Valassis Provides Extended Reach and Targeting to South Florida Advertisers
Through Palm Beach Post Alliance
LIVONIA, Mich., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valassis (NYSE: VCI),
one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies, and The
Palm Beach Post, the leading newspaper in Palm Beach County, Florida, and the
state's Treasure Coast area, today announced a powerful, innovative alliance
that changes the way advertisers reach households in the West Palm Beach - Ft.
Pierce designated market area (DMA).
Through the alliance, The Palm Beach Post will combine its advertising
inserts with Valassis' RedPlum(TM) Direct Mail Package, creating a single,
shared offering that will reach 538,000 households weekly in the South Florida
market. The RedPlum Direct Mail Package consists of individual, relevant
offers from various businesses that are combined into a single package and
delivered to consumers' mailboxes to help them make smart buying decisions by
providing them with savings and value. The familiar Have you Seen Me?(R)
Missing Child images and information are featured on the back page. Beginning
September 2008, the RedPlum Direct Mail Package will be delivered to over
114,000 home subscribers of The Palm Beach Post, and mailed by Valassis to the
balance of the 538,000 non-subscriber households.
This alliance is the latest of successful collaborations Valassis has
entered into with 30 newspapers across the United States, changing the way
advertisers reach out to 8 million U.S. households. Advertisers benefit from
the efficiency of the newspapers' delivery channel and the precision of
Valassis targeting and reach via direct mail. Consumers benefit from
advertising that is delivered by trusted, reliable sources -- The Palm Beach
Post and Valassis' RedPlum product.
"This deal is a win for advertisers and consumers alike," said William
Blackmer, Valassis Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing. "Advertisers can
leverage the power of newspaper and mail to enhance their message to consumers
and can ensure maximum response through both delivery methods. Consumers will
receive valuable deals and offers all in one package, which will greatly
facilitate planned shopping experiences. We are very pleased to continue
building our relationship with The Palm Beach Post in this important market."
"Harnessing the power of The Post's readership with Valassis' RedPlum
Direct Mail Package indeed offers excellent value to our advertisers and
readers," said Doug Franklin, Publisher of The Post. "Our market continues to
be one of the top newspaper readership markets in America. By partnering with
Valassis, we extend advertisers' ability to reach very desirable consumers in
this educated, affluent and fast-growing market."
The alliance will leverage Valassis' proprietary sub-ZIP code consumer
targeting platform. This allows advertisers to maximize their response rates
by delivering the right information to consumers. The Palm Beach Post's
newspaper subscribers will receive their merged RedPlum Direct Mail Package on
top of the Wednesday newspaper, ensuring high visibility for the advertising
offers, while those who do not receive the newspaper will receive their
RedPlum Direct Mail Package in their mailboxes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The package will be co-branded RedPlum and The Palm Beach Post.
About Valassis
Valassis is one of the nation's leading media and marketing services
companies, offering unparalleled reach and scale to more than 15,000
advertisers. Its RedPlum media portfolio delivers value on a weekly basis to
over 100 million shoppers across a multi-media platform -- in-home, in-store
and in-motion. Through its newest offering -- redplum.com -- consumers will
find compelling national and local deals online. Headquartered in Livonia,
Michigan with approximately 7,000 associates in 28 states and nine countries,
Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate citizenship
programs, including its America's Looking for Its Missing Children(R) program.
Valassis companies include Valassis Direct Mail, Inc., Valassis Canada,
Promotion Watch, Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC and NCH
Marketing Services, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.valassis.com
or http://www.redplum.com.
The Palm Beach Post -- in print and online -- is the top local source of
news and information in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, The Palm
Beach Post is a division of Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc., which also publishes
the Palm Beach Daily News, covering the island of Palm Beach, and La Palma, a
weekly Hispanic newspaper. The Post is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., one of
the nation's leading media companies and providers of automotive services.
Safe Harbor and Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements found in this document constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Valassis to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following:
price competition from Valassis' existing competitors; new competitors in any
of Valassis' businesses; a shift in client preference for different
promotional materials, strategies or coupon delivery methods; an unforeseen
increase in Valassis' paper or postal costs; changes which affect the
businesses of Valassis' clients and lead to reduced sales promotion spending;
challenges and costs of achieving synergies and cost savings in connection
with the acquisition of ADVO and integrating ADVO's operations may be greater
than expected; Valassis' substantial indebtedness, and its ability to incur
additional indebtedness, may affect Valassis' financial health; certain
covenants in Valassis' debt documents could adversely restrict Valassis'
financial and operating flexibility; fluctuations in the amount, timing,
pages, weight and kinds of advertising pieces from period to period, due to a
change in Valassis' clients' promotional needs, inventories and other factors;
Valassis' failure to attract and retain qualified personnel may affect its
business and results of operations; a rise in interest rates could increase
Valassis' borrowing costs; the outcome of ADVO's pending shareholder
lawsuits; possible governmental regulation or litigation affecting aspects of
Valassis' business; and general economic conditions, whether nationally or in
the market areas in which Valassis conducts its business, may be less
favorable than expected. These and other risks and uncertainties related to
Valassis' business are described in greater detail in its filings with the
United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including Valassis' reports
on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the foregoing information should be read in
conjunction with these filings. Valassis disclaims any intention or
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
SOURCE Valassis
Mary Broaddus, Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications,
Valassis, +1-734-591-7375, broaddusm@valassis.com
