americangreetings.com Names Alexander Ogilvy and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide Team as Agency of Record

Business Wire, July 19, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 1999--

americangreetings.com, a subsidiary of American Greetings (NYSE:AM), today announced it has selected Ogilvy Public Relations and its Alexander Ogilvy unit as its agency of record.

The firm was chosen because of its ability to provide both extensive experience and expertise in the electronic commerce sector and its depth of knowledge in building and supporting a consumer brand.

The Alexander Ogilvy and Ogilvy PR team is charged with leading the public relations initiatives to create the most highly recognized brand for social expression on the Internet. Additionally, the agency will be handling investor relations efforts for the company as it prepares for an initial public offering later this year. The new account will be serviced out of the agency's San Francisco and Chicago offices, with David Park, vice president of strategic marketing, heading the team in San Francisco.

"Given that we aim to reach both mainstream consumer and technology audiences as we redefine our Internet brand, Alexander Ogilvy and Ogilvy PR were the clear choice for us," said Bill Van Cleave, vice president for product management and corporate marketing, americangreetings.com. "We were impressed by the combination of the firm's consumer Internet experience, branding expertise and the on-target creative concepts the team presented."

americangreetings.com represents the largest e-commerce account on the agency's strategic client roster, which consists of other leaders in the consumer Internet space, including eToys, Cooking.com, Looksmart, Della & James and CheckOut.com, to name a few.

"The americangreetings.com account marks another strategic victory in our effort to partner with clients that are pushing the envelope on the consumer technology front," said Pam Alexander, president and CEO of Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. "We're thrilled with the opportunity to lead americangreetings.com's public relations efforts to help build one of the most powerful consumer brands on the Internet."

About American Greetings and americangreetings.com

American Greetings is the world's largest publicly held creator, manufacturer and distributor of greeting cards and social expression products. With headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, American Greetings employs more than 20,000 associates around the world and has one of the largest creative studios in the world. For more information on the Company, visit the site on the World Wide Web at http://www.americangreetings.com.

americangreetings.com is a leading provider of personal and social expression content for the digital marketplace. The company's award-winning Web site offers more than 3,000 online greetings conveniently available on www.americangreetings.com and through America Online at keyword: AG. With ten titles distributed at retail nationwide, American Greetings is also the leading brand in the print creativity software category.

The company's key alliances include a marketing partnership with America Online as its premier provider of online greetings, as well as strategic agreements with the Lycos Network, over 10,000 affiliate Web sites linked to americangreetings.com, and Mattel for American Greetings branded consumer software products.

About Ogilvy Public Relations and Alexander Ogilvy Public

Relations Worldwide

Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is a leading international communications firm with specialty practices in health and medical, strategic marketing, technology, corporate communications and public affairs. Headquartered in New York, Ogilvy PR partners with clients across the world from its 38 offices in the United States, Europe and Asia and through affiliate relationships worldwide as part of the WPP Group, one of the worlds' largest marketing communications companies. Ogilvy PR's corporate web site is located at http://www.ogilvypr.com.

Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and is a leading strategic communications firm focused on the global information technology market. Alexander Ogilvy employs more than 190 communications professionals, with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, London, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The company concentrates on emerging and high-growth market segments: e-commerce tools and applications, Internet infrastructure, interactive media, networking and telecommunications, information appliances and enterprise information systems. The agency's closely managed client roster includes such industry-leading companies as Qwest Communications, NCR, Tektronix, Motorola, Merrill Lynch, Ascend Communications, eToys, Critical Path, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch and Nexabit. Alexander Ogilvy's corporate Web site is located at http://www.alexanderogilvy.com