Cooking.com and Marthastewart.com Team Up In New Cross-Media Marketing Alliance, Create Exclusive Cooking.com Microsite

Business Wire, Dec 13, 1999

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 13, 1999--

Cooking.com and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSLO), leaders in the cooking and food category, today announced a new advertising and marketing alliance.

As part of the partnership, Cooking.com joins forces with MSLO to create a microsite on the Cooking and Entertaining channel of marthastewart.com, which will exclusively offer Cooking.com products for sale.

The microsite will help provide marthastewart.com guests an easy way to access some of the best cooking products on the Web.

"We at MSLO are pleased and excited to join forces with Cooking.com in this new and unique omnimedia advertising partnership to create the ultimate home for cooks on the Web", said Martha Stewart, chairman and CEO of MSLO.

In addition, Cooking.com will deepen its marketing relationship with MSLO by featuring advertising in Martha Stewart Living magazine and on the television programs "Martha Stewart Living," a syndicated show, and "From Martha's Kitchen" on cable.

"The partnership with MSLO is the next logical step as we continue to define the cooking category on the Internet," said David Hodess, CEO and founder of Cooking.com. "With our shared dedication to the culinary arts, this union further allows Cooking.com to deliver high-quality recipes and products to consumers who care about food and cooking."

The partnership comes on the heels of Cooking.com's recent alliance with culinary expert Burt Wolf and marthastewart.com's expansion to seven linked content channels, one of which highlights Cooking and Entertaining.

Cooking.com's arrangement with Wolf provides exclusive rights to the content of his upcoming book, "The Cooks' Catalogue 2000," as well as access to Wolf's numerous syndicated television series and books on food, travel and culinary history.

About Cooking.com

Cooking.com (www.cooking.com) is the leading online retailer of cookware and specialty foods. The site offers round-the-clock accessibility to more than 5,000 products from brands such as Calphalon, Henckels and Waring. In addition, Cooking.com provides thousands of recipes and tips for cooks.

World-renowned chefs, cookbook authors and restaurateurs develop the site's content, creating a unique destination for people who like to cook. Through its exclusive relationship with Burt Wolf, one of the nation's best-known experts on food and cooking equipment, Cooking.com offers the most up-to-date product information and entertaining ideas.

Cooking.com's firm commitment to customer service ensures its customers receive individual attention and an easy and hassle-free shopping experience.

About Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. is a multimedia company consisting of four business segments.

The company's Publishing segment includes the magazine Martha Stewart Living; the quarterly magazine Martha Stewart Weddings; books written by Martha Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart Living; the syndicated "askMartha" newspaper columns and the Westwood One syndicated radio show, "askMartha."

The Television segment includes a nationally syndicated, daily one-hour television program, "Martha Stewart Living"; a daily cable television program, "From Martha's Kitchen," on the Food Network; weekly appearances on CBS News' "The Early Show" broadcast; and periodic CBS network prime-time television specials.

The Merchandising segment includes strategic merchandising and distribution partnerships with Kmart, Sherwin-Williams, P/Kaufmann and Zellers.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia also has an Internet/Direct Commerce segment that includes an Internet site, marthastewart.com, and an online store and mail-order catalog, "Martha by Mail." Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSO.