Excite and cybermeals, an online
restaurant ordering system, signed a $15.5 million deal to allow Excite’s Web
surfers to order take-out and delivered meals over the Internet.
Excite said it will offer the
online delivery service in the Lifestyle, Shopping, Travel and other upcoming
channels on Excite.com.
Under the terms of the four-year sponsorship deal beginning in April,
cybermeals will be the exclusive worldwide provider of online consumer
takeout and delivery meals to the Excite audience. In exchange, cybermeals
has guaranteed Excite payments totaling $15.5 million and additional
transaction revenues based on meeting specified performance thresholds.
cybermeals’ nationwide network of more than 11,000 restaurants will be
promoted in various Excite channels, including food and drink reviews in the
Lifestyle Channel, maps and local links in the Travel Channel and as part of
the Gourmet & Groceries department in the Shopping Channel.
The companies said they also will team up to create seasonal, sport and
event-based campaigns, including potential tie-ins with the Superbowl and
NCAA playoffs. In addition, cybermeals will be an anchor “tenant” of Excite’s
online shopping channel and will appear prominently when consumers search for
food-related sites.
Said Tim Glass, cofounder, president and CEO of Seattle-based cybermeals:
“Excite offers cybermeals exposure to a huge number of hungry consumers and,
in turn, cybermeals’ unmatched network of restaurants provides Excite’s
audience with a multitude of dining choices wherever they live.”
cybermeals also signed a similar $20 million, four-year
promotional deal with America Online in December.