Co-Branding Deal Points Sings to HoustonBusiness.com

HoustonBusiness.com and Duck Bill Advertising announced today that they have signed a two-year co-branding deal under which Duck Bill will operate as HoustonBusiness.com Outdoors" and will convert its billboards to reflect the HoustonBusiness.com logo and colors.

Houston, Texas (PRWEB) December 30, 2003 --HoustonBusiness.com and Duck Bill Advertising announced today that they have signed a two-year co-branding deal under which Duck Bill will operate as HoustonBusiness.com Outdoors" and will convert its billboards to reflect the HoustonBusiness.com logo and colors.

Duck Bill operates three advertisement-by-the-day" billboards located at 290 and Jones Road; 290 and Fairbanks North Houston; and at the intersection of F.M. 1960 and Highway 249. Approximately 270,000 vehicles pass the billboards every day. Using its ad-by-the-day" concept, Duck Bill has for years enabled small business owners with limited marketing budgets to reach hundreds of thousands of Houston area consumers, particularly when small businesses want to advertise a specific event.

The co-branding deal is part of HoustonBusiness.coms overall marketing strategy, which focuses on providing small businesses—which make up roughly 80% of all business in the United States—with low cost marketing and media positioning opportunities on radio, television, outdoors, and print media.

Kevin J. Price, a principal of HoustonBusiness.com and the host of the Houston Business Show" which airs on Sundays at noon on Business Radio 650 AM, said This deal offers incredible opportunities for small business owners to get a great deal of consumer exposure at a small cost." Mr. Prices radio show is sponsored by HoustonBusiness.com, and advertisements for the show will run two to three times daily on Business Radio 650, Houstons only radio station devoted entirely to business topics and news.

Henry J. Fasthoff, IV, a principal of HoustonBusiness.com, panelist on the Houston Business Show, and an attorney with the business law firm Stumpf Craddock Massey & Pulman, added that the signing of this deal is only the beginning of the vast array of marketing and media positioning opportunities we intend to offer." He explained that HoustonBusiness.com is currently negotiating deals with local television cable and production companies that will allow us to offer very low cost commercial advertisements that will be seen in tens of thousands of Houston area homes." Mr. Fasthoff indicated that negotiations have been completed with at least one cable company and more are in the works for 2004.

HoustonBusiness.com expects that the synergy of daily radio promotion, television commercials, and the billboards using the HoustonBusiness.com" name will significantly increase the value of the HoustonBusiness.com website and the Duck Bill billboards for advertisers who want to reach hundreds of thousands of Houston area consumers. Shawn and Shane Kogan, twin brothers who own Duck Bill, echo the sentiments of HoustonBusiness.com: we are committed to being the affordable advertising choice for small business owners, and we believe this co-branding relationship that allows us to operate as HoustonBusiness.com Outdoors will help us to increase our position as a leading source for outdoors advertising."

In addition, Mr. Price and Mr. Fasthoff explained that the HoustonBusiness.com website will be undergoing a wholesale revision and when complete will provide not only a business directory, but also useful content such as articles written by local area experts and commentators on finance, business, sales, insurance, legal, and other related issues, among many other features.

Between the radio, website, and billboard promotions alone, business owners would have to spend tens of thousands of dollars each month to get similar commercial exposure. For a limited time—until the new HoustonBusiness.com website is launched—however, HoustonBusiness.com is making its Business Directory listings available for only $24.95 per month, and Category Banner Ads" cost only $99.95 per month. By comparison to the astronomical ad rates of other sites like NewYorkBusiness.com, ChicagoBusiness.com, and DetroitBusiness.com, among others, HoustonBusiness.coms rates are minuscule.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Stacy Walston at 713.984.0235.

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