Leading direct response marketing agency enhances capabilities through an exclusive relationship
NORWALK, Conn., July 18, 2008 - The Affinion Direct Response Group, a division of the Affinion Group, a leading global affinity marketer, announced that it has signed a multi-year, exclusive agreement with the Venture Development Center, Inc. (VDC), a professional services firm focused on developing new, revenue-enhancing distribution channels and creating new Information Services products.  VDC was founded by Dr. Charles Stryker, a world-renowned expert in the field of Information and Data Services management.

The Affinion Direct Response Group (ADRG) has engaged VDC to provide advisory and business development services in the sourcing of new partners, the creation of analytical products, and the identification of new vertical markets for ADRG.

ADRG currently provides an industry-leading portfolio of comprehensive marketing services, including marketing strategy consulting, creative development, database analysis and predictive modeling, to businesses worldwide.

“We are extremely pleased to be working with an individual as visionary and connected to our partner industries as Dr. Stryker,” said Nancy DiSpirito, senior vice president of ADRG.  “ADRG strives to generate significant incremental revenue for our clients, and to do so while lowering their cost of customer acquisition and simultaneously lifting conversion rates for transactions.  Given the extensive experience VDC and Dr. Stryker have in developing cutting-edge solutions in Information Services, we anticipate bringing enhanced benefits to our clients in the near future.”

“Throughout its history, VDC has been able to partner with many of the most successful Information Services companies in the U.S. and Europe due to our innovative process developed over the last 15 years,” said Dr. Charles Stryker, president of VDC.  “Adding a premiere agency like ADRG as a client is a perfect fit for us given their world-class capabilities in predictive modeling and analytics as well as their commitment to bringing exciting new services to their customers.”

Commenting further on ADRG’s capabilities in modeling, Frank Smith, vice president of ADRG, added, “Our proprietary experiential data store affords us a very high degree of accuracy in predicting response behavior from consumers.  Combining these capabilities with the strategic guidance from VDC will elevate the quality of the marketing services we can offer to our clients and their customers.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ADRG is the only membership or subscription-based agency VDC can partner with over the three-year life of the agreement.

Through its relationship with Affinion Group, ADRG has access to a telemedia division managing more than 40 million calls annually in 14 countries, as well as a direct mail strategy and print production team overseeing nearly 700 million printed pieces spanning approximately 15,000 campaigns annually.

ADRG is leveraged in the burgeoning global direct marketing industry that will see advertising revenue grow an estimated 5.2 percent to $175.2 billion this year, according to the Direct Marketing Association.

About Affinion Direct Response Group
Affinion Direct Response Group, http://www.affiniondirect.com, is a leader in providing specific, innovative marketing solutions across multiple channels and media that strengthen customer relationships and maximize revenue flow. Forward-thinking organizations around the world can rely on ADRG for expertise in direct mail, telemarketing, database modeling, online marketing, customer acquisition, and more. ADRG is marketing in focus … your ideal prospects, our direct approach.  We find the way, and you'll find results.  ADRG has a results-focused team of more than 180 dedicated marketing professionals, media specific strategy and execution, leading-edge print production, and robust response modeling and segmentation capabilities.  ADRG is a part of Norwalk-based Affinion Group which executes more than 15,000 campaign versions annually and is a leading global affinity marketer that provides products and services that touch the lives of millions of Americans.

About Venture Development Center
Venture Development Center (VDC), http://www.venturedc.com, is a focused practice of assisting companies in creating, developing and commercializing Information Services properties.  The practice areas that characterize VDC projects include creating (innovating) new products that exploit market opportunity; developing new distribution channels to substantially increase revenue for existing Information Services products; and to identify and advise Information Services companies on strategic acquisitions.

About Affinion Group
As a global leader with nearly 35 years of experience, Affinion Group (www.affinion.com) enhances the value of its partners' customer relationships by developing and marketing valuable loyalty, membership, checking account, insurance and other compelling products and services. Leveraging its expertise in product development and targeted marketing, Affinion helps generate significant incremental revenue for more than 5,300 affinity partners worldwide, including many of the largest and most respected companies in financial services, retail, travel, and Internet commerce. Based in Norwalk, Conn., the company has approximately 3,300 employees throughout the United States and in 10 countries across Europe, and markets in 14 countries globally. Affinion holds the prestigious ISO 27001 certification for the highest information security practices, is PCI compliant and Cybertrust certified. For more company and investor information visit www.affinion.com.