ProductPOP, Inc. Signs Deal With CarSmart
13 December 2000
ProductPOP, Inc. Signs Deal With CarSmart
ProductPOP Advances Further Into Automotive Category
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13 ProductPOP, Inc., the online
channel marketing company that first brought interactive
point-of-purchase displays to the Internet, today announced a partnership
agreement with CarSmart, a subsidiary of Autobytel.com and a top-rated
Internet auto-buying service. With the addition of CarSmart and its affiliate
sites -- including looksmart, Go.com, Prodigy.com, NBCi, Go2Net, Dogpile,
WomanMotorist and Mamma -- ProductPOP continues to develop its exclusive
network of e-commerce site partners and build on the momentum from its
recently completed automotive pilot program.
Built on the principle of contextual marketing, ProductPOP's advanced
platform allows manufacturers to deliver highly customized, model-specific
information and branded messages directly to consumers at critical points in
the purchase process. By allowing manufacturers to communicate directly with
shoppers while they are in the context of considering an automobile to
purchase, ProductPOP provides the most targeted and effective promotional
tool. Unlike banner ads, ProductPOP's media-rich, multi-dimensional displays
let consumers interact with manufacturers and their automobiles, choosing what
they want to view and experience about each model.
ProductPOP recently announced the results of a pilot study with
eight major automobile brands including Ford, Jaguar, Mazda and Volvo. The
results confirmed an average increase of 38 percent in dealer quote requests,
and click-through rates more than 14 times higher than today's flat banner
advertising. Underscoring the significance of this impact on online behavior
is J.D. Power and Associates' recent estimate that over 55 percent of new-car
buyers use the Internet to research their purchase and the number is steadily
increasing.
"As one of the automotive industry's early innovators, CarSmart is a
fantastic addition to our exclusive e-commerce network," said Bill Brown,
co-founder and chief executive officer of ProductPOP, Inc. "More and more
people are shopping for automobiles online to research options, features and
pricing before they buy. With our rich, contextually-placed displays,
ProductPOP and CarSmart are the first to offer the automobile buyer a much
deeper shopping experience."
"ProductPOP expands our current set of advertising opportunities for
manufacturers with a unique offering," said Michael Gorun, chief executive
officer of CarSmart. "This is the perfect partnership. CarSmart has a loyal
and growing user base that accesses our editorial car reviews, specifications,
and pricing before making a purchase decision. ProductPOP's displays enhance
the shopping experience by adding a manufacturer's branded, model-specific
perspective everywhere the car appears."
About ProductPOP, Inc.
ProductPOP, Inc. is the Internet's most innovative provider of e-commerce
channel marketing services. The company's proprietary technology and exclusive
network of popular shopping sites are helping manufacturers measurably improve
their online performance by enhancing brands and leveraging offline-marketing
assets. ProductPOP's displays are available to millions of shoppers at the
critical point-of-sale through the company's exclusive network of third-party
e-commerce sites, including Egghead.com, Insight.com, and PCMall, among
others.
ProductPOP, Inc., is headquartered at 1095 Folsom Street, San Francisco,
Calif., 94103. Telephone: 415-593-3858. For more information, please visit
the company's website at http://www.productpop.com.
About CarSmart
CarSmart is an established, top-rated facilitator of automotive sales.
CarSmart aggregates an extensive collection of rich automotive content to
assist consumers in researching, buying, selling, leasing, financing and
insuring new and pre-owned vehicles. In addition to generating new revenue for
CarSmart, ProductPOP's displays will generate additional dealer sales
requests. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, CarSmart offers the consumer
an accredited network of nearly 1,500 dealers nationwide.