For the seventh straight year, Experian Marketing Services secured the top spot, according to Internet Retailer’s 2014 Top 500 Guide Experian Marketing Services has once again secured the number one position as the leading email marketing provider to the greatest total of top 500 online retailers in North America. According to Internet Retailer’s recently released 2014 Top 500 Guide, Experian Marketing Services ranks ahead of all other email marketing services companies, as measured by the number of top-500-ranked e-retailers in North America using its products and services. This marks the seventh year in a row Experian Marketing Services has held the leading position. Internet Retailer’s Top 500 Guide compiles exclusive data to provide marketers with valuable insights to help grow their businesses, including insights related to what’s driving growth in online sales. The annual guide is widely recognized as the industry’s most comprehensive analysis of America’s 500 largest retail Websites, as ranked by annual ecommerce sales. “Drawing on our expertise in building scalable and reliable marketing technology as the world’s largest email service provider, our frontrunner recognition in the 2014 Top 500 Guide underpins our commitment to providing our clients with a single cross-channel platform to deliver coordinated and intelligent interactions with their customers,” said Peter DeNunzio, president of Cross-Channel Marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “There’s no question that competition is increasing in the online retail space so it’s wonderful to see so many of our clients leading the way in customer engagement year over year.” The modern-day consumer has forever changed the relationship between a brand and its customers, as well as the technology that enables marketers to maintain and grow those relationships. As one of the most highly regarded email service providers in the industry, Experian Marketing Services sends more than 14 billion email messages a month on behalf of the world’s most recognizable brands. Backed by the industry’s highest-rated client services team, Experian Marketing Services’ cross-channel marketing platform is built with the scale and flexibility to support digital programs of any size and sophistication. Learn more about Experian Marketing Services’ cross-channel marketing platform by visiting its Website. Order a copy of Internet Retailer’s 2014 Top 500 Guide by visiting it’s Website.

2014 Client Summit: Storytellers will focus on how brands can deliver authentic and meaningful customer experiences. Experian Marketing Services today announced a star-studded speaker lineup for its 2014 Client Summit to be held July 23–25, 2014, at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nev., around the theme of “Storytelling.” The award-winning event will bring together more than 1,000 attendees from some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated brands. Marketers will hear from compelling storytellers throughout the three-day event including: • Michael Strahan, cohost of "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" and "Good Morning America," analyst for "Fox NFL Sunday" and pro football Hall of Famer • Adam Savage, cohost of “MythBusters” on Discovery Channel • Sophia Amoruso, founder and CEO of Nasty Gal, the fastest growing online retailer in the country, and author of #GIRLBOSS • Jermaine Dupri, Grammy winner and founder of Global 14 • Don Steele, senior vice president, fan engagement, multiplatform marketing at Comedy Central • Dave Beveridge, senior vice president, marketing at ShoeDazzle • Jenn McClain-De Jong, vice president, ecommerce at The Limited • Brad Nash, marketing director, email and lifecycle marketing, GameStop “Marketers need to master both the art and science of storytelling in order to resonate in a meaningful way with their customers,” said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president, global marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “For the 2014 Client Summit: Storytellers, our goal is to give marketers the right balance of inspiration, education and networking. We’ll also demonstrate the latest advancements within our marketing suite so that clients can go back to their teams with tangible strategies for creating relatable, memorable and sharable customer experiences.” At the event, executives from Experian Marketing Services will unveil the company’s