WINS HASTINGS INSURANCE CONTRACT

TIDMSTF

smartFOCUS Group PLC

21 March 2011

RNS REACH

MONDAY 21 MARCH 2011

smartFOCUS

WINS HASTINGS INSURANCE CONTRACT

- Leading car and home insurance broker adopts smartFOCUS intelligent marketing solutions to increase communication with customer base and gain marketing single customer view -

Bristol, UK - (21 March 2011) - smartFOCUS, ("smartFOCUS" or "the Company") (AIM: STF), a global provider of email and multi-channel marketing software has signed a contract with Hastings Direct, a division of Hastings Insurance Services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Under the contract Hastings, a leading broker in insurance policies and related products, will adopt smartFOCUS's marketing database, modelling, campaign management and reporting tools to secure a single customer view and increase the relevance of communications and engagement with prospects across all the company's brands and throughout the customer lifecycle. Launched in 1997, Hastings Insurance specialises in car, home, van and motorcycle insurance, as well as value-added products such as motor breakdown cover.

Hastings Direct will use smartFOCUS's full Intelligent Marketing Solution which comprises: Analyzer, powerful visual analytical technique module; Modeler, providing easy and rapid predictive model marketing campaigns; Campaigner for powerful and scalable campaign planning, and production; and Reporter for continuous reporting and measurement in multiple formats. Hastings also made use of smartFOCUS implementation, training, support and maintenance.

Mat Shepherd, Sales and Marketing Director for Hastings Direct said:"We offer a range of products to a diverse customer base and fully understand the power of relevance and using marketing data to maintain trustworthy communications and engagement. Working with smartFOCUS and its Intelligent Marketing solution is allowing us to gain even further insight into our customer base and to ensure that our communications and customer relationship management tactics are perfectly aligned with our strategic marketing objectives."

"smartFOCUS was selected for its software and experience," added Shepherd. "We reviewed the market and quickly found that smartFOCUS was the clear choice for all our criteria. We were attracted by the capability and usability of the software, including its look and feel; its commitment to R&D and its development roadmap; past implementation experience and the strong evidence of capable project management to deliver; plus some very strong customer references. It was very important for us to hear about the positive experiences of companies with similar challenges which had overcome their business issues with smartFOCUS."

As well as increasing efficiency of the marketing process, smartFOCUS will enable the Hasting's marketing team to lower the costs of its customer database processes and to identify and leverage cross-sell opportunities.

Curt Bloom, Interim CEO of smartFOCUS said:"The challenge for data-intensive customer-facing organisations such as Hasting Direct is common: how to increase relevance to diverse audiences across multiple channels while minimising running costs. Our marketing solution is unique in that it is developed by marketers for marketers, so we lower current and ongoing platform costs by putting the power of analysis, campaign management and reporting at the fingertips of marketers."

"Securing a deal such as this with a prominent brand in the insurance sector is a great win for the smartFOCUS team. It reflects our leadership in R&D, product delivery, implementation strategies and the strength of support from our existing customer base."

- Ends -

For further information please contact:

 
 smartFOCUS 
-----------------------------  ---------------------- 
 Curt Bloom, Interim CEO        Tel No: 0117 943 5800 
-----------------------------  ---------------------- 
 
 Arbuthnot Securities Limited   Tel No: 020 7012 2000 
-----------------------------  ---------------------- 
 Tom Griffiths 
-----------------------------  ---------------------- 
 
 Buchanan Communications        Tel No: 020 7466 5000 
-----------------------------  ---------------------- 
 Lisa Baderoon, Tim Anderson, 
  Chris McMahon 
-----------------------------  ----------------------

- MORE -

About smartFOCUS:

smartFOCUS is a leading international provider of multi-channel marketing software and services. smartFOCUS's marketing solutions integrate data to deliver the most powerful analysis and customer insight, enabling communication across the entire marketing operation.

More than 750 companies worldwide rely on smartFOCUS to inspire customers, improve results and transform marketing performance. Clients and partners include AAA, ABN AMRO, Center Parcs, EasyJet, EMI, Equifax, Eurocamp, Harrods, Landal Green Park, lastminute.com, Manchester United FC, QVC, Rabobank, RCI-GVN, Societe Generale and Sony Europe. smartFOCUS also provides marketing solutions and expertise to over 150 international news media companies, including USA Today, the New York Times Regional Media Group and the Washington Post.

smartFOCUS provides email and digital marketing with smartMARKETER eChannel, a fully on-demand digital marketing solution that serves each of its customers with email, mobile, social network, landing page, microsite and RSS channel communications.

smartFOCUS is headquartered in Bristol, U.K., with operations in the U.S., Europe and Asia Pacific.

For more information, visit www.smartFOCUS.com.

About Hastings Direct

Hastings Direct is a trading name of Hastings Insurance Services Limited, a UK personal lines insurance broker servicing customers over the telephone, via the internet, and face-to-face.

The business launched in 1997 and currently has a product range covering private car, motorcycle, commercial van and household insurance, as well as a range of ancillary products and services such as motor breakdown, personal accident and legal expenses cover.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

END

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