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| Cossette Communication Group Strikes up Strategic Partnership with m-Qube to Deliver Wireless Marketing and Promotional Programs in Canada
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2003-- Companies to Provide Mobile Marketing Program for BizVantage – Beyond the news: indepth on business, investment and technology. Canadian Marketing Association Conference Cossette Communications Group, the largest communication-marketing company in Canada, today announced that it's Database, Direct and Promotion Marketing Division, Blitz, has teamed up with m-Qube, the premier mobile messaging provider in North America, to deliver wireless marketing and promotional programs in Canada. Clients of Cossette Communications Group can now implement sophisticated, two-way interactive mobile marketing programs across virtually every major wireless carrier, wireless protocol and wireless device to reach consumers in new and innovative ways. The companies will demonstrate the value of mobile marketing by delivering a mobile marketing program for the Canadian Marketing Association's (CMA) 2003 Digital Marketing Conference. "This new partnership with m-Qube provides a natural extension to the 1:1 channel capabilities of our database marketing group and enhances our ability to deliver innovative multi-channel solutions to our clients, said Goodwin Gibson, vice president and general manager of Blitz, We have found a strong technology partner who shares our vision and who will be pivotal in leading our growth in the Canadian market. Mobile messaging will provide tremendous value to our clients by allowing them to extend their reach with customized text campaigns and seamlessly integrate this emerging 1:1 media into their marketing-communication efforts. Permission based wireless messaging programs provide a unique opportunity for our clients to engage their customers in a fun and interactive way through a service that their customers are already using." m-Qube's technology enables Cossette to provide their clients with the capability to run opt-in programs for mobility driven marketing or promotional programs. As wireless data and text messaging usage continues to grow, marketers are recognizing it as a highly effective medium to engage consumers while increasing brand awareness, building customer relationships and strengthening customer loyalty. Mark Grindeland, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Brand Services said, "We are thrilled to be working with Cossette to demonstrate the value of integrating wireless as a marketing and communications channel. Cossette understands the value of integrated marketing and we look forward to demonstrating how mobile marketing can provide a greater return on investment for their clients. We're excited about demonstrating the benefits of mobile marketing at the CMA's 2003 Digital Marketing Conference." The two companies will demonstrate the unique capabilities of wireless marketing by offering a mobile marketing program designed to create a one-to-one communications channel with attendees at the Canadian Marketing Association's 2003 Digital Marketing Conference, October 2, 2003 in Toronto. Conference attendees who elect to participate in the program will receive reminders and a chance to win an assortment of valuable prizes by participating in a contest. Text messaging is expanding rapidly in North America. IDC reports that more than 2.4 Billion messages are sent every month. In Europe where the phenomenon first took hold, an estimated 1 billion messages are now sent every day and Forrester reports that 56% of brands will use it as a marketing channel by the end of 2003. The opportunities presented by this new medium are significant for marketers. Conservative estimates are that spending by consumer brands looking to capitalize on the first truly "out-of-home" direct response medium will pass the $5 Billion/year mark within the next few years. About Blitz Blitz is a leading full service relationship marketing agency dedicated to building client's business through marketing intelligence. Blitz is 180+ marketing-communication professionals whose strategic expertise encompasses Sales Promotion, Database and Direct Marketing, supported by dedicated direct response media, creative and project management resources. Blitz is a division of the Cossette Communication Group Inc. About Cossette Communications Group Cossette Communication Group Inc., which recorded gross income of $157.7 million in 2002, offers a full range of leading-edge communication services to clients of all sizes across North America, including some of the most prestigious brands in the world. A customer-driven organization built around highly specialized business units, Cossette also offers Convergent CommunicationTM, a unique working method that brings added value to the client by integrating various services offered by the Group, including strategic planning, advertising, media planning and buying, direct marketing, database management and sales promotion, public relations and alliance marketing, brand identity and graphic design, ethnic marketing, inter-business marketing, urban youth marketing, interactive technologies and research. Cossette has approximately 1,300 employees and main offices in Quebec City, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax and New York. For more information, please visit www.cossette.com. About m-Qube m-Qube is North America's premier mobile messaging management technology company. The company's messaging application platform has been used by leading marketing and promotional agencies and consumer brands to run sophisticated, two-way mobile messaging programs across virtually every major mobile device, mobile protocol and mobile carrier. m-Qube's platform has been, or is scheduled to be used to run mobile messaging programs for leading fast food, spirits, soft drink, entertainment, online, retail, telecommunications and consumer packaged goods companies. The company provides a turnkey solution to help companies interact on a time and place-sensitive basis with individual people carrying wireless devices of almost any kind, enabling a broad range of wireless applications including mobile couponing, interactive TV, subscriber lifecycle management, mobile alert management, live event communications, mobile CRM and mobile marketing/promotions. For more information, please visit www.m-qube.com.
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