Forbes.com Launches New Trade Ad Campaign 'Take The Forbes.com Challenge'; Money-Back Brand...

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2004

Forbes.com, home page for the world's business leaders, this week launched a new ad campaign, "Take The Forbes.com Challenge." The campaign combines Forbes.com's innovative Brand Increase Guarantee with an aggressive

"Helping marketers reach their target audiences - affluent business decision-makers - with zero waste and definable ROI, continues to be a priority for Forbes.com," said James Spanfeller, president and CEO, Forbes.com. "We know from experience that we can do it very successfully, and we're proud to offer a new challenge to guarantee that Forbes.com, compared to offline media - in this case, The Wall Street Journal print - is the absolute best buy for a company's ad dollars."

Forbes.com will guarantee advertisers who take "the challenge" that their ad dollars on Forbes.com will outperform their Wall Street Journal print ad dollars - or they'll refund the cost of the Forbes.com campaign. Advertisers who are interested in participating in the program must be willing to set up ad test research by running a minimum of $150,000 on Forbes.com; use similar messaging in online and newspaper creative executions; and run comparable spending over similar time frames for the measured online and newspaper campaigns. Ad effectiveness will be measured by independent research firm InsightExpress(R). The methodology can be downloaded in PDF format from http://www.forbes.com/fdc/advertise.shtml.

"We are delighted Forbes.com has chosen our comprehensive research solutions for their ground-breaking ad guarantee," said Lee Smith, president and COO of InsightExpress. "As the leading provider of online advertising effectiveness research and the chosen research partner of the Interactive Advertising Bureau's cross media studies, we look forward to providing advertisers with a reliable and independent means to measure the impact of their online and offline advertising."

The campaign will run in print and online with Advertising Age, AdWeek, BtoB magazine and MediaPost's Media magazine and MediaDailyNews, as well as with medialifemagazine.com. Spending information is not being disclosed.

About Forbes.com

Forbes.com Inc. (www.forbes.com), home page for the world's business leaders and the No. 1 business site on the Web, is among the most trusted resources for senior business executives, providing them the uncompromising commentary, concise analysis, relevant tools, community and real-time reporting they need to succeed at work, profit from investing and have fun with the rewards of winning. Throughout the business day Forbes.com publishes more than 1,500 articles, delivering the best of Forbes journalism and that of its selected partners with all the immediacy, depth and interactivity that the Web allows. Voted "Best Media Website" in 2003 by the Web Marketing Association, and min's Best of the Web winner for "Editorial Excellence" in the consumer category, Forbes.com continues to set industry standards for its innovative advertising offerings, and for its award-winning journalism.