San Francisco-based Intellipost and CommTouch Software, a provider of >free Web-based e-mail solutions, established a strategic alliance aimed at spurring membership in BonusMail, Intellipost’s flagship, reward-based e-mail marketing program.
“This is a match made in cyber heaven,” said Steve Markowitz, Intellipost president and CEO. “CommTouch provides a sophisticated free e-mail service, and we provide compelling content that gets people to access their Web-based e-mail accounts again and again.” Financial arrangements were not disclosed.
Intellipost claims more than 800,000 members in its BonusMail and private-label rewards systems. BonusMail is an opt-in program made to rewards its members for choosing to receive and read targeted advertisements via e-mail. CommTouch provides Web-based e-mail to a variety of sites, including Business Week Magazine and LookSmart.
Initially, CommTouch said it will offer Intellipost’s BonusMail program to CommTouch’s ProntoMail e-mail users. Once the integrated CommTouch-BonusMail service is up and running, CommTouch will make the BonusMail program available to CommTouch partners.
BonusMail members earn Rew@rds credits, redeemable for brand-name merchandise and valuable services from more than 25 Rew@rds partners, including 1-800-FLOWERS, Barnes & Noble, Spiegel, Sprint and The Sharper Image.
“Consumers love frequent user programs that compensate them for flying their favorite airline or staying in their favorite hotel,” said CommTouch CEO Gideon Mantel. “Now our free e-mail subscribers can choose to earn rewards whenever they open their mailbox.”
Microsoft HomeAdvisor Signs Multiple Marketing Pacts The Microsoft HomeAdvisor online real estate service, a new guide to finding homes and loans, signed online distribution agreements with several portals
and Internet services as well as an advertising deal with Yahoo! Inc.
The deals were announced as HomeAdvisor moves from a preview, intended for consumer feedback and usability testing, to its official site at www.homeadvisor.com/.
HomeAdvisor will be available to users through links on Infoseek, Switchboard,
Pathfinder, WhoWhere?, Tripod, Big Yellow, GTE InterNet and DoubleClick, which
represents U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, Worth magazine and many other
sites. HomeAdvisor will also be promoted to users of Yahoo! finance and real
estate categories. Spending was not disclosed.
In addition, HomeAdvisor will be the exclusive home-buying channel featured on
microsoft.com, hotmail.com, msn.com and throughout The Microsoft Network.
“Wide-scale distribution dramatically increases the visibility and reach of real estate
listings and loan offerings on HomeAdvisor, giving our information providers
exactly the type of exposure they are looking for on the Internet,” said Ian Morris, lead product manager for HomeAdvisor.
