PR NewsWire E*TRADE Strengthens Strategic Relationship With America Online Through New Marketing Agreement
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Through New Marketing Agreement
Agreement To Broaden E*TRADE's Brand Exposure On The AOL Service;
Extends Exclusive Offer For Six Free Months Of AOL
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- E*TRADE(R) Group Inc.
(Nasdaq: EGRP) today announced it has extended its relationship with America
Online (AOL), the world's leading interactive service, through an additional
multimillion-dollar marketing investment. E*TRADE and AOL first entered into
an advertising and began strategic marketing and promotional relationship in
July 1998.
"We believe the combined strength of the E*TRADE and AOL brand names and
our respective leadership roles in the worldwide online community is
beneficial to both of our companies as well as our customers," said Jerry
Gramaglia, senior vice president of Marketing and Sales for E*TRADE. "E*TRADE
currently gains a significant percentage of its customers through its
relationship with AOL, and we're looking forward to introducing a greater
number of AOL members to the self-directed investing opportunities available
through E*TRADE."
"The strengthening of our relationship with E*TRADE means more customers
of both companies will have the opportunity to discover new ways of empowering
their financial and information needs," said Myer Berlow, AOL's senior vice
president of Interactive Marketing. "E*TRADE has demonstrated its commitment
to the online investing category and has become a valued part of many of our
members' financial activities. AOL has earned its position as the world's
premier interactive services company by offering our customers important
value-added services, and we're looking forward to gaining greater awareness
among E*TRADE's customer base as part of our extended agreement."
In addition, E*TRADE will continue its agreement with the AOL Rewards(SM)
Program, in which AOL customers who open a new E*TRADE account through the AOL
web site receive 13,200 points in their AOL Rewards account -- redeemable for
six months of free AOL service or one of 50 other name-brand products and
services available through AOL Rewards. Online investors can open an E*TRADE
account with a minimum investment of $1,000. AOL members can get additional
information on opening an E*TRADE account through the AOL service by going to
"Keyword: etrade" on AOL.
As part of the relationship, E*TRADE will enhance its ability to attract
new customers through increased brand exposure throughout the AOL service.
According to recently released statistics by Media Metrix(TM) for the month of
March, AOL's News, Entertainment and Computing Channels ranked as the top
three most-visited "News Information Entertainment" pages on the Internet,
respectively.
Media Metrix, which measures the Internet reach of major web sites, also
reported that E*TRADE is the nation's most-visited online investing service
with an Internet reach for the month of March exceeding the combined reach of
the Charles Schwab & Co. and Ameritrade web sites. In April, AOL announced
that worldwide membership of its AOL service had exceeded 17 million. At the
same time, E*TRADE announced it had surpassed 1 million customer accounts.
Added Gramaglia, "It's exciting to think what can be accomplished when two
market leaders combine their resources toward a common goal. We look forward
to the partnership of E*TRADE and AOL continuing to meet the needs of online
investors and financial consumers."
About E*TRADE
A leading branded provider of online investing services, E*TRADE has
established a popular destination web site for self-directed investors. The
company offers independent investors the convenience and control of automated
stock, options and mutual funds order placement at low commission rates. In
addition, E*TRADE has a suite of value-added products and services that can be
personalized, including portfolio tracking, real-time stock quotes, Smart
Alerts, market commentary and analysis, news, investor community areas and
other information services.
E*TRADE was the first securities and financial services company to be
awarded the CPA WebTrust seal of assurance by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). In the fourth quarter of 1998, the
E*TRADE web site was named the No. 1 online investing site in a international
survey of the industry's top 20 Internet brokerage firms by Lafferty
Information and Research Group, a global provider of high-value and business
information research. Investors can access E*TRADE at www.etrade.com on the
Internet and through many other electronic channels and online services,
including AOL (Keyword: E*TRADE) and via the TELE*MASTER interactive telephone
system. E*TRADE Securities Inc. (Member NASD/SIPC), and its parent company,
E*TRADE Group Inc., are headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif.
Important Notice
E*TRADE is a registered trademark of the company. All other trademarks
are properties of their respective owners. The statements contained in this
news release that are forward-looking are based on current expectations that
are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may
differ materially. The uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited
to, changes in market activity, market acceptance of the new E*TRADE
destination web site, anticipated increases in the rate of new customer
acquisition, the conversion of new visitors to the site to customers,
seasonality, the development of new products and services, the enhancement of
existing products and services, competitive pressures (including price
competition), system failures or interruptions, economic and political
conditions, changes in consumer behavior and the introduction of competing
products having technological and/or other advantages. Further information
about these risks and uncertainties can be found in the information included
in the annual report filed by the Company with the SEC on Form 10-K (including
information under the caption "Risk Factors") and quarterly reports on Form
10-Q.
Contact: Media: Ken Sporleder, 650-328-5555, ext. 129,
ksporled@nealemay.com, or Doug Hendrix, 650-328-5555, ext. 115,
dhendrix@nealemay.com, both of Neale-May & Partners for E*TRADE Group Inc.; or
Tom Ziemba of AOL, 703-265-3284, tfziemba@aol.com.
SOURCE E*TRADE Group Inc.
-0- 05/05/99
/CONTACT: Media: Ken Sporleder, 650-328-5555, ext. 129,
ksporled@nealemay.com, or Doug Hendrix, 650-328-5555, ext. 115,
dhendrix@nealemay.com, both of Neale-May & Partners for E*TRADE Group Inc.; or
Tom Ziemba of AOL, 703-265-3284, tfziemba@aol.com/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 136683/
/Web site: etrade.com
(EGRP)
CO: E*TRADE Group Inc.; America Online |
