News & Events

Leading Online Retailer 'The Parent Company' Centralizes Email Marketing on StrongMail for 253% ROI

Study by independent research firm confirms the financial benefits that the company behind eToys, BabyUniverse and eight other popular online brands is receiving by replacing a custom solution and ESP with StrongMail

Redwood City, Calif., Sept. 3, 2008 – StrongMail Systems, Inc., the leading provider of on-premise solutions for marketing and transactional email, today announced the results of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of StrongMail titled "The Total Economic Impact™ of the StrongMail Platform." Forrester's in-depth study details the financial benefits that The Parent Company is receiving by centralizing its email marketing for eToys, BabyUniverse and eight other online brands on StrongMail - including a 253% risk-adjusted return on investment (ROI). The results of the study will be featured in a live webinar hosted by StrongMail on September 24 featuring Forrester analyst Julie Katz and The Parent Company CIO Chris Cummings.

According to the study, which employs Forrester Consulting's Total Economic Impact (TEI) analysis methodology, The Parent Company is projected to receive a three-year, risk-adjusted ROI of 253% by using StrongMail when compared to the prior use of a custom in-house solution and outsourced ESP. The study also details how StrongMail is enabling The Parent Company to generate an expected $1.1M in incremental revenue by improving email deliverability.

"Since centralizing email marketing for our ten online brands on StrongMail, we have seen a significant increase in incremental revenue from improved deliverability – including $450,000 from eToys alone during the 2007 holiday season," said Chris Cummings, CIO of The Parent Company. "StrongMail has been a solid investment that has given us more control over the success of our email programs, while at the same time, lowering operational costs by improving efficiencies and eliminating the need to support a custom solution or paying CPM fees to an email service provider."

A leading online retailer and new media company, The Parent Company opted to centralize its marketing and transactional email for ten brands to consolidate resources, centralize control, improve deliverability and reduce costs. The Parent Company selected StrongMail after a careful review of solutions from third-party vendors and outsourced ESPs. As an in-house solution, StrongMail eliminated the costly CPM fees that The Parent Company was paying to an outsourced ESP, and StrongMail's commercial-grade platform provided The Parent Company with the ability to support multiple brands and scale to accommodate steady growth.

"The Parent Company understands the value of email to its business, and this independent study from Forrester clearly demonstrates the type of savings and incremental revenue that can be achieved by managing it efficiently and effectively with StrongMail's in-house solutions," said Bill Wagner, executive vice president of business operations at StrongMail Systems. "By making it easy to manage the deployment and deliverability of marketing and transactional email in-house, StrongMail is enabling companies to take advantage of increased control, relevancy, data security and cost savings."

Forrester Consulting TEI Case Study Availability

The complete, 17-page study is available for download from the StrongMail website at: http://www.strongmail.com/resources/whitepapers/wp-forrester-case-study.php

Register for the Live Webinar on September 24

Join featured speaker from Forrester, email analyst Julie Katz, and The Parent Company CIO Chris Cummings in this interactive webinar hosted by StrongMail. The event will give an in-depth analysis of the case study results.

Webinar: "The ROI of Email Centralization – A Forrester TEI Case Study with The Parent Company"
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2008
Time: 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET
Free Registration: http://www.strongmail.com/parentcompany

About StrongMail Systems, Inc.
StrongMail Systems provides businesses with commercial-grade, on-premise solutions for marketing and transactional email. StrongMail integrates its proven email delivery, tracking and campaign management software on high-performance servers that are optimized for maximum deliverability. In addition to providing superior control, security and integration capabilities, StrongMail's in-house approach offers companies a more powerful and cost-effective alternative to homegrown or outsourced solutions. Hundreds of companies worldwide rely on StrongMail's solutions to power their mission-critical customer communications. A Silicon Valley company, StrongMail is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, and is funded by Sequoia Capital, Evercore Partners, Globespan Capital Partners and DAG Ventures. To learn more about StrongMail Systems, visit www.strongmail.com.

About The Parent Company
The Parent Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: KIDS) is a leading commerce, content and new media company for growing families. The company provides comprehensive eCommerce and eContent resources to help families plan, play and grow. The company's toy business offers thousands of toys and children's products through its eToys.com website, catalogs and strategic retail partnerships; and personalized dolls and accessories through its My Twinn.com brand. Through its baby business, the company is a leading online retailer of brand-name baby, toddler and maternity products sold through the BabyUniverse.com and DreamtimeBaby.com web sites. The company's luxury brands, PoshTots.com and PoshLiving.com, reach the country's most affluent consumers with luxury baby apparel and furnishings. With its content sites, BabyTV.com, PoshCravings.com and ePregnancy.com, The Parent Company has established a recognized platform for the delivery of content and new media resources to a national audience of expectant parents. The Parent Company is a market-leading digital content and eCommerce company focused on parents.

StrongMail Systems Contact
Andrea Cousens
Eastwick Communications
650-480-4040
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