Spot Runner's 1/11/2006 Press Release

SPOT RUNNER REINVENTS TV ADVERTISING
BY ENABLING LOCAL BUSINESSES
TO PRODUCE ADS AND BUY AIRTIME
FOR AS LITTLE AS $500

Founders of PeoplePC and Firefly Team Up
to Originate a New “Self-Serve” Process
to Create TV Commercials and Media Plans Online

LOS ANGELES, January 11, 2006 — The world of television advertising is being revolutionized with the launch of a unique new Internet-based ad agency – Spot Runner (www.spotrunner.com). While TV advertising campaigns used to be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to create, Spot Runner can now implement a comprehensive advertising campaign in less than a week and at a fraction of the cost. The company offers a full-service package, including commercial production, media planning and ad time, for as little as $500. Founded by veteran Internet entrepreneurs Nick Grouf and David Waxman, Spot Runner is the first national ad agency to utilize an exclusive Web-based, “self-serve” platform to make it fast, easy and affordable for local businesses to advertise on TV.

“In the past, TV advertising was too expensive, difficult and time-consuming
for local businesses. In addition, conventional ad agencies simply aren’t equipped to serve local customers,” said Nick Grouf, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Spot Runner. “Now that Spot Runner has brought the entire advertising process online, even the smallest local business can capitalize on the power of television to build its brand and attract new customers.”

By putting the entire process online, Spot Runner gives its clients complete control over every step of commercial production, media planning and media buying. Clients simply log on to www.spotrunner.com, provide information about their business and desired locations, and then select a commercial from Spot Runner’s extensive library of thousands of pre-produced, high-quality advertisements. Spot Runner personalizes the ads with the business’ specific information, logos and even their own images. Then, based on information provided by the client, Spot Runner uses its proprietary media planning engine to create customized media plans that allow advertisers to target customers by demographics, networks and specific neighborhoods.

Advertisers can buy time on major networks, including local broadcast and cable channels such as CNN, Bravo, ESPN and HGTV. Spot Runner has relationships with media outlets in every state, so it can place ads for customers anywhere in the country. Once the client approves the ad and media plan, Spot Runner takes care of all the details and launches the campaign on TV. After the ads have run, clients receive easy-to-understand reports that show exactly where and when the commercials ran and provide details about the viewing audience.

Executives from top advertising agencies, including Steve Hayden, vice chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, acknowledge the value of the Spot Runner model. According to Hayden, “If you had told me just two years ago it would be possible for me to go online and create a customized, relevant television commercial that would effectively reach my target market – all for just $500 – I would have thought you were insane. The Spot Runner model is simply a breakthrough in television advertising, and it’s going to change the world of local advertising.”

Spot Runner’s early customers span the country and include a wide variety of industries, from law firms, dentists, hair salons, employment agencies, real estate brokers, flower shops and retailers, to doggie day care centers and even a surfboard manufacturer.

“The process is the easiest thing you can imagine. To have an advertising service that accomplishes everything you want and does it cheaper – it’s a no-brainer,” said Greg Kunin, co-founder of Ola Loa, a multi-vitamin nutritional supplement company based in San Francisco and one of Spot Runner’s first customers. “In addition, the quality of the production really has a distinguished feel to it.”

“Over the past decade, the Internet has turned traditional business models upside down and put consumers in the driver’s seat,” said David Waxman, Spot Runner’s co-founder and vice president of Creative Services. “We’re applying the same principles to TV advertising, using the Internet to democratize what used to be a tightly-knit industry, available only to the elite. This levels the playing field for America’s 11 million local businesses, allowing them to directly challenge their larger, national competitors.”

Spot Runner co-founders Nick Grouf and David Waxman already have two other successful startups to their name. They first joined forces in 1995 to create Firefly Network, Inc. In 1998, Microsoft acquired Firefly and the Firefly Passport became Microsoft Passport. Next, they launched PeoplePC, Inc., which they took public before it was acquired by EarthLink, Inc. All of the companies founded by Grouf and Waxman have one overriding principle – to harness the democratizing power of the Internet.

Spot Runner is backed by a highly respected group of investors, including Index Ventures and Battery Ventures.

About Spot Runner
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Spot Runner, Inc. is a privately held, Internet-based ad agency that makes it easy and affordable for local businesses to advertise on TV. Its revolutionary approach gives local businesses the ability to advertise on local TV by making commercial production, media planning and media buying services fast, easy and affordable. The entire process is automated online, making it cost effective for even the smallest of businesses to use.

Visit Spot Runner online at www.spotrunner.com.

copyright © 2005 Spot Runner, Inc.