Tribune Media Services Partners with Mars Hill Group to Distribute VideoBridge, an Interactive Video E-mail Service

 Dallas, TX, December 8, 2009 - Tribune Media Services (TMS) and Mars Hill Group announced today that TMS will act as the exclusive sales agent for Mars Hill's VideoBridge technology for North American cable television companies.
               
VideoBridge is a digital marketing tool that dynamically creates a personalized video message for companies to send to customers via e-mail. The database-driven service creates video messages that address customers by name, providing a more personal and effective way for companies to upsell services, improve customer loyalty or handle service issues. VideoBridge is a proprietary product of interactive agency Mars Hill Group.
 
The technology will be offered in the U.S. exclusively by TMS Marketing Services, which helps cable TV operators acquire and retain subscribers.  In addition to VideoBridge, TMS provides direct mail, radio, TV and outdoor campaigns.
 
Richard Hill, Managing Director of TMS Marketing Services, says, “VideoBridge has the potential to be an even more robust marketing solution than traditional direct mail. As cable TV operators work to upsell existing customers – and attract new ones – they're looking for innovative marketing tools that will both resonate with audiences and deliver bottom-line and measurable results. Targeted, relevant messages are key to their efforts.”
 
Pulling from a library of video, audio, graphic and animated assets, VideoBridge allows for an almost endless number of message variations - marrying customer information such as recent purchases, service issues and questions with relevant video content on products and services. The result is a custom video message that addresses the recipient by name and dynamically communicates a relevant marketing message for each viewer.
 
Because the messaging is so highly personalized, VideoBridge e-mails typically deliver outstanding response rates. In addition, the technology features a built-in measurement tool and dashboard that help marketers track their efforts and optimize future campaigns. 
 
Founder and President of Mars Hill Group, David Baker says, “Mars Hill Group is pleased to have Tribune Media Services representing our technology. TMS has a strong track record of providing results to their client base, making VideoBridge is a natural fit for their cable-operator clients."
              
Hill summarizes the value of the technology to TMS by adding, “We're excited to offer VideoBridge to our clients. As technologies converge and video marketing via the Web becomes popularized, this dynamic direct marketing tool will help cable marketers reach their audiences in ways they never could before.”
 
About Tribune Media Services
 
Tribune Media Services' Entertainment Products division is an international leader in entertainment navigation.  TMS provides industry-leading databases of TV, movie, and celebrity information; guides in print, online, and on-screen formats; and advertising and marketing services to build audiences.  The company also produces Zap2it.com, the web site that connects entertainment fanatics to popular TV shows, celebrities, movies, events and other fans.  For more information about TMS Entertainment Products, visit TribuneMediaServices.com.
 
About Mars Hill Group
 
Mars Hill Group is an interactive advertising agency based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Mars Hill offers comprehensive marketing strategies to a wide range of clients with deliverables ranging from winning brand executions and marketing materials to phenomenal interactive experiences, user-friendly websites or all of the above.  For more information about Mars Hill Group, visit www.marshillgroup.com and www.videobridge.ca.
 
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