STAMPS.COM LAUNCHES MAJOR FEBRUARY MARKETING BLITZ TARGETING FIVE U.S. CITIIES
Company Intensifies Efforts in Small Business Hubs of Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle as It Focuses on Increasing Its Market Share Lead
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Feb. 3, 2000 – Stamps.com™ (Nasdaq: STMP), the leader in Internet Postage™, today kicks-off a month-long marketing “blitz” that will target small office/home office business owners in five key cities – Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle. Aimed at building on its dominant market share, the campaign includes new television advertising featuring the voice of actor Nathan Lane, approximately one million direct mail pieces, a re-designed Web site and the widespread launch of the America Online Inc. partnership.
“With more than 100,000 Internet Postage customers to date, Stamps.com has pulled away from the pack,” said Chris Hylen, senior vice president of marketing at Stamps.com. “We’ve initiated an aggressive strategy that is highly targeted, educational and flavored with valuable promotions for new and current customers to show that Stamps.com is ‘simply easier’ than any other postage option. Our intention is to now take full control of the Internet Postage space.”
Stamps.com defines a customer as someone who has installed its Internet Postage software and who has an active, licensed U.S. Postal Service account, funded with postage, and tied to a credit card or checking account number for billing purposes. As the pioneer Internet Postage service, Stamps.com does not require the purchase of an additional hardware device, such as a meter, electronic vault or dongle.
With just an online connection, computer and printer, Stamps.com customers are able to leverage the Internet to give them immediate access to purchase and print postage right from their desktop. Stamps.com has customer support analysts available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in order to provide exceptional customer service around the clock.
The new television ads are 60-second animated spots featuring the distinctive voice of actor and comedian Nathan Lane, focusing attention on the advantages of Stamps.com. Viewers are encouraged to go to www.getstamps.com for a free one-month trial and $20 in free postage.
“We chose a different creative direction with this ad campaign that combines brand awareness and direct marketing techniques to showcase Stamps.com as the innovative leader in Internet Postage, while clearly describing how to use the service and its benefits,” added Hylen.
Stamps.com will integrate its new “Simply Easier” tag line into more than one million direct mail pieces being sent to target customers in the select cities. The pieces educate the recipient on the ease of using Stamps.com Internet Postage and offer incentives for trial.
The Stamps.com Web site has also received a new look that will debut the second week in February. Using research that combined traditional usability testing with groundbreaking modern eye-tracking studies, Stamps.com was able to quantitatively measure how users look at and interact with the Web site. The re-design makes it easier for customers to navigate and learn about the service, including pricing, special offers and time required to get started.
February also marks the widespread kick-off of the Stamps.com partnership with AOL, a $56 million marketing and distribution agreement signed by the companies in the fourth quarter of 1999. Stamps.com is now the only Internet Postage service available for downloading from the AOL network and Netscape NetCenter. Stamps.com will launch interactive advertising across all the AOL brands – the AOL network, AOL.com, Netscape, CompuServe, and Spinner.com – with dynamic targeting to Digital City customers in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.
About Stamps.com
Founded in 1996, Santa Monica-based Stamps.com is the only commercially approved true Internet Postage service. The company’s innovative technology eliminates the need for specialized hardware by giving customers the flexibility to print postage over the Internet – securely, accurately and fast. Through partnerships with major companies like America Online, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, Office Depot, Quicken.com and 3M, Stamps.com has tremendous reach into the small office/home office and consumer markets. More information about the company can be found at sdcmainprod.wpengine.com.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, are detailed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission made from time to time by Stamps.com, including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1999 and its registration statement on Form S-4, as amended, that was filed with the SEC on January 7, 2000. Stamps.com undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
Internet Postage, Stamps.com and the Stamps.com logo are trademarks of Stamps.com Inc. All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.