March 8th, 2003 8:54am EST

Alliant Cooperative Data Solutions Secures Capital Commitment from Landmark Communications

Investment assures Alliant of funding for roll-out of TransactionBase™ cooperative effort.

PATTERSON, NY — Alliant Cooperative Data Solutions has announced that Landmark Communications has acquired an equity stake in the company. The investment guarantees Alliant the funds needed to complete the development and roll-out of TransactionBase™, a cooperative database containing the complete customer performance records of bill-me marketers.

Alliant was founded in August 2001 in partnership with major direct marketing organizations by industry veteran JoAnne Monfradi Dunn. The company’s mission is to reengineer the solutions marketers use to identify their best prospects and manage their risk in making bill-me offers to consumers. Alliant plans on rolling out its first solutions to its charter partners in May of this year.

“This investment substantiates the incredible support we have received from our clients,” stated JoAnne Dunn, Alliant’s CEO. “Landmark has validated our business model by making a significant investment in Alliant in a very tough business climate. They are committed to building a long-term presence in the direct marketing industry, and have pledged to be Alliant’s sole investment partner as we grow the business.”

The new funding will be used by Alliant to complete the construction of its Croton Falls, NY data center and to support the roll-out of TransactionBase™. Alliant’s development team has spent eight months analyzing detailed customer performance records of its charter TransactionBase™ contributors. They have developed proprietary transformation algorithms that allow the information to be integrated into a uniform, multi-dimensional view of each consumer’s performance in bill-me offers.

Alliant is targeting clubs, continuity marketers and magazine publishers for its services. Alliant will initially roll out custom models based on TransactionBase™ data for list scoring and order management applications. Portfolio management and real-time applications should be available during the third quarter of the year.

Alliant’s funding is a result of Landmark’s strategic commitment to the development of database marketing and direct marketing support businesses. Charles L. Watkins, Landmark’s Vice President for Corporate Development explained, “We were attracted to Alliant because of the strength of their vision for the future of cooperative database development. They have a solid management team that we believe has the depth to expand the range of database services available to marketers, and we look forward to a long term partnership with Alliant. There is a real commitment on our part to build and operate a lasting enterprise.”

About Alliant Cooperative Data Solutions
Alliant Cooperative Data Solutions, LLC is an innovator in the world of direct marketing cooperative databases. It is currently developing TransactionBase™, an FCRA-compliant database, to provide a unique, multi-dimensional view of consumer performance in Bill-Me offers. The company has the support of major direct marketing organizations who believe Alliant’s solutions will enhance their ability predict which consumers will both respond to and pay for Bill-Me offers. For more information visit www.alliantdata.com.

About Landmark Communications, Inc.
Landmark Communications, Inc. is a private media and information company with national and international interests in newspapers, broadcasting, cable programming and electronic publishing. Landmark owns The Weather Channel and weather.com, and is a majority shareholder in CoolSavings.com. The company also owns or has significant investments in firms engaged in fixed wireless broadband, career schools, and trade show management. Based in Norfolk, Va., Landmark employs more than 5,000 people.

Labels: Alliant Cooperative Data, cooperative database, Direct marketing, Landmark Communications, TransactionBase