Newsbits
MSGI ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN SCREENZONENew York, NY - July 15, 1999 - Marketing Services Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MSGI), an Internet and marketing services industry leader, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire a 10% stake in Screenzone Media Networks, LLC. Screenzone is a new interactive broadcast gateway that was developed to advertise and promote movies, music, live events and other entertainment at shopping malls and over the Internet. Jeremy Barbera, Chairman and CEO of Marketing Services Group, Inc. stated, "We have invested in Screenzone because MSGI can immediately begin to leverage the movie and entertainment transaction data which they have aggregated to launch a new entertainment practice focused on developing and executing highly targeted audience development campaigns for major movie studios. Through Screenzone, MSGI gains access to such movie studios as Universal Pictures, Miramax Films, New Line Cinema, Twentieth Century Fox, among others. Each studio has purchased advertising time on the network." "We view Screenzone as the movie studios' greatest opportunity to effectively reach the moviegoers, especially the 16-25 year old demographic," added Mr. Barbera. "Film studios and record companies in the United States currently spend over $4 billion annually, predominantly to reach this core 'information generation' audience, who account for 33% of all movie admissions." Each screenzone� multimedia display is 10 feet wide and 15 feet high and features two eight-by-four foot digital screens mounted back-to-back atop six smaller interactive screens. The large screens run continuous, full-length trailers of current and upcoming feature films, music videos and customized mall and live-event promotions, while the interactive touch-screens provide access to more detailed entertainment information and high-speed, highly controlled Internet access. Each interactive preview station allows consumers to select from a current inventory of movie trailers, reserve movie tickets, access local theater show time schedules, enter contests and link directly to entertainment websites. "MSGI will add tremendous value as a strategic investor," said Gary Leeds, CEO of Screenzone Media Networks. "MSGI has dominated the live-entertainment sector for over ten years by providing database marketing and/or Internet services to essentially all of Broadway as well as hundreds of leading organizations across the country. The intellectual property derived from thousands of campaigns will bring tremendous expertise to our movie and entertainment business. Partnering with MSGI and its strategic shareholders, GE Capital and CMGI, presents us with an extraordinary opportunity to expand and enhance our operations." About Screenzone Media Networks By utilizing the latest interactive technology and digitally distributing media over its network, Screenzone offers an exciting and efficient media buying opportunity for entertainment companies and consumer product marketers that want to reach high profile consumers, especially teenage and young adult audiences at the point of sale. Currently Screenzone Media Networks operates in two malls that have a combined traffic count of over 50 million visitors per year. Del Amo Fashion Center, the largest retail space shopping center in the United States is located in Torrance, California (Los Angeles). The second screenzone was installed at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, just 10 miles outside New York City, and is one of the top 10 retail locations in the United States. The next two openings will be in Natick, MA, a suburb of Boston, followed by Auburn Hills, MI, a suburb of Detroit. Over the next three years, Screenzone Media Networks will aggressively expand into other dynamic high-traffic mall locations totaling an audience of over 1 billion impressions and culminating in a powerful national network comprising 70-100 locations in the top 20 markets. About MSGI Marketing Services Group, Inc. is a leader in the Internet and marketing services industries. MSGI's revenues have grown from $16 million in fiscal 1996 to in excess of $100 million on an annualized basis. GE Equity is the owner of a 22 percent stockholder position in MSGI and CMGI is the owner of a 10 percent stockholder position in MSGI. MSGI is organized into two business divisions: the Internet Group and the Marketing Services Group. The Internet Group's mission is to acquire, invest in and incubate Internet companies. Its preliminary focus will be on PermissionPlus(TM) and will expand into other strategic areas. The MSGI Internet Group provides Internet marketing, e-commerce applications, Web development and hosting, online ad sales and consulting. Its Marketing Services Group provides strategic planning, direct marketing and database marketing, telemarketing and telefundraising, media planning and buying and fulfillment. Through this business segment, MSGI will continue to grow by leveraging the synergies it has across all its companies in marketing, technology, and capabilities. Thousands of clients worldwide are provided services by MSGI with offices throughout the United States and in London. Corporate headquarters are located at 333 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001. Telephone: 212-594-7688. Additional information is available on the Company's Website: http://www.msginet.com. |
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