foundation Buy portfolio of branded sites; the
SOFTBANK Network(SM), a proprietary ad network that uses powerful targeting
technology; and promotional sponsorship and custom programming capabilities.
"This acquisition is a significant step forward in establishing our
three-pronged business model," said Ronald I. Meatchem, chairman of ZULU.
"Combining our current Internet advertising technology with SOFTBANK
Interactive Marketing's outstanding sales infrastructure, technology-based
marketing solutions and proprietary ad network will solidify ZULU's plans to
become the number one provider of Internet advertising and marketing
solutions."
"We are committed to delivering quality, simplicity, service and
especially results to both Web site clients and advertisers," said Caroline
Vanderlip, CEO, SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing. "This new venture combines
SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing's ability to deliver effective, online
marketing campaigns to meet the demands of advertisers with ZULU's advertising
technology leadership."
Sales Growth
Combined gross sales for ZULU and SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing for the
month of December 1997 totaled $7.1 million. ZULU intends to expand SOFTBANK
Interactive Marketing's sales force by more than 20% as well as its product
offerings to maintain its industry leadership position. The combined group
provided services to more than 1,000 leading advertisers in 1997.
About ZULU
ZULU's subsidiaries are echoMEDIA Technology, Inc., NETZ-Autotrak, Inc.
and SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing, Inc. ZULU (www.echomedia.com) is the only
vertically integrated Internet company with in-house technical development and
support for Internet, CD-ROM and other digital advertising and e-commerce
applications as well as a Web-based automobile industry tracking system.
EchoMEDIA's interactive advertising software, Sesame-Ad(TM) and While-You-
Wait(TM), for the first time allows advertisers to realize the full potential
of the Web as an advertising medium. The software enables advertisers to run
multimedia, Beyond The Banner (BTB), commercials on the Web -- elements of the
same commercials that are used on television, with all the drama, color, sound
and impact. Web advertising messages are no longer confined to static banner
ads. Based on connection speed, browser type and plug-ins, the software
automatically delivers the most effective ad creative to each end user. No
impression is missed due to lack of a plug-in or slow connection speeds.
Sesame-Ad and While-You-Wait seamlessly deliver the advertisers' message to
all viewers. EchoMEDIA's customers include AltaVista, Bellcore, Daytimer
Technologies, Kodak, Prodigy, Symantec, United Airlines and USA Today.
About SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing, Inc.
SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing, Inc. (www.simweb.com) is a market leader
in interactive media sales, representing many of the world's most prestigious
Web sites, and providing both media clients and advertisers with results-
oriented interactive marketing solutions. Through a portfolio of its branded
Foundation Buy sites and ad network, the company provides the largest single
source of Web impressions in the world.
The Foundation Buy and the SOFTBANK Network are complementary products
that offer a broad range of benefits, including brand affinity with leading
sites, strong editorial context, reach, frequency and one-to-one marketing.
In support of these products, the Internet Strategies Group develops and
implements turn-key Internet marketing solutions, such as sponsorships,
sweepstakes, promotions, and custom programming.
SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing's clients are a select, prestigious
group of Web sites, including: Telia's Alta Vista mirror site; Carling
Net; CricInfo; Hotmail; MapQuest; Intellicast; Netscape; NewsClassifieds;
OzEmail; Playboy; WBS; and ZDNet and more than 50 Web site affiliates in The
SOFTBANK Network. Headquartered in New York City, SOFTBANK Interactive
Marketing maintains offices in Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles;
San Francisco; London; Melbourne and Sydney.
SOURCE ZULU-tek Inc.
/CONTACT: Wall Street Equities for ZULU-tek Inc., 401-846-1100; Linda
Segervall of SOFTBANK Interactive Marketing, 415-263-8182, or
linda_segervall@simweb.com; or Renee Edelman, 212-704-8174, or
renee@edelman.com, or RoseAnn Ciarlante, 212-704-8273, or
rciarlan@edelman.com, both of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide/ |
