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iVillage and Powered Deliver Free Online Consumer Education Courses for Women

Posted on: Monday, 22 May 2006, 12:00 CDT

Powered, Inc., the leading provider of online consumer education programs for Global 2000 brands, today announced the successful completion of a series of ten online educational courses for iVillage. In three months, the free, instructor-led courses attracted nearly 100,000 visitors eager to learn about such topics as digital photography, scrapbooking, and keeping your kids safe on the Internet. Upon completion, over 90% of students stated they would enroll in another course, and 91% would recommend iVillage online courses to a friend.

The free courses were a boon for consumers, which Sony Electronics underwrote as part of its educational outreach for women and technology. Also, it made relevant products available for purchase throughout the duration of the course. Some 70% of site users elected to opt into Sony's email program upon registration, and more than a quarter of all students clicked through from a course to various Sony Electronics micro-sites. Nearly one-third of users stated completing the courses increased their purchase consideration of Sony products, and more than 15% purchased a product as a result.

"Online consumer education is a new channel for marketers and allows global companies like Sony to increase brand loyalty and market their products in a positive way," said Dave Ellett, Chairman and CEO of Powered. "Our success with Sony and iVillage is proof that consumers prefer, and respond to, less intrusive forms of advertising. Leaders like Sony are paving the way in this new and exciting form of marketing, and the results have far exceeded expectations on all fronts."

The program was designed, developed and hosted in partnership with Powered at http://courses.ivillage.com. Lessons were posted twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays, and remained accessible 24 / 7 until the course end date. Students could interact with expert instructors to answer questions while taking the courses. Powered also delivered a comprehensive set of insights on user activity, giving both Sony and iVillage access to a wealth of information about consumer buying behavior.

"Through our partnership with Sony and Powered, we were able to offer our community members instructional information about popular topics like digital photography and scrapbooking," said Peter Naylor, senior vice president of sales at iVillage. "We were happy to provide a valued service to our community, while at the same time allowing our sponsor Sony to educate potential buyers about their products in a manner that was beneficial to the consumer."

About Powered, Inc.

Austin-based Powered, Inc. is the market and technology leader in online consumer education. Powered provides a proven way for the world's largest brands to use online education to drive sales, build brand loyalty and deliver a significantly higher ROI than other marketing programs. Manufacturers, retailers, media properties and web publishers also rely on Powered to gain new insights into consumer attitudes and buying behavior. Powered clients include Atkins, BusinessWeek, Gateway, HP, P&G, and Sony among others. For more information, visit www.powered.com.

Source: Business Wire

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