MMA Signs Agreement to Use SAS’ Analytics Engine

MMA enters into partnership with global leader in business intelligence

Wilton, CT, April 5, 2005
In a deal that will provide “enterprise strength” to its Avista data-driven decision support ROI
service, Marketing Management Analytics, Inc. (MMA) announced that it has signed an agreement and marketing partnership with SAS, the world's largest privately-held software company and the leader in business intelligence. Avista helps companies make better decisions about the millions of dollars they spend on marketing, advertising and trade
promotion activities.

MMA, the pioneer and innovator in advanced marketing analytics, is an independent operating unit of Carat, one of the world’s leading marketing services companies.

Under the agreement, MMA will be using SAS’ analytics software to power its Avista by MMA Decision Support Service (Avista DSS).

“Using the SAS analytics engine at its core will give Avista DSS a major competitive advantage. SAS is the world leader in analytics software and gives Avista a level of statistical credence few of our competitors can have,” said Ed See, EVP of development and consulting at MMA.

“With SAS powering our system, we will be able to offer marketers the first enterprise-strength data driven decision support service. Avista will be the most robust, reliable, and scalable service in the market,” added John Nardone, EVP of product development and marketing at MMA.

“The partnership allows both companies to build on their respective strengths,” said Paul Bierbusse, senior business director, customer intelligence solutions at SAS. “MMA’s advanced marketing analytics expertise and marketing data combined with SAS’ leadership in business intelligence software and services will provide for a new level of intelligence for marketers.”

“SAS’s software includes a suite of marketing products that accurately reflect the direction in which seasoned marketers are moving,” stated Elana Anderson, principal analyst at Forrester Research in a March 2005 report.

Avista DSS is the first, enterprise level, data-driven decision support service that gives companies the ability to make more profitable and informed marketing decisions throughout the entire marketing lifecycle.

Avista DSS gives marketers both a complete, up-to-date picture of the business through continual data monitoring, reporting and analysis of marketing performance and a window on the future through “what-if” forecasting. It is designed to increase a company’s return on marketing investment (ROMI) by at least 15% in the first year of operation.

Avista DSS as of April 1, 2005, is available in a limited release with its market launch scheduled for July 2005. Avista DSS is a web-based data service and will be available by subscription, eliminating the need for any software purchase and installation and the need to manage multiple vendors for data, marketing analytics and technology.