Company Sets Industry Trend by Sourcing Contract for National Television
Advertising Online
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 24, 2000 /PRNewswire/ -- In keeping with its tradition of
innovation, H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) has conducted the first-ever
reverse auction for television advertising.
With the help of FreeMarkets, Inc. (Nasdaq: FMKT), the leading B2B
eMarketplace, Heinz sourced a contract for national television advertising.
The advertising is for its Bagel Bites brand of frozen pizza-topped snacks.
"We are very excited to have pioneered this cutting-edge method of
purchasing advertising," said Heinz Media Director Charles Lanphear. "By
sourcing our contract through FreeMarkets, we were able to lock in advertising
spots on the right network at the right price and on the right programs. In
short, we're maximizing our advertising spending and efficiency."
Working closely with the FreeMarkets' market making team, media buyers
within Heinz, as well as representatives from the company's outside
advertising agencies prepared a detailed Request For Quote (RFQ) which not
only specified the time period during which advertisements will air, but also
the kind of programming during which they will be broadcast.
Leveraging their global databases of suppliers, FreeMarkets and Heinz
identified broadcast providers who could supply advertising space during
programming and times that would attract Bagel Bites' target audience of
teens. Nearly a half dozen suppliers participated in the auction, including a
number of national television media outlets.
The suppliers were trained in the use of FreeMarkets' BidWare technology,
which creates an interactive environment in which suppliers can submit bids in
real time and respond to subsequent bids made by other suppliers.
More than 20 bids were submitted for the Heinz contract during auction,
which lasted about one-half hour.
"We are very pleased with the results of this event and with the
FreeMarkets process," Mr. Lanphear said. "Media buying is a complex task, and
FreeMarkets helped to simplify it by enabling us to source exactly what we
need, while saving considerable time, paper work and hassle."
"Heinz has clearly set a new standard for media buying with this auction,
and we are extremely happy that they chose to work with us to make it happen,"
said Jason Reneau, director of consumer business at FreeMarkets. "Our
eMarketplace is ideal for sourcing complex goods and services in markets where
supply is tight, and we are happy to have successfully leveraged our
technology, information and services to create a market for a strategic
purchase that delivered results to Heinz."
About Heinz
With sales over US$9 billion, H. J. Heinz Company is one of the world's
leading marketers of branded foods to supermarkets and away-from-home eating
establishments. Its 50 companies operate in some 200 countries, offering more
than 57 hundred varieties. Among the company's famous brands are Heinz,
StarKist, Ore-Ida, 9-Lives, Weight Watchers, Wattie's, Plasmon, Farley's,
Smart Ones, The Budget Gourmet, Linda McCartney, San Marco, GoAhead!, Bagel
Bites, John West, Petit Navire, Boston Market, Skippy, Kibbles 'n Bits,
Pounce, Wagwells, Nature's Recipe, Orlando, ABC, Olivine and Pudliszki.
Information on Heinz is available at http://www.heinz.com.
About FreeMarkets
FreeMarkets is the leading B2B eMarketplace. FreeMarkets combines its
industry-leading technology platform with unparalleled sourcing information
and world-class services to deliver huge savings to customers. FreeMarkets has
executed over 6,800 online auctions for more than $10.6 billion worth of goods
and services to date, and created estimated savings of nearly $2.0 billion for
its customers. The FreeMarkets B2B eMarketplace enables buying organizations
to source products from more than 150 supply verticals. More than 7,000
suppliers from over 55 countries have participated in the FreeMarkets B2B
eMarketplace. The Company also operates FreeMarkets Asset Exchange, the
leading B2B eMarketplace for surplus assets and inventory. FreeMarkets can be
found on the Web at http://www.freemarkets.com. FreeMarkets is a registered trademark
of FreeMarkets, Inc.
Forward-looking statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts, including
those statements that refer to FreeMarkets' and Heinz's plans, prospects,
expectations, strategies, intentions, hopes and beliefs, are forward-looking
statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information
available to FreeMarkets and Heinz today, and neither of them assumes any
obligation to update these statements as circumstances change. There are risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, market
acceptance of FreeMarkets' online auction marketplace, the competitive nature
of the market for business-to-business online auction services, FreeMarkets'
ability to retain and increase revenue from existing clients and to attract
new clients, FreeMarkets' ability to attract and retain qualified personnel,
the size of the market for used equipment and surplus inventory, the demand
for online auction and other asset recovery services by buyers and suppliers,
and FreeMarkets' ability to integrate acquisitions. Risk factors are described
in more detail in FreeMarkets' and Heinz's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE H. J. Heinz Company; FreeMarkets, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.heinz.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/575757.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 575757
CONTACT:
Debbie Foster of Heinz, 412-456-5778, or
debbie.foster@hjheinz.com, or Karen Kovatch of FreeMarkets,
412-297-8767, or kkovatch@freemarkets.com
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