latest products, capabilities, actionable case studies and groundbreaking consumer research, sharing the stage with clients and partners. Attendees can choose from nearly 50 breakout and roundtable sessions featuring speakers from Forrester Research, GameStop, Michael’s Stores, Microsoft Advertising, Yahoo!, Zappos, Hearst Magazines, AT&T, Bass Pro Shops, Williams-Sonoma, Saks Fifth Avenue, Men’s Warehouse, AOL, Associated Press, EA, Bare Necessities, Finish Line, Scripps Interactive and Western Union, among others. Breakouts will address a wide range of topics relevant to marketers, including: • Digital advertising • Mobile strategies • Response attribution • Data management • Behavioral targeting • Email to cross-channel evolution • Email creative optimization • Compliance and deliverability • Predictive analytics and modeling • Loyalty programs A highly anticipated event each summer for marketers, Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit was recently recognized with a Stevie Award for Best Tradeshow/Conference at the American Business Awards. “I had an absolute blast at my first Summit,” said Courtney Bradley, Coordinator, Loyalty Marketing, Virgin Airlines. “Not only did we learn a great deal, but we had a fantastic time doing it! The keynote speakers were inspiring, the breakout sessions were insightful and The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas was a fantastic venue. Experian Marketing Services did an amazing job overall. I can't wait for next year!” Visit http://www.2014clientsummit.com today to learn more and to register. Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Mississippi Attorney General filed a lawsuit against Experian. While not breaking news, it is important to provide context to the allegations. As the world’s largest credit bureau – and in managing more than 220 million files in the US alone – it has become commonplace to question credit reporting agencies. We are used to scrutiny of our practices – but sometimes the claims are just plain wrong. In the case of the lawsuit from the Mississippi Attorney General, we are disappointed that the state has taken this action. We feel that the lawsuit is not based on facts – even after we had fully cooperated with their investigation. As such, we intend to vigorously defend our company against these allegations. Specifically, to say we purposefully put errors on credit reports is false and unsupported by evidence, and clearly calculated to be sensational. Contrary to those allegations, Experian credit reports are used millions of times every day to accurately and quickly assess risk in lending and speed the process of making credit readily available to consumers. The Attorney General asserts that 95% of the data in our systems is accurate – but in fact, it is closer to 98% accurate. While we are proud of this accuracy rate, we continue to invest millions of dollars every year to make our accuracy rates even better. We are, in fact, working with the industry and our competitors to raise the accuracy and data quality standards for our credit reporting industry and, ultimately, to benefit consumers. Any allegation that we are operating illegally and out of compliance is false. In fact, Experian already operates in compliance with laws and under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which governs all aspects of our credit reporting business, including how we receive data, store it, transmit it and most importantly, how we allow other companies to use it and consumers to view and dispute it. Specifically, under the FCRA, consumers can view and dispute any or all of the information on their credit reports. And we recommend consumers take full advantage of accessing their free report annually at www.annualcreditreport.com. In the event a consumer finds an inaccuracy in their report, they can dispute the inaccuracy at Experian as required by federal law. While we plan to defend the lawsuit outside the lens of a public forum, it is worth noting how Experian, as a global leader, is a vital part of the credit ecosystem — empowering economic health for businesses and consumers alike. Very simply, because of what we do and what the credit reporting business offers, consumers can walk into an automotive dealership and purchase a car, they can get approved for a home loan over the phone and they can instantly get credit at their favorite retailer. Sometimes we take that for granted.

Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit and The Digital Marketer report recognized among more than 3,300 nominations nationwide Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights and targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, was presented with three bronze Stevie Awards at the 12th Annual American Business Awards in Chicago, Illinois, on Friday night, June 13, 2014. The American Business Awards is the nation’s premier business award program. All organizations — public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small — operating in the United States are eligible to submit nominations. As a winner, Experian Marketing Services was recognized from more than 3,300 nominations that were submitted this year. “It’s an honor to be recognized, especially by this esteemed panel of business executives, for the value we create for our clients,” said Ashley Johnston, senior vice president of global marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “Our Stevie Award wins underscore our commitment to helping our clients create intelligent interactions with their customers, through our wide range of strategic marketing services and offerings.” Experian Marketing Services’ Client Summit and The Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report were both recognized with bronze Stevie Awards. • For the highly attended 2013 Client Summit, Experian Marketing Service developed a program that combined inspiration, education and networking around the theme of “Interactions.” The three-day event exposed more than 1,000 marketers from some of the world’s largest and most sophisticated brands to key strategies, recommendations and drivers for effective cross-channel marketing. The ultimate goal the Client Summit is to help marketers make meaningful connections with their customers at every point of interaction. • Created to help demystify today’s rapidly changing digital landscape for clients and the business community at large, the fifth edition of The Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report features extensive analysis, case studies, best practices and the results of a survey Experian conducted among several hundred marketers. Experian Marketing Services also received a bronze Stevie Award for Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year for an internal communications campaign that engaged global employees in a strategic business initiative. Nicknamed “the Stevies” for the Greek word for “crowned,” the trophies were presented to winners during a gala banquet on Friday, June 13, at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park Hotel. More than 400 nominees and their guests attended. The presentations will be broadcast by the BizTalk Radio Network this week on Tuesday and Friday nights, June 17 and June 20, respectively. Experian Marketing Services also is a finalist for the American Business Awards new product and technology awards event, scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 12, in San Francisco, California. “It’s an honor for us to recognize and celebrate such an outstanding class of organizations and individuals,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “The judges were especially discerning this year. All of this year’s Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners should be proud that the judges recognized their achievements and their ability to express those achievements in a way that captured the judges’ hearts and imaginations.” Details about the American Business Awards and the lists of Stevie winners who were announced on June 13 are available at StevieAwards.com/ABA.

According to Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, abandoned cart emails have significantly higher revenue per email than promotional mailings. Featuring results from a new email remarketing best practices analysis, as part of its Q1 2014 Email Benchmark Report, Experian Marketing Services found that personalized abandoned cart emails that show the actual customer cart had 25 percent higher transaction rates than abandoned cart emails that just linked back to the brand’s Website. Further, personalized subject lines had 12 percent higher unique open rates than mailings without personalization. A complimentary download of the full report is available here: http://ex.pn/1l4VlrS. Additional findings from the email remarketing best practices analysis confirm: • Abandoned cart emails should be delivered in a three-part series. Brands that send second abandoned cart reminders had a 50 percent increase in abandoned cart revenue compared to just their first abandoned cart mailing. Those sending three mailings saw a 56 percent increase in revenue compared to just sending the initial abandoned cart email. • Test including an offer. Including an offer in the first abandoned cart mailing boosted transaction rates by 54 percent. The highest transaction rates for offers were for dollar-off offers (2.05 percent), followed by free shipping (1.87 percent) and percent off (1.15 percent) offers. “Mastering email remarketing through a series of personalized content can have a real and direct impact on a brand’s bottom line,” said Peter DeNunzio, general manager for cross-channel marketing at Experian Marketing Services. “We’re seeing that brands that are able to ‘test and learn’ their way to personalization are particularly successful as they embrace cross-channel programs. By understanding the impact of timing, creative messaging and personalization – and adopting a continuous improvement mindset – brands are incorporating cross-channel tactics more seamlessly in their remarketing strategies.” Industry performance analysis The Q1 2014 Email Benchmark Report details overall email marketing trends for the first quarter of 2014 as well as the key performance indicators (KPIs) that shaped the success of email programs over the past two years across seven major verticals: business products and services, catalogers, consumer products and services, media and entertainment, multichannel retailers, publishers, and travel. Total email volume increased by 15.6 percent in Q1 2014 compared to Q1 2013 but volume declined in Q1 as compared to the previous holiday quarter (Q4 2013). Additional findings from specific industries include: • Catalogers had the highest gain in volume as 100 percent of brands increased mailings in Q1 2014. • More than half of the multichannel retail brands had statistically significant year-over-year increases in total and unique open rates in Q1 2014. • Fifty percent of total email opens are occurring on mobile devices. However, this varies by vertical. While 63 percent of emails from multichannel retailers are opened on a mobile device, mobile opens account for only 22 percent of email opens for business products and services. Increasing bounce rates highlight deliverability and data quality challenges According to a recent Experian Data Quality study, 66 percent of companies have experienced email deliverability issues in the last 12 months. Similarly, the Q1 2014 Email Benchmark Report highlights a 14.3 percent year-over-year increase in email bounce rates, with large percentage increases across several of the industries. Compared to bounce rates for the past two years, 2014 Q1 business products and services rates were constant, while catalogers and multichannel retailers experienced much larger increases in bounce rates year-over-year. The dramatic increase in bounce rates is due to the new practices of Internet Service Providers who are now shutting down inactive accounts more frequently to keep their own performance healthy. “It is vital companies adopt more effective targeting, list cleaning and data quality practices to improve the deliverability of their emails and the health of their cross-channel marketing programs,” said DeNunzio. Experian Marketing Services’ Q1 2014 Email Benchmark Report is available to download: http://ex.pn/1l4VlrS.

