Return Path And Veripost Merge, Creating Industry Standard For E-Mail ChangeOf Address (ECOA)
Combined Enterprise Serves 2MM Consumers And 120 Business Customers,
Including Top E-Mail And Direct Marketing Service Bureaus
NEW YORK, NY and SUPERIOR, CO -- 10/29/2001 -- Return
Path and Veripost, the e-mail and direct marketing industry`s providers of
permission-based, e-mail change of address (ECOA) services, today announced
that they have merged, creating a single, standard platform for helping
consumers notify businesses and other contacts about e-mail address
changes.
The new company features a powerful combination of consumer data, client
relationships, and strategic partners, having more than 2 million
consumer-registered address changes, 120 clients using the service, and 35
channel partnerships with leading direct and e-mail marketing service
bureaus, among them Acxiom® Corporation, Experian®, DoubleClick, and
Harte-Hanks. The consumer service is currently growing at the rate of
700,000 new registered address changes per month.
"With this merger, consumers and businesses alike can handle e-mail address
change notifications in one central place, just as they handle residential
address changes via the U.S. Postal Service," said Eric Kirby, Veripost
CEO.
"There is now one, universal solution for ECOA."
Matt Blumberg, Return Path CEO said, "Our two companies share a common
vision and strong management across the board. By joining efforts we
leverage our respective strengths and raise the value proposition
significantly for existing and prospective clients and consumers."
Return Path CEO, Matt Blumberg, is CEO of the new company. Veripost CEO,
Eric Kirby, remains on the Board of Directors. The company will operate as
Return Path, Inc., retaining the Veripost platform and brand for the
consumer service.
The combined company helps solve e-mail churn by reconnecting consumers
with
online relationships. To provide contacts with updated e-mail information,
consumers simply register their old and new e-mail addresses at
www.veripost.net. At the time of registration, each consumer provides
permission and chooses how updates will be handled. The process is fast,
easy and free. When a business discovers that an e-mail address for one of
their customers is undeliverable, Return Path provides the corresponding
new
e-mail address upon receiving the consumer`s permission to share the
update.
Additionally, the e-mail list cleaning services previously offered by both
firms, which analyze a company`s e-mail list and identify undeliverable
e-mail addresses for suppression, re-mail or correction, will be integrated
and continue in the combined company.
According to a survey conducted by NFO Research, 32% of e-mail users change
their e-mail address each year, because of change of job, ISP, or
residence.
As a result of these changes, consumers typically lose contact with
businesses, friends and associates. The process of re-engaging with these
contacts is painstaking and tedious. For businesses that rely on e-mail to
communicate with customers for marketing, billing, customer service, or
content delivery, e-mail churn represents a significant cost and a threat
to
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) efforts.
The company will maintain offices in New York, NY and Superior, CO, with
sales offices in Chicago, IL and San Francisco, CA.
About Return Path
Return Path increases customer retention and maximizes e-mail list value
through two products: Veripost ECOA, an e-mail change of address service;
and E-mail List Hygiene. Veripost ECOA provides an easy way for businesses
to reconnect with customers following an e-mail address change, while
giving
consumers a secure, permission-based way to stay connected at a new
address.
More than 700,000 e-mail address changes are registered to the system
monthly. Return Path E-mail List Hygiene cleans e-mail files by identifying
common typos and faulty file data. More than 120 companies and 35 channel
partners currently use these services. Return Path investors include
DoubleClick Inc., Flatiron Partners/JP Morgan Partners and Softbank Venture Capital. For
more information visit www.returnpath.net ,
e-mail info@returnpath.net , or call
1-866-362-4577.
Acxiom is a registered trademark of Acxiom, RTC, Inc.
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