LIVONIA, Mich., Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valassis , the nation's leading marketing services company, will launch a unique consumer brand named RedPlum. The rollout campaign, which will begin in January 2008, will rely primarily on Valassis' own advertising vehicles ranging from free- standing inserts and Polybags to its Direct Mail Package, which will retire the ShopWise(R) name in January. In collaboration with the brand launch, Valassis will introduce redplum.com, a dynamic, interactive destination for value, savings and special deals in an array of categories including grocery, beauty, travel, electronics, home and entertainment.
"The launch of the RedPlum brand is a natural next step for Valassis following its acquisition earlier this year of ADVO, the nation's largest direct mail media company. The combination of the two companies created a media services powerhouse that now gives advertisers the ability to optimize their reach to consumers, providing values with multiple methods of delivery," said Suzie Brown, Valassis Chief Marketing Officer. "The RedPlum portal will aggregate the existing content and values contained within our portfolio, while extending its reach exponentially and empowering advertisers with the ability to continually engage consumers how, when, and where they want.
"The entire portfolio will carry the RedPlum name, led by the re-branding of the 'ShopWise' direct mail package and the Valassis free-standing insert. Our clients will be able to capitalize on the unprecedented and diverse power of the RedPlum portfolio which will reach 90 percent of all U.S. households, over 100 million consumers per week, ultimately making RedPlum ubiquitous among consumers as their ultimate source for value," she said.
According to Brown, the savings provided by using RedPlum will enable moms and other consumers to enjoy life's little extras, the incremental pleasures that will make them and their families happy, whether that is a dinner out, a night at the movies, or a special family activity. The campaign will simultaneously reinforce the availability of RedPlum savings, "online, in your mailbox, on your doorstep, with your newspaper and in your store."
Brian Costello, Valassis General Manager of Interactive, said redplum.com will be unmatched in terms of its breadth of offers and content. "The RedPlum portal's extensive offerings will include national, regional and local values as well as relevant information about products and services that will give consumers a reason to return to the site again and again," he said. "Additionally it will be simple to navigate. By entering only their ZIP codes consumers will have access to timely, relevant deals. And unlike most other savings Web sites, redplum.com won't require users to register in order to print coupons."
"We view this as a positive move," said the Domino's Vice President of Precision Print Marketing, Rob Weisberg. "The introduction of the RedPlum portal will enable us to seamlessly expand the reach of our campaigns beyond traditional avenues, maximizing the effectiveness of our overall ad spend."
About Valassis
Valassis is the nation's leading marketing services company, offering unique and diverse media platforms with the most comprehensive product and client portfolio in the industry. Valassis offers products and services including shared mail; solo mail; newspaper-delivered promotions such as inserts, sampling, polybags and on-page advertisements; in-store marketing; direct-to-door advertising and sampling; Internet-delivered marketing; loyalty marketing software; coupon and promotion clearing; promotion planning; and analytic services. The company's expansive product portfolio reaches over 100 million households each week. Valassis has relationships with more than 15,000 advertisers worldwide in various industries. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan with approximately 7,000 associates in 29 states and nine countries, Valassis is widely recognized for its associate and corporate citizenship programs, including its Have You Seen Me?(R) missing child program. Valassis companies include ADVO, Inc., Valassis Canada, Promotion Watch, Valassis Relationship Marketing Systems, LLC and NCH Marketing Services, Inc. For additional information, visit the company Web site at http://www.valassis.com/.
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 the Company 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 the Company's existing competitors; new competitors in any of the Company's businesses; a shift in customer preference for different promotional materials, strategies or coupon delivery methods; an unforeseen increase in the Company's paper or postal costs; changes which affect the businesses of the Company's customers and lead to reduced sales promotion spending; challenges and costs of achieving synergies and cost savings in connection with the ADVO acquisition and integrating ADVO's operations may be greater than expected; the Company's substantial indebtedness, and its ability to incur additional indebtedness, may affect the Company's financial health; certain covenants in the Company's debt documents could adversely restrict the Company's financial and operating flexibility; fluctuations in the amount, timing, pages and weight, and kinds of advertising pieces from period to period, due to a change in the Company's customers' promotional needs, inventories and other factors; the Company's failure to attract and retain qualified personnel may affect its business and results of operations; a rise in interest rates could increase the Company's borrowing costs; the outcome of ADVO's pending shareholder lawsuits; possible governmental regulation or litigation affecting aspects of the Company's business; and general economic conditions, whether nationally or in the market areas in which the Company conducts its business, may be less favorable than expected. These and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's business are described in greater detail in its filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, and the foregoing information should be read in conjunction with these filings. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Valassis
