Every Conversation Counts: RepNation Media's Unique Peer-to-Peer Marketing Campaign Powers Microsoft's i'm Initiative for Windows Live Messenger

Market Wire, May, 2007

RepNation Media today announced it has been tapped by Microsoft to develop and manage a brand ambassador network on college campuses nationwide. The network will provide grassroots support for Microsoft's i'm Initiative , a project based on a compelling proposition: by leveraging what people do regularly -- communicate via instant messaging -- Microsoft is empowering people to raise money for worthwhile causes. Every time a person starts an online conversation using i'm on Windows Live Messenger, Microsoft will share a portion of the program's advertising revenue with the user's choice of one of nine of the world's most effective organizations dedicated to social causes at no cost to the user. While there is no maximum, Microsoft has pledged to donate at least $100,000 to each participating organization.

Rather than launch this unique project through traditional mass media campaigns, Microsoft chose to focus on a grassroots effort. That's where RepNation comes into the mix, having previously worked with Microsoft on highly successful brand ambassador networks for Microsoft Office OneNote and the launch of Windows Live Expo. Through its network of nearly 40,000 ambassadors, RepNation was able to identify ambassadors within its network who were concerned about the same social causes associated with the campaign. With this targeted approach, RepNation is able to develop a campaign that partners Microsoft with passionate students at 35 campuses across the country to evangelize the i'm Initiative -- creating a personalized marketing channel with national reach.

In order to generate buzz across the targeted 35 campuses, RepNation has designed a campaign that empowers the 70 brand ambassadors to tap into the students, groups and resources that best impact their own campuses. Ambassadors will be provided marketing budgets and materials and tasked with developing plans specific to their campuses, which could entail hosting large-scale events, tying into local causes and organizations or generating local press. In addition, ambassadors will spread the word to their peers through all forms of personal interactions such as traditional word of mouth, personal blogs and their on and offline social networks. The net result will be a campaign that is personal enough to connect with consumers at their level, but expansive enough to reach a nationwide demographic.

"Personal interaction is at the heart of every RepNation marketing campaign. It was only natural for RepNation to help Windows Live Messenger in a program that strives to change individuals' behaviors and create a powerful movement," said Brandon Evans, managing director and partner of RepNation Media. "By partnering with students who are passionate about the same issues that Microsoft and the i'm Initiative look to address, we are able to create a highly targeted marketing campaign that delivers national results through localized and personalized communications."

The nine organizations people can select from include the American Red Cross, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, National AIDS Fund, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, ninemillion.org, Sierra Club, Stopglobalwarming.org, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

To learn more and join in the i'm Initiative, visit: http://im.live.com and download the latest version of Windows Live Messenger.

About Windows Live Messenger

Windows Live Messenger is a free instant messaging service that allows people to connect with others in real time and express themselves in a rich, convenient and fun way. Windows Live Messenger is available in 60 countries worldwide and is used by more than 255 million active accounts each month, making it the world's largest consumer IM service. The only IM service to offer full-screen video and the first to offer virtually unlimited file sharing, Windows Live Messenger provides customers with a window into their contacts -- enabling them to chat with friends, family and colleagues online via text, voice, mobile phone or video conversation; express themselves with winks and dynamic display pictures; and share photos, files, searches and more instantly. Windows Live Messenger features tight integration with other Windows Live and MSN communication services including Windows Live Hotmail, MSN Hotmail and Windows Live Spaces to give customers a more flexible way to connect to the people and information that matter most to them. Windows Live Messenger is available at http://messenger.live.com .

About RepNation Media, LLC

RepNation is shaking up the world of traditional marketing with the world's first Consumer Powered Media (CPM) network. The RepNation CPM network enables companies and agencies to reach consumers via the personal interactions of their peers, in contrast to traditionally impersonal mass media. RepNation offers five innovative campaign types and patent-pending technology, providing a new communications channel for innovative marketers to leverage the next wave of media, which can be deployed as easily as conventional marketing. Companies that have utilized RepNation's CPM channel for powerful, quantitative results include Microsoft, JetBlue and Victoria's Secret. The Company is headquartered in New York City. To learn more about RepNation, visit http://www.repnation.com/client .