Advertising Age Names Epsilon One of the Top Ten Marketing Services Organizations in the U.S. and No. 4 in Direct Marketing

Epsilon Also Ranked Among the Top 20 Marketing Organizations Globally

WAKEFIELD, MASS. – May 16, 2006 – Epsilon, a leading provider of multi-channel marketing services, technologies and database solutions, today announced that the 62nd Annual Advertising Age Agency Report named Epsilon the no. 10 Marketing Services organization in the United States, no. 4 in the Direct Marketing discipline and no. 20 globally. Epsilon’s growth rate between 2004 and 2005 was 27.7 percent, making it one of the fastest-growing marketing services agencies in the top 10. The Agency Report ranks advertising and marketing services organizations based on reported revenue data.

"Clearly 2005 was an important year for Epsilon as we succeeded in delivering on our promise to offer leading brands best-in-class multi-channel marketing services that optimize their customer relationships and marketing ROI," said Michael Iaccarino, president and CEO of Epsilon. "The Advertising Age Agency Report validates our strategy to pursue key acquisitions, expand our comprehensive set of market-leading offerings and deliver a steady stream of marketing services innovation to clients."

The Advertising Age Agency Report underscores several key trends in the marketing industry. Most important is the continued movement by major brands away from mass media to alternative channels. According the report, "clients have begun to shift spending from mass media to alternate forms of marketing that reach consumers where they are." This trend has been especially positive for marketing services organizations – where the average growth rate was 11.3 percent between 2004 and 2005 – and for Epsilon in particular, which saw an increase of nearly two-and-a-half times that rate, according to Advertising Age.

The Advertising Age recognition is one of many recent accolades for Epsilon. In its recent Forrester Wave report: Database Marketing Service Providers, Q1 2006, Forrester Research identified Epsilon as a standout among database marketing service providers, noting it has "set the bar for the industry." A second report, Forrester Wave: Email Marketing Service Providers, Q4 2005, recognized Epsilon Interactive, an operating unit of Epsilon, as a market leader in its category for an unprecedented third consecutive time. Today Epsilon is considered best-in-class in database marketing services, best-in-class in email marketing services and best-in-class in creative services (with more than 20 award-winning campaigns in 2005 alone).

About Epsilon
Epsilon is a leading provider of multi-channel marketing services, technologies and database solutions. Through its combination of client-centric marketing solutions, Epsilon helps leading companies understand, measure, manage and optimize their customer relationships and marketing ROI. The organization's end-to-end suite of integrated services includes marketing strategy, creative, data, technology, analytics and distribution services to produce multi-channel marketing programs that generate measurable results throughout the customer lifecycle. Epsilon is an Alliance Data company.

In September 2005, Epsilon acquired Bigfoot Interactive (now Epsilon Interactive), the leading provider of strategic, ROI focused email communications solutions and marketing automation technologies. Epsilon Interactive now serves as Epsilon's key offering in the interactive marketing and communications space. Founded in 1969, Epsilon maintains principal offices in Boston, Dallas, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

For more information see www.epsilon.com.

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