Video E-Mail Launch of 2002 Buick Rendezvous SUV Grabs 13% Response Rate

    DALLAS--April 3, 2001--Peter Martin, founder and president of ExpandMail (www.expandmail.com), announced today that the recent Video E-Mail launch campaign for the new 2002 Buick Rendezvous SUV attained a strong 12.8 percent consumer response rate. This result far exceeds the average response rate for traditional direct mail campaigns, estimated at 1-2 percent.
    The Buick Rendezvous Video E-Mail, designed and developed by ExpandMail (see photo below), was distributed to nearly 100,000 consumers throughout the country in early 2001. From that opt-in consumer group, over 12,750 people, or 12.8 percent, opened and viewed the Video E-Mail message. Included in the Video E-Mail were a 49-second streaming or downloadable video presentation and links to the Buick Rendezvous web site, to find a local dealership, or to contact Buick. During the campaign, consumers clicked on an average of 1.5 links per visit - the most popular being the link to the official Buick Rendezvous Web Site.
    "Video E-Mail enabled Buick to engage consumers with an Internet tool that broke through the clutter of traditional advertising," said Casey Garwood, Buick Interactive Advertising Manager. "The Buick Rendezvous is all about innovation, which is why we selected Video E-Mail. Delivering a powerful and unique marketing message provided Buick with an excellent method for placing the Rendezvous in front of thousands of online consumers."
    Video E-Mail is an interactive Internet communication tool that sends a streaming or downloadable video presentation combined with a fully functioning web page. It contains links that consumers click on to gather additional product or company information. Video E-Mail is sent and received like regular, text-based e-mails, and can be forwarded to additional friends and family.
    Peter Martin said that the Buick campaign is a perfect example of how Video E-Mail technology can be effectively utilized to market products and services. "People are bombarded with ads and commercials every day, so the goal of marketers is to make your message stand out from everyone else. Video E-Mail grabs consumer attention, delivers an exciting message and empowers people with a wide range of information and options."
    Buick supplied the opt-in database was supplied to ExpandMail. These 100,000 consumers had expressed an interest in receiving additional online information about the upcoming Buick Rendezvous. It is ExpandMail policy not to distribute Video E-Mail to consumers without their prior permission.