Powered Founder Paul Franz Receives Shop.org Award at 2007 Annual Summit

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2007

Leader in Online Consumer Education Previews New Program to Help Retailers Build Brand and Generate New Revenue Streams at Industry's Most Prestigious Retail Event

AUSTIN, Texas -- Powered, the leading provider of online consumer education programs for Global 2000 brands, today announced that co-founder Paul Franz was awarded the first Shop.org 'Spreading the Word Award' at the 2007 Annual Summit, held September 17 - 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The award recognizes the outstanding efforts of Shop.org members as they continuously spread the word about the many benefits of a Shop.org membership. Franz was named the 2007 award recipient for his remarkable contributions to the Shop.org Member Services Committee, and his pioneering work as a mentor in the Shop.org mentor program.

"Paul Franz is a passionate and dedicated member of the Shop.org community, and we wanted to formally recognize his valuable contributions by presenting him with the Spreading the Word Award at the Annual Summit, our biggest conference of the year," said Scott Silverman, Executive Director at Shop.org. "Paul's ability to stimulate ideas and inspiration for the Shop.org team and committee is worthy of recognition, and we are proud to count him as a member of the Shop.org Member Services Committee. All of us at Shop.org appreciate his effort and hard work, and we look forward to working with him on future Shop.org initiatives."

At the Shop.org Annual Summit, Powered also unveiled a new program that allows retailers to incorporate leading-edge online consumer education strategies into their interactive marketing programs. Fully hosted by Powered, the offering is a powerful new turnkey solution that gives retailers access to powerful and informative content that can be rapidly launched on a retailer's site to effectively engage consumers and generate new revenue.

"One of the key themes in this year's Shop.org conference was the need for retailers to create active communities on their commerce sites," said Buck Krawczyk, vice president of marketing at Powered. "Our new program gives retailers valuable information that consumers are looking for, and creates a more engaging shopping experience. In fact, our research shows that 20% of consumers buy a brand's products as a result of what they've learned. The Shop.org conference was a great venue to launch our new program, and we look forward to working closely with our retail clients to help them build communities and more effectively engage consumers."

Research shows that consumers are eager to participate in online education - and that corporate sponsors can successfully leverage the medium to improve brand loyalty. A recent report from Next Century Media, available online at http://report.powered.com, shows that online consumer education is a highly preferable vehicle for reaching consumers over more traditional marketing tools. The report demonstrates that consumers who complete courses are 29 times more likely to buy the sponsor's products compared to traditional media advertising, and five times more likely to buy compared to direct marketing. In addition, 94 percent have a more favorable impression of the brand because of the experience, and 90 percent are likely to recommend it to a friend.

About Powered, Inc.

Austin-based Powered, Inc. is the market and technology leader in online consumer education. Powered provides a proven way for the world's largest brands to use online education to drive sales, build brand loyalty and deliver a significantly higher ROI than other marketing programs. Manufacturers, retailers, media properties and web publishers also rely on Powered to gain new insights into consumer attitudes and buying behavior. Powered clients include AOL, Atkins, BusinessWeek, HP, iVillage, Motorola, Radio Shack, Sanofi Aventis, Shire and Sony, among others. For more information, visit www.powered.com.