Eight-City Tour to Provide Historical Context, Latest Research, Market Insights and Best-of-Breed Creative to the Advertising, Marketing and Interactive Communities

NEW YORK, NY -- March 10, 2003 -- The Online Publishers Association, in partnership with iMedia Communications, announced today its "Eyes on the Internet 2003" tour schedule.

The eight-city tour, which begins in Chicago on March 19-20, is intended to bring the latest research, best-of-breed creative and unparalleled analysis of the state of digital media and marketing today to members of the advertising, marketing and interactive communities.

"The quantity of research that has been conducted during the past year to support the business case for online advertising has been so extensive that the market has scarcely had time to absorb all of the findings," said Michael Zimbalist, executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "With this tour, we will highlight significant learnings from best-of-breed research and showcase some breakthrough online creative so that the broader agency and marketing communities can see how far our Industry has come from the old days when 'banners' defined the format and 'click-throughs' defined success for online advertising."

Each stop on the tour consists of a breakfast event and meetings with individual marketers and agencies. Breakfast events will feature a presentation placing the Interactive medium historical context, along with presentations of the OPA's most recent audience affinity and media consumption studies. The breakfasts will also feature Joseph Jaffe, new marketing consultant, presenting examples of best-of-breed online creative executions that are contributing to effectiveness of online advertising in the marketplace today.

"Creativity is arguably the most important variable in the efficacy mix," argues Jaffe. "My job is to show you how and why."

Dates for "Eyes on the Internet" tour breakfasts are as follows:

Chicago - March 20 Detroit - March 27 Dallas - April 3 New York - April 10

Boston - April 24 Atlanta - May 22 Los Angeles - June 12 San Francisco - June 19

Attendance at "Eyes on the Internet" tour breakfast is by invitation only. To request an invitation, visit www.imediaconnection.com/company/opa.

Individual meetings with marketers and agencies will focus on the interactive advertising industry's progress to date of as well as key learnings and case studies by industry. Agencies/clients interested in a customized, in-house presentation should contact Rick Parkhill at iMedia Communications at rick@imediaconnection.com.

The "Eyes on the Internet 2003" tour is sponsored by: CondeNet, ESPN.com, KnightRidder Real Cities Network, New York Times Digital, Tribune Interactive and weather.com.

About iMedia Communications, Inc.

iMedia Communications is a leading business-to-business publisher and event producer serving the interactive media category. The iMedia Summits (produced quarterly) are the leading industry events where agencies and advertisers gather with the interactive media community. The Summits are well known for the thought leading sessions and networking amongst industry leaders. iMediaConnection.com is a leading source of information, news, interviews and resources that marketers and their agencies turn to regularly for planning and executing interactive strategies.

About the Online Publishers Association

Founded in June 2001, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) is an industry trade organization whose mission is to advance the interests of high-quality online publishers before the advertising community, the press, the government and the public. Members of OPA represent the standards in Internet publishing with respect to editorial quality and integrity, credibility and accountability. OPA member sites have a combined, unduplicated reach of 99.1 million visitors, or 69% of the total U.S. Internet audience (Source: comScore Media Metrix, January 2003 combined home/work/university data). For more information about the Online Publishers Association, visit www.online-publishers.org.

CONTACT:
Lisa Carparelli
Online Publishers Association
(917) 743-4537
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