World Cup fans will be watching the 2014 games across multiple devices, often simultaneously, according to an analysis from Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insight, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing. Specifically, World Cup fans are 31 percent more likely than average to watch online video across multiple devices, with 64 percent of adult fans watching online video during a typical week, compared with 49 percent of all adults. This is according to Experian Marketing Services’ National Consumer Survey, a nationally representative, continuously fielded survey of approximately 25,000 U.S. adults, including both English and Spanish speakers. Experian Marketing Services also found that World Cup fans are: • 60 percent more likely to use their phone to keep up with sports • 65 percent more likely to stream video from a work computer • 20 percent more likely to multitask while watching TV • 37 percent more likely to use a digital tablet • 60 percent more likely to use sports apps on their phone during a typical week “Adult fans of the World Cup don’t need a TV to watch video,” said Bill Tancer, general manager, global research at Experian Marketing Services. “This is a digitally and technologically savvy audience that doesn’t care how they watch their favorite programs, just as long as they are able to watch them. Expect to see the 2014 World Cup broadcasted everywhere the fans are this year, whether that’s at their desk computer or during their morning commute.” According to Tancer, because World Cup fans are such heavy users of digital media while they watch TV, Experian Marketing Services will be analyzing key online and search trends throughout the 2014 games. The Experian Marketing Services’ 2014 World Cup Online Trends Dashboard will be updated every Monday from June 9 to July 13, 2014. The dashboard will reveal the most popular daily searches from World Cup fans, including top players, search terms driving traffic to FIFA.com and the most popular Websites for soccer updates. So far, data has shown that ESPN Soccernet.com is the leading Website for soccer updates and Cristiano Ronaldo is exponentially the most searched individual player. Experian Marketing Services’ live 2014 World Cup Online Trends Dashboard can be viewed here: http://ex.pn/1hBc46F “The World Cup is a unique event for viewers but also for marketers because it attracts a fully engaged, globally diverse audience that loves to shop and engage with brands for an entire month,” said Tancer. “Our analysis reveals that World Cup fans are 29 percent more likely to have a strong connection with branded goods and services placed in the context of TV shows. It’s not just that they are aware of and engaged with branded products; they also are more likely to buy those products. Interestingly, we found the opposite in our analysis of Olympics viewers.” What do these viewers like to buy? World Cup fans are frequent shoppers overall, but they have an affinity for upscale stores like Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom and Saks. They also shop at athletic stores like REI, Foot Locker, Modell’s and Nike and electronics stores like Apple.

Half of married couples in the U.S. say that credit scores were important to them when choosing a mate, according to the latest Experian Consumer Services survey comparing the relationship between marriage and credit. The study also showed that 95% of participants rate “financial responsibility” as important, with “physical attractiveness” and “career ambition” following at 86% and 77%, respectively. Even more surprising, married adults ranked financial compatibility high, even slightly higher than sex and intimacy. In fact, 73% of women and 60% of men stated that having a partner who is willing to communicate openly about personal finances and credit makes him/her more attractive. Check out what else married couples said about their relationship and finances in the complete summary of our survey results here: Love and Marriage… and Credit from Experian_US

According to new research from Experian Marketing Services, a global provider of integrated consumer insights, targeting, data quality and cross-channel marketing, mobile devices are playing an increasingly important role in how users make purchases across all categories. While purchases using a computer or digital tablet still reign supreme, transactions via mobile phones are on the rise, and marketers are poised to take advantage of this trend. The adoption of mobile marketing increased 17 percent in 2013, while 71 percent of marketers currently are engaging consumers in the mobile channel. This trend, among others, is highlighted in Experian Marketing Services’ recently released 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report. The report is an annual go-to resource for marketers looking for key industry benchmarks, insights, technology trends and consumer data. “Using a mobile device as a shopping tool is one thing; using it to make a purchase is another,” said Bill Tancer, general manager of global research, Experian Marketing Services. “One industry in particular that marketers recently have taken advantage of is food. Consumers are increasingly moving from researching on their mobile devices to actually making food purchases on-the-go, including grocery home delivery and even onsite point-of-purchase, where available.” Mobile food purchase trends When it comes to food purchases, affluents are 12 percent more likely to purchase food products through their mobile phone, 29 percent more likely to purchase through their tablet and 30 percent more likely to purchase through their personal computer. Affluent consumers also are more likely to visit the Websites of popular family restaurants, as well as the leading reservations site, OpenTable.com. As of April 2014, the top five food Websites visited by affluents were: Charitable giving Among device owners, purchase rates consistently are higher on tablets and computers than on smartphones due to the larger screen. However, the one exception is charitable giving. Affluents are just as likely to have made a charitable donation from their smartphone as they are to have made one from their tablet, and contributions made from a computer are only marginally higher than those on tablets and phones. Charitable organizations have made donating as easy as sending a text, which is likely why charitable donations is the only category with mobile purchase rates as high as those from a tablet. “Marketers can take a page from the charitable sector’s playbook and streamline their own purchase process. This might include allowing repeat customers to conduct transactions using financial information on file, using mobile-optimized design for collecting payment information or other innovative approaches that allow the would-be customer to transact from anywhere,” added Tancer. Mobile travel purchase trends One category favored by affluent consumers is mobile travel purchases. Affluents are 16 percent more likely than average to book travel from a mobile phone, 42 percent more likely to book from a tablet and 31 percent more likely to book their travel through their personal computer. “The data highlighted in our Digital Marketer Report reveals that a demographic such as affluents, who are prime for booking travel, is only booking travel at marginally higher levels than average via mobile. This means that travel marketers can benefit from focusing efforts on streamlining the mobile booking process,” said Tancer. Overall, the report highlights how marketers can take advantage of this data to more successfully target and engage with their customers. The percentage of mobile phone owners who say they are interested in receiving advertising on their mobile phone has risen by 45 percent since 2010. Nearly one in 10 mobile phone owners today say that they are likely to buy products that they see advertised on their phones, up from 6 percent in 2010. The 2014 Digital Marketer: Benchmark and Trend Report is available via a free download at http://ex.pn/PpijOx.

Experian® is pleased to announce its partnership with Clear Channel and the premiere of its iHeart Radio show, Credit & Finance Talk with Experian, which is already gaining lots of listeners. Credit & Finance Talk with Experian The show covers topics like “Getting Rid of a Bad Score” and “Items on Your Credit Report” to educate listeners on the importance of credit in their everyday lives. Listeners are invited to check back every week for new episodes of Credit 101, where you can get the inside scoop on how to live credit-confident. Premiere Endorsements The next time you listen to a Clear Channel radio station, you might just hear your favorite radio personality chatting about Experian Credit TrackerSM. Our partnership features premiere radio personality endorsements from Ryan Seacrest, Delilah, Jay Mohr, Steve Gorman and John Boy & Billy. Exclusive iHeart Radio Theatre Along with radio, Experian has the incredible opportunity to sponsor entertainment at the iHeart radio theatre and had the opportunity to already share the experience with fans of Coldplay, Young the Giant, and Rascal Flatts. We are excited to partner with Clear Channel to help bring credit education to consumers nationwide. Be sure to check back for more exciting episodes of Credit 101, engaging interviews, credit information and more. You can also find answers to common credit questions here on Experian.com.