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To: Rick Rappaport who wrote (2588)	7/1/1998 12:33:00 PM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10081

Road Warriors are Heavy Travelers On the Information Superhighway, According to New American Express Survey Frequent Business Travelers Depend on Technology To Stay Connected While On The Road NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1998-- Today's ''road warrior'' wants a good meal, a comfortable bed and a way to stay wired, whenever and wherever. Business travelers are using the Internet and e-mail to stay well-connected with the office, clients and home, according to the 1998 American Express Road Warrior Technology Study, recently conducted by NFO Interactive. The study was an online poll of 546 business travelers who take at least 10 overnight business trips per year and are also online users. ''Business travelers need to be plugged in,'' said Mike Mulligan, Senior Vice President for American Express Corporate Services Interactive. ''They rely on technology to be productive on the road and to conduct business remotely 24 hours a day.'' Of those polled, 96% agreed that technology has improved business travel. The greatest benefits cited were improved access to office and clients (27%), time savings through instant communications (18%), and operating a virtual office through laptops (17%). The study found that while the traditional phone call (87%) and voicemail (61%) were the road warriors' top communication tools, over half (57%) of the respondents said they always or almost always communicate via e-mail. In fact, 18% reported accessing e-mail three or more times a day while traveling; nearly two-thirds (66%) said they access e-mail once or twice each day; and 15% said once every other day or less. Over one-third (37%) stated they always or almost always access their company's network while on the road. The 1998 American Express Road Warrior Technology Study also revealed that Internet usage among these wired road warriors is very popular. Forty-six percent reported surfing the Internet while on overnight business trips. In addition, 74% of those surveyed said they have visited travel reservation websites on the Internet, and 84% of this group said that they have gathered information on availability and/or pricing of flights, hotels and car rentals on travel websites. When asked to list what they value when using an online travel reservation system, road warriors ranked the following features as most important: 1) ease of use; 2) speed or ability to make travel arrangements quickly; 3) 24-hour access; 4) the ability to make arrangements for ground transportation; 5) producing and printing travel itineraries. Being wired has its downside, however, since virtually all road warriors surveyed said they work longer hours while on the road. They work an average of 1.3 to 1.7 more hours per day while on overnight business trips, compared to when they are in their own offices. In addition, the average road warrior gets only 6.5 hours of sleep each night when on overnight business trips. The 1998 American Express Road Warrior Technology Study was fielded interactively from the NFO//net.source panel, a subset of the NFO (National Family Opinion) nationally projected consumer panel, which is comprised of 170,000 households that are online users. American Express operates the largest travel agency in the world, recording $17.4 billion in worldwide travel sales in 1997. Through its Corporate Services group, the company counts more than 75 percent of the Fortune 500 as customers of its business travel and/or Corporate Card programs. More information on the full range of travel management tools from Corporate Services can be found on the website americanexpress.com services. The American Express Company is a diversified worldwide travel, financial and network services company founded in 1850. It is a leader in charge and credit cards, Travelers Cheques, travel, financial planning, investment products, insurance and international banking.

To: Rick Rappaport who wrote (2588)	7/1/1998 12:42:00 PM
From: Kevin G. O'Neill	Respond to of 10081

--They have made a final selection for their ad agency of record, and will be announcing it pretty soon, according to an exec at the NYC show. Wouldn't tell me who, but said they are international in scope and the account will be based in SFX. --The design firm that created the new logos was Hornel Anderson, and they were behind Intel and other majors. --GMGC has also created an audio signature sound identity along the lines of INTC's. It sounds pretty good... --My understanding is they have lined up plenty more than 3 resellers... The main players will be doing a lot of advertising on their own, BTW, to help reduce our costs. --Don't know about any Wildfire suit-sitch news; it didn't come up at the meeting. Sorry if I'm repeating others on the thread, and all the best, Kevin

To: Rick Rappaport who wrote (2588)	7/1/1998 2:02:00 PM
From: Seconds Out	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10081

You are getting drawn in by rumors.(I wonder from where?!?) I was at the meeting. No lawsuit. Many resellers soon to be announced. Advertising, especially radio is to be expected, however will be implemented for Portico by resellers. GMGC will focus ad $$ on branding the Magic Talk name to their target market. Ramp up is to be a controlled one. First resellers on July 30, then PDA's , then Cellular/PCS carriers by year-end. Those who were looking for a quick kill are probably moving on right now. Those looking for investing in a smart management team with the big picture in focus, though licking some wounds right now, should feel good about the future IMHO.