Deadline for Submission Is July 16, 2012

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 8, 2012-- The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE:PBI) today invited marketers around the world to submit entries for the inaugural Personal Connections ECHO Award. The award recognizes companies and marketers that lead the way in customer communications by using customer insights and marketing to create personal, long-lasting consumer relationships. Winners will be announced at the DMA2012 Conference and Exhibition, which will take place October 13-18 in Las Vegas.

“In today’s relationship-marketing era, data is the lifeblood of marketing,” said Larry M. Kimmel, DMA’s CEO. “This new award gives us the opportunity to recognize the people and the organizations that are doing the world’s best data-driven personalized marketing. We are excited to be partnering with Pitney Bowes this year on the Personal Connections ECHO Award.”

“As today’s customers gain more control over the information they receive, it is more important than ever for marketers to use relevant, targeted communications to reach them,” said Murray Martin, chairman, president and CEO for Pitney Bowes. “The Personal Connections ECHO Award will recognize companies and marketers who are creating highly personalized experiences to build customer loyalty.”

Evaluation of the Personal Connections ECHO Award submissions will focus on companies and marketers that build long-term, lasting customer relationships, and apply data and market insights to make their customer communications more relevant and personal. The deadline for submissions is July 16, 2012. To access the 2012 ECHO Awards entry form, please visit: www.echoconnections.org.

About DMA2012 Conference & Exhibition

The DMA2012 Annual Conference & Exhibition, The Global Event for Real-Time Marketers is the world’s largest gathering of cross-media/channel marketing professionals. DMA2012, held October 13-18 in Las Vegas, will feature keynote presentations, educational sessions, roundtables, case studies, white papers, and research reports. DMA2012’s exhibit hall will feature hundreds of exhibiting companies. For additional information, or to register for the six-day multichannel marketing event of the year, please visit http://www.dma12.org.

For information about DMA2012 exhibition and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Kevin Fox at 212.790.1468 or kfox@the-dma.org.

About DMA’s International ECHO Awards:

Introduced in 1929 as the “Best in Direct Mail” contest, the DMA International ECHO Awards honor excellence in creativity, marketing strategy, and response results in direct marketing campaigns. With over 1,000 entries submitted by direct response agencies worldwide, DMA’s annual ECHO Awards recognize every type of media used in direct and interactive marketing campaigns. For more information about the International ECHO Awards, which will be presented October 16, 2012 during the DMA2012 Annual Conference & Exhibition, please visit www.dma-echo.org.

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About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the world’s largest trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including half of the Fortune 100 companies.

In 2012, marketers — commercial and nonprofit —will spend $168.5 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 52.7 percent of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate approximately $2.05 trillion in incremental sales. In 2012, direct marketing accounts for 8.7 percent of total US gross domestic product and produces 1.3 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 7.9 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.2 million US jobs.

About Pitney Bowes

Delivering more than 90 years of innovation, Pitney Bowes provides software, hardware and services that integrate physical and digital communications channels. Long known for making its customers more productive, Pitney Bowes is increasingly helping other companies grow their business through advanced customer communications management. Pitney Bowes is a $5.3 billion company with 29,000 employees worldwide. Pitney Bowes: Every connection is a new opportunity.™ www.pb.com/

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Source: Pitney Bowes Inc.

Direct Marketing Association
Susan Taplinger, 212-790-1589
staplinger@the-dma.org
or
Pitney Bowes Inc.
Karen King, 203-351-6189
karen.king@pb.com