REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 7, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced a comprehensive, global, multimillion-dollar marketing and distribution agreement between barnesandnoble.com, Barnes & Noble Inc.’s online bookstore, and the MSN
™network of Internet services. This long-standing relationship encompasses co-marketing projects with barnesandnoble.com and Microsoft® online services and interactive media products such as MSN Shopping, the MSN Expedia
™
travel service, MSN Small Business and the WebTV Network
™
service. These new programs provide customers of both barnesandnoble.com and Microsoft with an easy, integrated online shopping experience, and extend the barnesandnoble.com relationship as the premium book supplier to Microsoft online properties worldwide.
On MSN Shopping, Barnes & Noble is the exclusive online bookseller, providing customers with quick and easy one-click access to its online bookstore. As a Premier Merchant on MSN Shopping, barnesandnoble.com will receive premium positioning on the MSN Shopping home page, banner ad rotations and merchandising opportunities in the Daily Specials, Buying Guides and Gift Guides departments. Other upcoming integration opportunities through MSN Shopping will include small business and computing categories.
Barnesandnoble.com will be the premier bookseller integrated on MSN sites outside the United States as well as the exclusive English-language bookseller in non-English-speaking countries. Barnesandnoble.com has already established a strong following with customers outside the United States. This agreement enables barnesandnoble.com and MSN to expand together globally and promotes the barnesandnoble.com high-quality brand prominently to MSN customers around the world.
“Microsoft’s approach to marketing relationships is right on target,”
said Carl Rosendorf, vice president of sales, marketing and business development for barnesandnoble.com.
“We are extremely excited to be working on a global basis with the leading brand in the growing arena of Internet commerce. The combination of our knowledge of books and related information with Microsoft’s approach to streamlined content presentation is a win for consumers.”
“Barnes & Noble is the premier bookseller, both in the real world and online,”
said Deborah Levinger, senior marketing and merchandising manager, Microsoft.
“Through MSN Shopping, customers can go to barnesandnoble.com and receive the same quality service online they would at a traditional retail store. And with our cross-merchandising integration, customers can find the hot-topic books they want quickly and easily, both domestically and abroad.”
MSN Expedia
Barnesandnoble.com will feature MSN Expedia as its exclusive online travel service, giving customers of the online bookstore the ability to book travel from within the Travel section of the site. In turn, the MSN Expedia home page will feature barnesandnoble.com as the exclusive travel bookstore.
“Now, when customers are shopping on the barnesandnoble.com Travel section, they can link quickly to a co-branded version of the Expedia travel service where they can plan, reserve and purchase travel online,”
said Simon Breakwell, travel business unit group manager for Microsoft.
“This agreement is a great win for barnesandnoble.com, Expedia and our collective customers.”
MSN Small Business
The MSN Small Business channel provides homes and small businesses with Web-based services that have traditionally been enjoyed exclusively by large companies. Small Business offers services in categories such as human resources, payroll, financial services, shipping and tracking, and credit checks at no or low cost. Barnesandnoble.com is the featured bookseller on MSN Small Business, providing customers with easy access to the vast inventory of books available at barnesandnoble.com, including thousands of small-business titles.
Customers are able to easily find and order books online and have them delivered directly to their home or office. In addition, MSN Small Business links customers to a co-branded Small Business Bookstore on barnesandnoble.com where they can browse and find books on small-business topics from entrepreneurship to financing and venture capital.
“Barnesandnoble.com and MSN have worked extensively to provide our customers with comprehensive merchandising solutions,”
said Charlotte Guyman, general manager of the online sales and marketing team at Microsoft.
“MSN reaches over 40 percent of all people on the Web today. By teaming up with Microsoft, barnesandnoble.com will be taking advantage of the extensive reach of MSN, whether reaching its customers or creating new ones. With its depth of selection and superior service, barnesandnoble.com is an exceptional company to do business with, and we welcome the opportunity to work together.”
MSN and barnesandnoble.com have had the opportunity to innovate and test the best way to sell books that cater to specific market segments and meet targeted campaign objectives. Barnesandnoble.com’s first efforts in co-marketing revolved around MSN Shopping, with additional initiatives with other MSN services such as MSNBC, Microsoft’s cable and Internet news service. Barnesandnoble.com created midpage banners and sticky searches, which related directly to current topical issues, and led with a promotion of the Starr Report book at the inception of the presidential investigation.
WebTV Network
Barnesandnoble.com and Microsoft’s WebTV Networks are working together on electronic-commerce opportunities that feature barnesandnoble.com in the shopping area of the WebTV Network service. The WebTV service allows users to customize their television viewing in hundreds of useful and fun ways, and now serves more than half a million subscribers with its Internet access and interactive TV services. In addition, the companies are exploring other collaborative projects such as interactive television and plans to feature WebTV-based products in several Barnes & Noble retail outlet stores.
About Barnes & Noble
barnesandnoble.com has the world’s largest selection of book titles – more than 4.6 million. The company maintains the largest standing inventory of any online bookseller with more than 750,000 titles ready for immediate delivery. The site’s database features more than
3 million out-of-print and rare books, as well as the largest online selection of bargain books discounted up to 90 percent. A powerful search engine, one-click ordering, and extensive book reviews and expert commentary provide a fast, convenient and informed shopping experience. Author chats and reader reviews create a growing and personal literary community. barnesandnoble.com’s affiliate network pays the highest commissions with the best reporting tools, including real-time sales information, and is the leader in business-to-business e-commerce with its unique Business Solutions program.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
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