Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Alterian completes strategic acquisition of Mediasurface

Purchase of Web Content Management company allows Alterian to offer multi-channel analytics with execution and content to help marketers maximise profit from customers’ behaviour

LONDON - July 07, 2008 – Alterian (LSE: ALN), the leading international integrated marketing platform provider, has announced the completion of its acquisition of Web Content Management software company, Mediasurface plc, including its flagship products Morello and Immediacy, subject only to the formality of admission of the consideration shares to trading on the London Stock Exchange which is expected to take place on 9 July.

The addition of Mediasurface’s web content capabilities will enable Alterian to expand its Marketing Services Platform to offer integrated analytics, content and execution that fits the needs of marketers both today and in the future. Alterian’s strengths in online and offline analytics will be enhanced by Mediasurface’s content management and execution for websites, corporate intranets, extranets and social media channels.

“Websites are increasingly becoming a core part of measurable lead generation, as well as more traditional branding activities. As such, the case for optimising the customer experience through the web is further accelerating – requiring powerful web content management capability linked to analytics of all of an organisation’s marketing data. Through the acquisition of Mediasurface, Alterian is bringing together a powerful mix of analytics, content and multi-channel execution. We believe that Alterian now has a much more compelling proposition than either traditional marketing suites or pure online marketing software players, and we are confident the acquisition will prove to be hugely significant in the Company’s future growth,” said Alterian Chief Executive Officer, David Eldridge.

Whilst the new company will trade as Alterian, it will continue to invest in and support Mediasurface products, with Morello and Immediacy forming both best of breed products, and being integrated as key components of the Alterian Marketing Services Platform. This follows the successful strategy adopted by Alterian following its acquisition of e-mail and online marketing software company Dynamics Direct in 2006 which, as a result of continued investment, has seen its products move up in industry analyst rankings as best of breed stand alone offerings, as well as benefiting from integration with the rest of Alterian’s software platform.

Eldridge continued, “Both companies were already experiencing strong growth, and the acquisition will build on that success as we create a dynamic and innovative approach to marketing. Mediasurface will strengthen our hand right across the globe, but North America is a particularly important strategic market for us, and we are now able to significantly extend the distribution of Mediasurface products in that region.”

The combination of Alterian and Mediasurface will empower approximately 1,000 marketing departments and a network of 100 channel partners across 26 countries, while more than doubling Alterian’s number of employees to approximately 300 worldwide. The new Alterian will also have an impressive array of international developers, with teams in Los Angeles and Bangalore, as well as in the UK, all working to bring the very latest in innovation to Alterian’s partners and customers.
Alterian is already the database marketing software partner for global brands such as Accenture, Acxiom, Carlson Marketing, Experian, Epsilon, InfoUSA, Merkle, Ogilvy One and Euro RSCG Worldwide, and its Integrated Marketing Services platform has significantly evolved over the past two years. Through a combination of organic development and acquisition, Alterian has built a powerful analytically led integrated marketing platform that delivers e-mail, database, and operational marketing and reporting.

Alterian was the only company to be included in both Forrester Research’s The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Marketing Platform; Q1 2008 (January 2008) and JupiterResearch’s E-mail Marketing Buyers Guide, 2008. Most recently Alterian was included in Forrester Research’s The CRM 2.0 Imperative (March 2008).

“The increased channels available to a modern marketer have led to a huge increase in the volumes of customer data generated. To understand this data, and your customers, you need superior analytics. Yet consumers react to content, and with the advent of Web 2.0 are now even generating content of their own. To capture all these reactions and interactions is impossible without an integrated marketing platform, which is why we feel that Alterian is ideally positioned to help marketers maximise profit from their customers’ behaviour,” concluded Eldridge.

About Alterian
Alterian (LSE: ALN) empowers marketers with an integrated marketing software platform combining database, online and operational marketing applications on a shared data infrastructure. The Alterian Marketing Services Platform makes it practical and cost effective for marketers to use actionable insight to execute an integrated marketing strategy across online and offline channels.
It is the unique integration of analytics, content and execution through Alterian’s industry leading tools, such as the Dynamic Messenger e-mail platform, and the award winning Morello and Immediacy Web Content Management solutions, which enables marketers to drive a seamless, multi-channel customer experience.
Alterian’s analytically-led software is delivered to approximately 1,000 marketing departments, across 26 countries, and an international network of more than 100 business partners, including marketing services providers, agencies and systems integrators. Its partners, such asAccenture, Acxiom, Allant Group, Cap Gemini, Carlson Marketing, Experian, Epsilon, InfoUSA, LogicaCMG, Merkle, Ogilvy One and Euro RSCG Worldwide, deliver Alterian software alongside their own domain and services expertise to help market leaders such as Princess Cruises, General Motors, Zurich, Astra Zeneca, HSBC, Limited Too, AEGON, Avis, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, Dell, Amnesty International and Vodafone integrate marketing processes and drive competitive advantage. For more info about Alterian, products within the Alterian Marketing Services Platform or our Partner Network, please visit www.alterian.com
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For more info, contact:
Paul Allen
Ruder Finn London
+44 (0) 207 462 8902
pallen@ruderfinn.co.uk

Adrienne McGarr
Ruder Finn Chicago
312-329-3907
mcgarra@ruderfinn.com

Malti Shukla
Alterian
312-884-5226
MShukla@alterian.com