PRESS RELEASE Of interest to editors and journalists covering: Advertising/Marketing, Shopping/Retail, Business/Finance, CO News ShopAtHome's New 'CatalogBonus!' Program Has Catalogers Abuzz Over Its Potential To Find Them Online Customers With No Effort and No Financial Risk Sharper Image, Lane Bryant, Eddie Bauer among major players flocking to pilot program; simplicity, turnkey implementation, pay-on-performance cited as main draws GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO - March 16, 2004 /Send2Press Newswire/ -- BelcaroGroup Inc. (www.BelcaroGroup.com), parent of ShopAtHome.com and ShopAtHomeSelect.com, announced today yet another innovative program to bring qualified prospects home to roost quickly as full-fledged Internet buyers. Called "CatalogBonus!," the program successfully integrates the technology that powers BelcaroGroup's catalog request and online order programs with the company's 18-year history of direct marketing savvy. The result is a customer acquisition program unique in the catalog industry. As catalog companies struggle to find fertile new sources of mail order and Internet buyers at acceptable acquisition costs, the announcement came as welcome news. Marc Braunstein, BelcaroGroup founder and CEO, had this to say: "The 'CatalogBonus!' idea is a simple one: use targeted direct mail and Internet promotions to generate a steady flow of self-qualifying catalog requesters. Then, offer them a hefty rebate if they purchase from that catalog's website." "Because we already had the capability to handle order tracking, record keeping, check writing and customer service through ShopAtHomeSelect.com, it was just a matter of leveraging existing technology and infrastructure for CatalogBonus! "It was a natural 'next step' progression for our two highly successful risk-free Per Inquiry and Per Order programs." BelcaroGroup's catalog clients have high praise for ShopAtHome programs. Here's a sampling: "Your marketing efforts on our behalf are evident by the ongoing and significant monthly sales growth, most notably the 55% increase we experienced between September and October 2003!" Bobbie Zucker Bryson, Lillian Vernon Online "Based on YTD performance, we are realizing a conversion rate (with ShopAtHome names) that makes our program a success." Cindy Marshall, Ross-Simons For catalogers, CatalogBonus! is a marketer's dream-come-true because there's no complicated set-up, no financial risk, no downside whatsoever. In a nutshell, here's how CatalogBonus! works: 1. Prospects are drawn to ShopAtHome.com through major search engines, e-mail promotions, word of mouth or through a ShopAtHome catalog (BelcaroGroup mails millions of the "Catalog of Catalogs" annually). 2. A link at the ShopAtHome website whisks visitors to the new CatalogBonus! section, where they'll find participating catalogs that offer a "Cash-back-with-online-purchase" incentive. 3. Visitors order the catalog, with the understanding that BelcaroGroup will send them up to $10 just for making an online purchase of any size at the cataloger's website. ShopAtHomeSelect.com provides convenient links to participating catalogs. 4. Behind the scenes, BelcaroGroup forwards the customer's contact information, including an opt-in email address, to the catalogs the customer ordered. Simultaneously, it stores that contact information on the customer's own CatalogBonus! page. 5. Once the customer makes the initial purchase, BelcaroGroup e-mails the rebate notification immediately and then mails rebate checks quarterly. "This is a win-win-win situation," says CEO Braunstein. "The cataloger gets a new customer with no effort and no financial risk; the customer gets a no-strings-attached personal check from us; and we get our commission for playing matchmaker." For the cataloger it just keeps getting better: BelcaroGroup does everything in a well-integrated turnkey program it... * produces the catalog request promotions * posts the client's CatalogBonus! offer on the ShopAtHomeSelect web page * takes the catalog request orders * performs CASS address certification * forwards the contact information to the catalog's circulation department * tracks all record keeping associated with an actual order * and mails the rebate check to the consumer at the promised time While the CatalogBonus! program is still in its infancy, initial reaction from early adapters signal that it's going to be "the next big thing" in catalog customer acquisition. The program launched in March with some 70 participants featured on ShopAtHome.com, including Eddie Bauer, Sharper Image, Lane Bryant, One Step Ahead and other quality brands. Braunstein expects that number to swell once word hits the direct marketing street about its efficiency and effectiveness in attracting quality prospects and converting them into Internet Buyers with no financial risk to participating catalogers. For more information, visit www.ShopAtHome.com/advertise.htm. For a CatalogBonus! rate card, contact BelcaroGroup directly at sales@BelcaroGroup.com or call (303) 843-0302 ext. 104. About Belcaro BelcaroGroup publishes and mails the highly targeted "Catalog of Catalogs" annually. Over the past several years, BelcaroGroup has expanded its marketing efforts from direct mail to include two major Internet websites, www.ShopAtHome.com and www.ShopAtHomeSelect.com. Today, BelcaroGroup has a full product line generating qualified traffic and qualified prospects from both direct mail and Internet sources. Belcaro has serviced more than 10,000,000 consumers, and more than 2,000 leading direct response companies. BelcaroGroup Inc., 7100 East Belleview Avenue, #208, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. http://www.BelcaroGroup.com MEDIA CONTACT: Danielle Layland Of BelcaroGroup Inc. +1-303-843-0302 dlayland@shopathome.com /Note to editors: images and logos available on request. / # # # [ source of news = BelcaroGroup Inc. ] ref: http://www.send2press.com/2archive/2004/pr_04_0316-belcaro.txt http://www.send2press.com/2archivePDF/pr_04_0316-belcaro.pdf --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *IMPORTANT NOTE TO MEDIA: to reach the organization releasing this news, please contact: dlayland@shopathome.com (media only) If used for publication, please send specimen copy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- S2PRN-NS/8c/ CO / GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colorado / Copr. (c) 2004 Send2Press. 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