WPP and LiveWorld announce joint venture for online community and social networking marketing services
WPP and LiveWorld announce joint venture for online community and social networking marketing services
New York City and Los Gatos, Calif., (July 13, 2006): WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) a world leader in communications services, and LiveWorld, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: LVWD.PK), a world leader in online customer community marketing services, today announced the formation of a joint venture that will provide online community and social networking services to major brands worldwide through WPP’s global networks.
The joint venture, named LiveWorld-WPP, will be equally owned by each company and is exclusively dedicated to collaborating with WPP agencies to offer, create, and deploy LiveWorld’s online community and social networking services as marketing venues for WPP’s clients on a global basis.
“Online communities and social networking are starting to offer significant opportunities to forward-thinking marketers,” said Mark Read, Strategy Director, WPP and CEO of wpp.com. “LiveWorld is a pioneer in its category and a proven leader with twenty years of experience in building online communities. They are an excellent choice for us to partner with to provide WPP clients with the most compelling and comprehensive community solutions available in the market”.”
The two companies have collaborated on successful projects in the past, most recently on Dove’s groundbreaking “Campaign For Real Beauty” from WPP’s Ogilvy Interactive unit, which won Adweek’s 2005 Interactive Agency of the Year award.
“Major brands worldwide are embracing online community as the basic marketing construct of the new generation,” said Peter Friedman, Chairman and CEO, LiveWorld. “Combining the depth of LiveWorld’s online community experience and solutions with WPP’s scope, scale of services and expansive client portfolio brings a new level of marketing power to the leading brands of the world”.”
About WPP
WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY) is one of the world’s leading communications services groups, providing national, multinational and global clients with advertising; media investment management; information, insight & consultancy; public relations & public affairs; branding & identity, healthcare and specialist communications.
Our worldwide companies include JWT, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, Y&R, The Voluntarily United Group, Grey Worldwide, MindShare, MediaCom, Mediaedge:cia, Millward Brown, Research International, KMR Group, OgilvyOne Worldwide, Wunderman, 141 Worldwide, Hill & Knowlton, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Burson-Marsteller, Cohn & Wolfe, CommonHealth, Sudler & Hennessey, Ogilvy Healthworld, Enterprise IG, Landor and Fitch among others.
Our companies provide communications services to clients worldwide including more than 330 of the Fortune Global 500; over one-half of the NASDAQ 100 and over 30 of the Fortune e-50. Collectively, WPP employs more than 92,000 people in 2,000 offices in 106 countries.
About LiveWorld, Inc.
LiveWorld (OTC Pink Sheets: LVWD.PK) is the leading interactive agency specializing in online customer communities and social networking for Fortune 1000 companies. LiveWorld creates, operates, and manages custom customer communities based on its unique community applications and moderation platform. LiveWorld solutions enable companies to strengthen customer relationships, increase revenues, and reduce costs. With twenty years of experience and nearly $10 Million in revenue, LiveWorld is the trusted partner of leading brands worldwide. Client companies include America Online, A&E Television Networks, AOL UK, BEA Systems, eBay, The Campbell Soup Company, Discovery Communications, Dove, HBO, Intel, Intuit Inc., MINI Cooper USA, QVC, Tulane University and TV Guide. LiveWorld is headquartered in Los Gatos, California and deploys its services in over 30 country-language combinations
Safe Harbor Statements Under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act:
This press release may include forward-looking statements about WPP’s plans, objectives, projections and anticipated future economic performance based on assumptions and the like that are subject to risks and uncertainties. As such, actual results or outcomes may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause actual results to differ include but are not limited to: the unanticipated loss of a material client or key personnel, delays or reductions in client advertising budgets, shifts in industry rates of compensation, government compliance costs or litigation, natural disasters or acts of terrorism, WPP’s exposure to changes in the values of other major currencies (because a substantial portion of its revenues are derived and costs incurred outside of the United Kingdom) and the overall level of economic activity in WPP’s major markets (which varies depending on, among other things, regional, national and international political and economic conditions and government regulations in the world’s advertising markets), as well as the risk factors identified and discussed in WPP’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In light of these and other uncertainties, the forward-looking statements included in this press release should not be regarded as a representation by WPP that its plans and objectives will be achieved. This press release contains forward-looking information concerning LiveWorld’s future expectations and prospects. These statements include those regarding LiveWorld’s current or future relationships. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward looking statements made as a result of, among other things, the state of the economy, LiveWorld’s ability to successfully deliver upon its contractual commitments, clients continuing their ongoing relationships with the Company, LiveWorld’s ability to acquire new customers, changing accounting treatments, and other risks applicable to the Company. (See the Company’s Q3, 2002 10Q filing for a list that includes other possible risk factors.) LiveWorld recently announced that it has resumed auditing its financials and expects to begin releasing audited results Q3 of 2006.