Press Release - WDCA Free@Email / Patent Pending Technology

For More Information, Call: Jennifer Emarson 719/593-9540
For Release 3:00PM MDT - June 11, 1997

Softronics, Inc. and WDCA UPN20, the Paramount Stations Group Station Serving the Washington, D.C. Market, Announces Free@Email.

Softronics' Patent-Pending Technology May Impact Companies Using Push to Deliver Advertisements

Colorado Springs, Colorado - (June 11, 1997) --Television station, WDCA UPN20, and Softronics,Inc. have announced they are giving Free@Email software and service to Washington, D.C. viewers. Free@Email allows viewers to send and receive internet email, join chat groups, place classifieds, read magazines, get daily news, weather, and sports, stock reports, send file attachments, and more-all at no charge to the consumer. Free@Email is an advertiser supported mailcasting package which presents advertisements to users while they are online using the free e-mail service.

Also Announced Today - Softronics' Patent-Pending Technology May Impact Companies Using Push to Deliver Advertisements

Free@Email was developed in 1993 -1995 and was the first product of its kind. Free@Email was first introduced at KKTV, the CBS affiliate in Colorado Springs on February 7, 1996, before products like PointCast and Juno.

"Judging from the press releases from PointCast and Marimba over the past year, our respective intellectual property attorney's have been hard at work filing patents," said F. Scott Pierce, president of Softronics. "With giants like Microsoft and Netscape looking at offering their push technology push is certainly the future of the Internet and advertising will be a big part of the push revenue. The stakes are getting higher and there will obviously be some big winners in the market and in the patent office. I like the chances for Softronics." Free@Email was the first product to use push technology for providing advertisement in combination with on-line Services for which Softronics has a broad based patent-pending," said Mr. Pierce.

The Free@Email patent-pending technology includes such things as:

• Sending-to, updating and storing advertisements on targeted profile client computers;
• Displaying an advertisement based on a user profile;
• Performing user requests for an interaction with an advertisement consisting of: an audio request, a coupon request, an information request, an email to advertiser request; and responding to the request;
• Collecting information on the number of times an advertisement is displayed, sound has been requested, coupons ordered, additional information was requested, how many email messages sent in response to each advertisement, and which user interacted with which advertisement;
• Compiling demographic information into a form useful to advertisers;
• Controlling the storing, displaying, display steps, display time, display frequency, and changing the scrolling speed of advertisements on the users computer by the advertiser

While the Free@Email client software runs on the consumer's computer, advertisements are automatically presented in the lower
quarter of the Free@Email display. Users view animated full-color advertisements, and by clicking on the ad with their mouse, will hear a multimedia audio presentation from the selected advertiser.

Free@Email gives the local advertiser an avenue to deliver a commercial message to the local home and business computer user. Other New Media advertising channels deliver commercial messages nationally, and local advertisers are unable to effectively use these channels because they waste dollars paying for advertising reach outside of their market area.

Perhaps the greatest benefit for the advertiser is interaction with the prospective customer. Interested parties can instantly contact companies via email. While the consumer looks and listens to the ad, they can print coupons, fill-out surveys, and send email to the advertiser -- no stamp, no trip to the mail box, no telephone call to a salesperson -- simple, quick, on-target and interactive. By definition, anyone who sends email to the advertiser has taken the leap from awareness to interest to interaction. Another option is to allow consumers to immediately order a free sample of the product. Of course there is also the option to sell the product directly to consumers on the spot. In any case, it is easy to take a consumer from awareness to interest to trial and finally purchase.

Free@Email allows an advertiser to target an audience for his message based on age, gender, area code, or zip code. Information is gathered from the new user registration form containing individual users name, address, telephone number, birthdate, gender etc. The email server will track each person's time spent using Free@Email. Additionally, each person's interaction with advertisements will be recorded and compiled.

The system gathers and reports information daily. At the end of each week the daily information is compiled and added to the 'Month To Date' and 'Year To Date' data. This information is recorded and compiled for each user, advertisement, and system wide. The demographic and statistical information can be utilized for post-buy analysis by broadcasters and advertisers.

Low CPM Cost for Local Advertisers and More Free Services for Users is Achieved by Locating the Free@Email Server in the Station

Local advertisers must have a lower cost per-thousand (CPM) impressions than national advertisers. Softronics and WDCA accomplish this by locating the processing closer to the users with the Free@Email server in the station. This allows lower Internet access fees and operating cost, while at the same time providing many more free services for viewers like chat groups, placing classifieds, magazines, daily news, weather, and sports, stock reports, sending file attachments, and more. With a low operating cost of Free@Email the advertising rates for local advertisers can be as low as $.50 per CPM and still be very profitable for Softronics and WDCA.

Company Background
Softronics, founded in 1982, is an international publisher and developer of PC communications software for Windows, OS/2 and DOS. Located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Softronics is privately owned.

WDCA UPN20 is owned by the Paramount Stations Group and serves the Washington, D.C., market. Paramount Station Group is part of, Viacom Inc., with business interests ranging from motion pictures
and television to video production and distribution.
http://www.VIACOM.com

Free@ is a trademark of Softronics, Inc. Other names and trademarks are property of their respective owners.
http://www.softronics.com

For more press inquiries, contact:
Jennifer Emerson, Softronics Public Relations
719-593-9540
jemerson@softronics.com

[ Back to Softronics Home Page | Back to Softronics Press Releases ]

Softronics

5085 List Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80919 USA SALES (800) 225-8590 OFFICE (719) 593-9540 FAX (719) 548-1878 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (719) 593-9550 SOFTRONICS BBS (719) 593-9295 or Telnet to softerm.com EMAIL sales@softronics.com

Copyright © 1999 by Softronics, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced without the express written permission of Softronics, Inc.	Best experienced with Click here to start.