Verizon Information Services Announces Agreements With Engage and Eversave

DALLAS - Small- to medium-sized businesses with a Web presence on SuperPages.com, the Internet's #1 online directory service, now can use the same advertising tools as their big company counterparts - targeted banner ads and online coupons.

Verizon Information Services, the world's largest directory publisher and creator of SuperPages.com, today announced marketing agreements with Engage, a leading enterprise marketing software and interactive media company, and Eversave, the leading provider of infrastructure to power local online coupons. With these agreements, Verizon's national Yellow Pages sales force is offering SuperPages.com advertisers SuperNetwork banner ads and online coupons.

"Our research shows that small- to medium-sized companies with a Web presence increase their local business marketshare," said Patrick Marshall, group vice president - marketing for Verizon Information Services. "With SuperNetwork banner ads and online coupons, SuperPages.com is offering advertisers the tools they need to drive targeted, qualified leads and ready-to-buy customers through both Web and foot traffic."

With LocalNet, Engage's local channel sales initiative, SuperPages.com advertisers can target relevant consumers by distributing SuperNetwork banner ads to subject-oriented Web sites, such as automotive and travel sites. In addition, SuperNetwork banners can be distributed to reach consumers who are conducting Web searches within specific geographic areas, such as Dallas County, Texas, or the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

With online coupons, local advertisers can enhance their SuperPages.com listings with coupon offers, which appear as a button next to the listings. SuperPages.com online coupons also will be distributed through Eversave's network of partner Web sites, greatly increasing exposure and value for SuperPages.com advertisers.

Verizon makes designing an online coupon and SuperNetwork banner ad easy by providing customers with in-house design templates. Advertisers simply provide customized text copy to their Yellow Pages sales representative, and select the subject matter category and the geographic area to target.

"With Engage, one of the largest online advertising networks, SuperPages.com advertisers can access nearly 41.5 million unique users*," said Tony Nuzzo, president and CEO, Engage. "Engage's subject and geographic-targeting capabilities will allow Verizon's local advertisers to extend their reach and distribution to qualified online consumers."

According to The Kelsey Group, a research company specializing in local advertising and electronic commerce, the $306 million that small- to medium-sized businesses spent last year in Internet Yellow Pages is expected to exceed $1.5 billion by 2006. "The combination of online Yellow Pages and targeted Internet-based marketing tools are becoming an important part of the local marketing mix for traditionally cost-conscious small businesses," says Daniel N. Miller, senior vice president for The Kelsey Group.

"Eversave's online coupon strategy enables the local merchant to adopt the power of the Internet by promoting relevant offers directly to local customers via digital coupons," said Jere Doyle, president and CEO, Eversave. "With 75 percent of American households using coupons, SuperPages.com online coupons are a great way to connect shoppers with their neighborhood retailers and services."

"With approximately seven million visits a month, SuperPages.com has become one of the fastest advertising mediums available for local businesses," said Verizon's Marshall. "By working with leaders in online marketing and advertising, such as Engage and Eversave, we are one step closer to our goal of increased traffic, loyal users and savvy advertisers."

* Media Metrix/AdNetwork Reports, U.S. Reach Only, December 2000.

About Engage

Engage, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENGA) is a leading enterprise marketing software and interactive media company and a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc (Nasdaq: CMGI). Founded in 1996, Engage enables companies to harness the power of interactive marketing to create more loyal customers, maximize revenue and increase their brand's visibility and recognition. Based in Andover, Massachusetts, Engage has European headquarters in London and offices worldwide in Canada, UK, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia.

LocalNet, a division of Engage, began in 1998 as a Small & Medium Enterprise (SME) channel initiative focused on delivering local solutions to online marketers.

About Eversave

Launched in January 2000, Eversave is a leading e-marketing infrastructure company that powers geographically-targeted promotional Internet content from more than 20,000 merchants nationwide, builds and maintains proprietary email lists for clients and deploys personalized email marketing campaigns. Eversave's clicks-to-bricks strategy attracts a highly active member base and enables businesses to harness the power of the Internet by marketing directly to customers via digital coupons and targeted email promotions, driving foot traffic into their stores. For more information visit www.eversave.com.

About Verizon Information Services and SuperPages.com

Verizon Information Services is a world leading print and online directory publisher and a content provider for communications products and services. The largest directory publisher in the world, Verizon has annual revenues of more than $4.1 billion and employs more than 11,000 people.

Verizon Information Services also produces and markets SuperPages.com, the Internet's preeminent online directory and shopping resource. SuperPages.com has received up to 7.7 million visits and 3.4 million unique visitors per month, and is the Yellow Pages provider on Excite, Lycos, Ask Jeeves, AOL Service, AOL.com, Digital City, HotBot, and BigFoot.

Based in the Dallas area, Verizon Information Services is a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), which was formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE. Verizon is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

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Verizon Communications

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with nearly 109 million access line equivalents and more than 27.5 million wireless customers. Verizon is also the world's largest provider of print and online directory information. A Fortune 10 company with approximately 260,000 employees and more than $63 billion in annual revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.

Heidi Jaquish, Verizon ,
972-453-6473

Meggan Finiscey, Young & Associates ,
301-309-9404

Stacey Ricks, Engage LocalNet ,
770-984-5315

Ellyn McLean, Eversave-Collaborative Communications ,
617-520-9142