6th FEBRUARY 2002 AMSTRAD LAUNCHES THE E-M@ILERPLUS The in-home interactive medium gets a sleek new look Amstrad is set to launch the next version of the e-m@iler, the email-enabled home telephone which is an interactive medium in its own right. Dubbed by Amstrad the ‘billboard in the home’, the all-new e-m@ilerplus will provide advertisers with an even better way to target consumers within the home environment. The new product, which Amstrad is confident will take the home technology market by storm, provides the quickest, easiest, and most cost-effective way to send email worldwide, access the internet, download and play Sinclair Spectrum Games, send electronic greeting cards to PCs and send SMS messages to mobiles phones. At a retail price of £99, it is set to be a huge hit with consumers. The original e-m@iler - launched in March 2000 – provided advertisers with a unique and effective way to target consumers in the powerful in-home environment. The e-m@ilerplus has a digital screen, which displays advertiser messages, meaning ads appear on one of the most used appliances in the home. The improved specifications on the new e-m@ilerplus mean that ads will look more attractive, allowing the end user to respond to ads in three ways: • by direct phone link to the advertiser’s call centre • by direct click through to the advertiser’s website • by email direct to the advertiser To date the original e-mailer has attracted a large number of major advertisers, including HSBC, Virgin Mobile, UCI cinemas, BskyB, Interflora, Blue Square and Norwich Union, who have benefited from its high response rates – on average around 5 per cent. Amstrad is confident that the new product will provide an even more compelling offering for advertisers. There are over 120,000 original e-m@ilers in British homes already, and Amstrad forecasts that the new product will extend the user base significantly during 2002, giving advertisers even better reach. The e-m@ilerplus will also offer the chance for companies to tailor their advertising message to a specific consumer segment, as Amstrad has captured demographic data on its registered users and can target ads accordingly. The e-m@ilerplus provides internet access to a world of online pages through the ‘amsurf’ feature, which offers a wide selection of links to recommended websites. Amstrad is already working with a number of partner companies on the e-commerce applications of the e-m@iler, the details of which will be announced shortly. To make shopping online with the e-m@ilerplus even more secure in the future, Amstrad has built in an EMV2 (Europay MasterCard Visa) smart chip card reader, ensuring that it is ‘Secure Credit Card Transaction’ ready. With smart chip cards to become the norm in the UK in the near future, users will be able to purchase goods online using the smartcard slot on the side of the phone and by entering a secure PIN number, avoid sending personal details across the network. Simon Sugar, Amstrad Commercial Director, said: “We had great success in attracting some big name advertisers on to the original e-m@iler and we believe that the e-m@ilerplus is an even more powerful medium for advertisers. We have been developing the new product for over a year, and with its new improved features and functions, it means that we have a killer combination which appeals to consumers and advertisers alike.” The launch of the e-m@ilerplus will be supported by an £8 million integrated marketing campaign, focusing particularly on TV, outdoor advertising and PR. ENDS For further information, contact: Eva Sogbanmu / Gavin Lewis Frank PR T: 020 7693 6999 E: eva@frankpr.it Go to News Headlines