TOP ELECTRONIC MARKETERS HONORED AT 1998 GEMCON CONFERENCE

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WASHINGTON, DC, April 13, 1998 - Creative Internet marketing and frequent shopper programs utilized by the grocery industry's top electronic marketers were honored for their ability to reach consumers, at the 1998 Global Electronic Marketing Conference (GEMCON). The conference, held this year in New Orleans, was sponsored by Grocery Manufacturers of America, Retail Systems Consulting, and Food Marketing Institute. The annual GEM Awards recognize retailers, wholesalers, consumer product manufacturers, and electronic marketing vendors for the best electronic marketing programs. The 1998 GEM Awards were sponsored by Andersen Consulting, a $5.3 billion global management and technology consulting organization, and were presented by Mr. Michael Gorshe, Executive Director, Food Industry Programs, Andersen Consulting, and Ms. Carlene Thissen, President, Retail Systems Consulting: Consumer Product Manufacturer: The Pillsbury Company, for its Pillsbury Central website and its Electronic Sales Collateral programs, which allow Pillsbury to engage in two-way comprehensive marketing, from Pillsbury to trade customer to consumer and back again. U.S. grocery retailer: Gerland's Food Fair, for its Customer Advantage Card program, which includes electronic price discounts, periodic purchase awards, and manufacturers sweepstakes. U.S. Grocery Wholesaler: Associated Wholesale Grocers Inc., for its Wholesaler-Driven Frequent Shopper Program used by independent grocers within different advertising groups. The program offers customer specific market basket analysis of a variety of point-of-sale systems and software levels. International Retailer: Supermarcats Pujol S.A., for its PLUSI program in Spanish grocery stores that offers to consumers rebate checks and discount coupons based on previous purchases. The company also partners with manufacturers to work with loyal category buyers for new product introductions. Electronic Marketing Vendor: Relationship Marketing Group, for its DataVantage program that delivers manufacturer promotional incentives via a retailer-sponsored shopping list, mailed regularly to the household. The program allows manufacturers and retailers to do customer-specific targeting at the UPC level. "The manufacturer, retailer, and third party provider honorees are clearly offering the most creative and successful global electronic marketing initiatives in our industry," said Michael Gorshe of Andersen Consulting. "These companies are leading the way on how to best promote brand value to the consumer of tomorrow." This year's entries were judged by a panel of five judges, including GMA, who made their decisions based on the following criteria: How is the program unique? How are existing electronic marketing tools creatively used? How is the program advertised? How clearly are the benefits of the program enumerated? What are the levels of consumer participation and business growth?

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