MessageMedia
Launches Consumer Privacy Initiative, Names Industry's First Permission Advocate
Company Takes Lead in Fight Against Unsolicited "Spam"
--Oct. 14, 1999--Consumers now have a powerful new ally in the battle against unsolicited
bulk e-mail, or "spam." MessageMedia (Nasdaq:MESG), a leading provider of
e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services, today
announced it is launching a series of aggressive privacy initiatives designed to help
marketers develop more effective e-mail marketing campaigns and ultimately shield
consumers from unwanted commercial e-mail.
MessageMedia's Consumer Privacy Initiative includes:
1. Appointing the industry's first Permission Advocate;
2. Partnering with Brightmail, Inc., a provider of advanced e-mail products and services,
including anti-spam filtering, to deliver enhanced e-mail list auditing; and
3. Launching an educational series known as E-mail University with one-to-one marketing
pioneers Peppers and Rogers Group, beginning November 15 in Chicago.
MessageMedia has appointed Derek Scruggs, formerly director of product development, to the
position of Permission Advocate. In his new capacity, Mr. Scruggs will oversee the
direction and implementation of marketers' e-mail marketing campaigns and screen them to
ensure that they meet the company's and industry's strict anti-spam guidelines. Mr.
Scruggs will also educate clients on proper e-mail marketing practices.
"Derek's new role will require him to be part evangelist, part tactician, and part
permission enforcer," said Larry Jones, president and CEO of MessageMedia, Inc.
"Our clients and their customers are very concerned about the repercussions of
unsolicited bulk e-mail. In response, we are initiating tactics that will guard consumers
against this malpractice of e-mail marketing."
"Although our clients are very sensitive to the spam issue, they are not always clear
on how to fully leverage e-mail as a customer communications vehicle," said Derek
Scruggs, permission advocate for MessageMedia. "My role is to educate our clients on
avoiding unsolicited bulk e-mail methods and enlighten them on the various opt-in e-mail
techniques that are available."
To enhance its comprehensive internal list auditing process, MessageMedia has partnered
with Brightmail, to utilize Brightmail's probe network technology in order to filter out
problems with clients' opt-in e-mail lists.
"Most marketers use data from lists that were collected during their direct
mail/marketing heyday," said Scruggs. "When they come to us, some marketers are
not aware of how a list can be corrupted and include addresses of people who do not want
to receive e-mail. Our partnership with Brightmail allows us to leverage the capabilities
of an anti-spam technology leader while ensuring that our clients always engage in ethical
e-mail practices."
MessageMedia, Inc. in partnership with Peppers and Rogers Group (PRG), will launch a
series of seminars beginning November 15 in Chicago. Future seminars and locations will be
announced at a later date. Topics to be covered include:
- Best practices in the use of e-mail information delivery, marketing and customer service
- Building a customer-centric e-mail strategy
- Integrating e-mail into other marketing and customer relationship practices
- Leveraging the full power of one-to-one communication in e-mail
marketing.
- Regulation and legislation concerning e-mail
The first seminar will include speakers such as Seth Godin, vice president of Yahoo! and
author of "Permission Marketing"; Martha Rogers, Ph.D., founder and partner of
Peppers and Rogers Group and co-author of "The 1to1 Field Book"; Larry Jones,
president and CEO of MessageMedia; and Derek Scruggs, permission advocate.
About MessageMedia
MessageMedia (Nasdaq: MESG) is a leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship
management and direct marketing services. The company offers a comprehensive suite of
outsource messaging services for information delivery, e-commerce services,
permission-based direct marketing, ongoing customer communications and real-time customer
feedback solutions using industry standard Internet protocols. MessageMedia's customer
portfolio includes clients from the financial services, publishing, direct marketing,
retailing, software and electronic commerce industries. Clients include E*TRADE, AOL,
Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GeoCities, Intuit, CMP Media, Barclays Bank, EDS, CNBC,
Universal Studios, and Bertelsmann. Investors in MessageMedia include SOFTBANK and its
affiliates, which constitute the world's largest investor in the Internet, and Pequot
Capital Management, a Connecticut-based research-intensive investment firm.
"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, MessageMedia's limited operating history, the integration of recent
acquisitions, risks associated with pending and future acquisitions, the anticipated
fluctuations in operating results, the uncertain acceptance of new services being offered,
and undeveloped and rapidly changing market and other factors detailed in MessageMedia's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1998 and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.
All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. 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.
http://www.messagemedia.com
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