MESG - Standard & Poor's Delivers Daily Investment Information to Customers Through MessageMedia; S&P's Market Mail Newsletter Subscriber Base Doubles in Less Than Two Months
BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1999--MessageMedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MESG), the
leading provider of email-based direct marketing and customer relationship management
services, announced today that it now provides email messaging services for Standard &
Poor's online investment information and advisory service, S&P Personal Wealth
(http://personalwealth.com).
MessageMedia enables S&P Personal Wealth to quickly deliver critical investor
information via email.
MessageMedia's robust email service allows Standard & Poor's to provide same day
financial news, market and investment information directly to its subscribers -- in the
first hour of stock market trading. The Market Mail newsletter, available in both text
and graphically-enriched HTML formats, includes information such as market news and
commentary, Standard & Poor's analyst upgrades and downgrades, investment recommendations
and more.
"Individual investors now have an investment information tool that delivers prompt,
usable, market intelligence," said Doug Dundas, Editor-in-Chief S&P Personal Wealth.
"Access to this kind of information is critical for our users, and we partnered with
MessageMedia on this initiative because their industrial-strength service enables us to
meet investors' needs now and in the future."
"Email messaging has become a key strategic driver in the financial services industry
that is enabling companies to significantly enhance online relationships with their
customers," said Larry Jones, president of MessageMedia. "We are delighted to be working
with Standard & Poor's, helping them leverage email to provide timely investment
information to subscribers, build online brand equity and enhance customer loyalty."
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 percent 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.
About S&P Personal Wealth
S&P Personal Wealth (http://personalwealth.com) is the award winning service created
specifically for individual investors by Standard & Poor's. Investment management
features include personalized stock and mutual fund recommendations; buy, sell, and hold
alerts; free real-time quotes; live market commentary; and in-depth analysis and research
on companies and funds from hundreds of Standard and Poor's analysts worldwide. S&P
Personal Wealth was recently described as "...easily the best one-stop shopping site for
investors..." by Money.com.
Standard and Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is a major financial and
investment content provider for the Internet and a leading global provider of information
to institutional, corporate, municipal, global and consumer markets.
Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading information services provider
meeting worldwide needs in education, business, finance, the professions and government.
Sales in 1997 were $3.5 billion.
"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,
the Company*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. 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.
CONTACT: MessageMedia Inc.
Beth Mayfield, 619/410-3759
investor@messagemedia.com
or
Standard & Poor's Consumer Markets
Mark Roth, 212/770-4752
mark_roth@mcgraw-hill.com
or
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Renee Schwager, 312/297-7430
renee_schwager@edelman.com
08:04 EDT APRIL 13, 1999 |
