News America Marketing and AOL's Shortcuts.com Partner to Offer Consumers Unprecedented Savings and Convenience
New York, NY & Dulles, VA (May 5, 2010) -- News America Marketing, a division of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS), and the nation’s largest publisher of consumer packaged goods coupons, and AOL, a leading global Web services company, today announced that they have formed a strategic partnership, creating the nation’s largest printable and direct-to-card coupon distribution network.
This partnership combines News America Marketing’s promotional marketing expertise, and printable coupon technology with AOL’s broad consumer reach and direct-to-card (D2C) coupon technology. Under the agreement, News America Marketing’s interactive division, SmartSource.com, will be the exclusive provider of secure printable coupons for grocery, health, beauty and cosmetic, and over the counter manufacturer coupon offers for AOL’s consumer savings destination Shortcuts.com and for the Shortcuts.com Network.
Similarly, AOL’s Shortcuts.com will be the exclusive provider of D2C coupon offers on News America Marketing’s SmartSource.com consumer couponing site. Both sites will now offer printable and D2C coupons, offering consumers flexibility, convenience and added savings, in addition to providing consumer packaged goods companies and other couponing partners with significantly expanded distribution and unique promotional channels.
“At its most basic level, this partnership delivers a much wider spectrum of savings offers to a substantially larger audience,” said Chris Mixson, President, News America Marketing. “AOL’s massive reach combined with Shortcuts.com’s direct-to-card and mobile technologies will allow us to offer our clients almost limitless online promotional opportunities to drive consumer purchases. At the same time, we’ll be delivering to consumers the widest array of coupons ever presented online, in addition to the flexibility of choosing whether to redeem those savings through their store loyalty card or via coupons they print at home.”
“We are excited to join News America Marketing in this venture," said Jon Brod, Executive Vice President, AOL Ventures, Local and Mapping. "It's a powerful combination that will significantly expand the audience for our savings solutions."
The agreement takes effect immediately.
News America Marketing®, a division of News Corporation, is the leading single-source provider of consumer marketing services. The company’s product portfolio, marketed under the SmartSource® brand name, consists of the first branded free-standing insert, known as SmartSource Magazine®, various in-store marketing products, merchandising services, database marketing tools and online promotions. These products and services allow marketers to deliver a brand message to over 200 million consumers each month via a network of 1,500 newspapers and over 50,000 supermarket, drug, office, mass merchandisers and dollar-store locations across the country, including Kroger, Safeway, Publix, Food Lion, CVS, Rite Aid Walgreens, Staples, Family Dollar and Dollar General.
News America Marketing’s diverse portfolio of consumer-marketing programs includes:
IN-STORE MEDIA
SmartSource® At-Shelf Sampling SmartSource CartsSM SmartSource Coupon Machine® SmartSource Floortalk® SmartSource Price Pop GuaranteedSM SmartSource Shelftake One® SmartSource ShelftalkSM SmartSource Shelftalk Banner®
SmartSource Shelfvision VideoSM SmartSource Showcase®
SmartSource SmartSamplingSM
HOME-DELIVERED MEDIA
SmartSource Magazine®
SmartSource Custom Media
Direct Response Advertising
Partnerships Themed Events
ONLINE MEDIA
SmartSource Online
www.smartsource.com
TRADE MARKETING
SmartSource Price Feature PlusSM
DATABASE MARKETING
SmartSource Direct®
MERCHANDISING SERVICES
News America Marketing—International provides consumer-marketing services in Canada, Australia and New Zealand; in addition, we have a network of advertising and promotion partners in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa.
News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of June 30, 2009 of approximately US$53 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$30 billion. News Corporation is a diversified global media company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers and information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.
Contact: News America Marketing
Laura Richards
212.782.8145
lrichards@newsamerica.com
Rubenstein Associates Public Relations
Marisa Wayne
212.843.9216
mwayne@rubenstein.com
AOL
Pamela Springs
703.265.6139
pamela.springs@corp.aol.com
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