Media Inc (24/7) - Entered E-mail Marketing In 1999

24/7 Media gained entry into e-mail marketing in March 1999 with the acquisition of Sift Inc. for $22 million. Sift was based in Sunnyvale, California, and had about 20 employees. It had an opt-in e-mail database of 3 million addresses and customers that included Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, and RealNetworks. The acquisition was consistent with 24/7 Media's avowed policy of not sending out unsolicited e-mail, since all of the addresses in Sift's database were for consumers who were interested in receiving commercial e-mail. Later in the year, 24/7 Media acquired a second e-mail marketing firm, ConsumerNet of Red Bank, New Jersey, for $52 million.

In order to provide a national sales force to focus on the convergence of television and the Internet in local markets, 24/7 Media entered into a three-year agreement with NBC Interactive Neighborhood during 1999. Under the agreement 24/7 Media established a sales force to sell ads on the Web sites of local NBC affiliates. The deal enabled NBC to offer combined Web and television advertising packages to local advertisers. The program began with six large NBC-owned affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Dallas, and San Diego, and eventually was expected to involve more than 100 NBC stations.

In 1999 and 2000, 24/7 Media continued to expand internationally. In July 1999 it acquired Click-Through Interactive, a Toronto, Canada-based advertising sales network that represented more than 65 premium Canadian Web sites. In August the company expanded its European operations to 12 countries with the addition of 24/7 Suomi in Finland. Later in the year the firm's German unit, 24/7 Deutschland, opened offices in Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, in addition to its existing office in Hamburg. In February 2000, 24/7 Media acquired the Australian ad network Sabela for about $70 million. In March it launched 24/7 Mail in the United Kingdom, offering opt-in e-mail marketing services to advertisers there. European e-mail service was rolled out to France, Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia later in the year, and in mid-2000 the company opened an office in Lausanne, Switzerland. Additional expansions were taking place in Latin America and Asia.