TRUSTe AND epsilon ISSUE GUIDE TO HELP marketers OPTIMIZE their PERMISSION-BASED EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS

New Best Practices Guide Helps Businesses Assure Delivery and Maximize Response

San Francisco, CA– October 13, 2006 – TRUSTe, the leading online privacy non-profit organization, and Epsilon, a leading provider of multi-channel marketing services, technologies and database solutions, today released “Your Customers Hold the Key to Deliverability: Best Practices that Minimize Email Complaints” to help businesses assure successfully delivery and optimal response from their permission-based email communication efforts. The guide also provides hands-on advice for marketers seeking to avoid and reduce spam complaints. Spam complaints are increasingly playing a role in ISP anti-spam filtering policies, whitelisting programs, and emerging accreditation and reputation solutions, and have the potential to impact marketers’ ability to successfully deliver email.

“As the email landscape continues to evolve toward increased end-user control, maximizing marketing ROI will require a commitment to understanding and catering to consumer preferences,” said Fran Maier, executive director of TRUSTe. “In ‘Your Customers Hold the Key to Deliverability,’ TRUSTe and Epsilon provide marketers of all sizes with practical advice that will help them ensure mutually-beneficial, long-lasting and respectful email dialogs with their customers.”

“The email and delivery landscape continues to evolve, requiring marketers to better understand ISP policies and their own customers’ needs and reactions to the email communications they send,” said Michael Della Penna, CMO of Epsilon. “The importance of taking a customer-centric approach to your email communications and employing industry best practices is essential to not only reducing complaints and improving delivery, but also to optimizing customer relationships and growing marketing ROI.”

Among the guide’s recommendations:

1. Always provide clear and conspicuous notice about the nature, content and frequency of marketing email during registration
2. Host a Preference Center on your web site where consumers can modify their email communication settings
3. Establish feedback loops with participating ISPs and closely monitor short- and long-term spam complaint trends

“Your Customers Hold the Key to Deliverability: Best Practices that Minimize Email Complaints” can be downloaded free-of-charge from TRUSTe’s web site at: www.truste.org/whitepaper . Copies will also be available at the TRUSTe and Epsilon booths at next week’s DMA*06 (DMA Annual Conference & Exhibition) at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, October 15 - 17.

TRUSTe and Epsilon have also developed a corresponding free webinar, “Your Customers Hold the Key to Deliverability: Best Practices that Minimize Email Complaints,” scheduled for Wednesday, November 15, from 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST/10am – 11am PST, featuring recognized email marketing industry thought leaders including Epsilon’s Director of ISP & Government Relations, Jordan Cohen and TRUSTe’s Director of Product Development, Colin O’Malley. Space is limited, and registration is available at www.truste.org/webinar.

About TRUSTe
TRUSTe helps consumers and businesses identify trustworthy online organizations through its Web Privacy and Email Privacy Seals and resolves thousands of individual privacy disputes each year. An independent, non-profit organization celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2007, TRUSTe runs the world’s largest privacy seal program, with more than 2,000 Web sites certified, including the major internet portals and leading brands such as IBM, Oracle, Intuit and eBay. Through its Trusted Download Program, TRUSTe develops standards for non-intrusive downloads that demonstrate consumer choice. TRUSTe also provides accreditation, monitoring and oversight for email with the Email Privacy Seal Program, and for Return Path’s SenderScore Certified Program. To learn more, visit www.truste.org.

About Epsilon
Epsilon is a leading provider of multi-channel marketing services, technologies and database solutions. Through its combination of client-centric marketing solutions, Epsilon helps leading companies understand, measure, manage and optimize their customer relationships. The organization's end-to-end suite of integrated services includes strategic consulting, creative, data, database and loyalty technology, analytics and distribution services to produce multi-channel marketing programs that generate measurable results throughout the customer lifecycle.

 

Founded in 1969, Epsilon is headquartered in Irving, Texas and is comprised of four business units including Strategic Database Services, Interactive Services (formerly Epsilon Interactive), Agency and Direct Services and Data Services (formerly CPC Associates, Inc.). Epsilon works with more than 700 blue-chip brands and has offices throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Epsilon is an Alliance Data company. For more information, visit www.epsilon.com.

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Wiley Rein LLP