Spot Runner Buys Weblistic

Spot Runner Inc., a Los Angeles-based Internet ad agency for local businesses, has acquired Weblistic, a provider of online marketing solutions for local businesses. No pricing terms of the all-stock deal were disclosed.

Spot Runner has raised over $70 million in VC funding since 2005, from Battery Ventures, Index Ventures, WPP, CBS Corp., Interpublic Group, Allen & Co. Tudor Investment Corp., media executive Lachlan Murdoch and financier Vivi Nevo.

Weblistic raised a $3.5 million venture round in early 2007, led by Foundation Capital.

PRESS RELEASE

Spot Runner today announced it has acquired Weblistic, a leading provider of online marketing solutions for local businesses, in an all stock transaction. The addition of Weblistic's local online marketing services expands Spot Runner's online advertising expertise and offerings, and complements its TV and radio advertising capabilities.

“This acquisition further strengthens our leadership position as the comprehensive resource for the full spectrum of local businesses' advertising needs,” said Nick Grouf, chairman and CEO of Spot Runner. “Our objective is to help businesses drive awareness and attract new customers through multiple media channels, in an integrated manner, and online advertising is a top priority for us and for our clients. With Weblistic, we gain deep online advertising experience, cutting edge technology and a top-notch team.”

The Weblistic team has been prominent in local online advertising since the late 1990's. They developed the original technology for YellowPages.com and went on to form Weblistic, which delivers cost-effective and high-quality leads to local businesses. It provides a variety of services, including paid search advertising, search engine optimization, online video production and distribution and online directory management. The Weblistic solution minimizes the complexity of local online advertising and delivers a measurable return on marketing dollars.

“Weblistic has always been passionate about making online advertising easy and turnkey for small and medium-sized businesses,” said Ketan Shah, CEO of Weblistic. “By joining forces with Spot Runner, which is the clear leader in local advertising services, we are now able to offer local advertisers a complete solution — including media planning and buying for TV, radio and online, affordable and high-quality creative, and expert consulting services.”

TV and Internet advertising, when utilized together, have proven to be a particularly effective combination. According to Jupiter Research, TV advertising is the number one impetus for people to search for a particular company or product online, surpassing all other forms of advertising, even word of mouth (iProspect Offline Channel Influence on Online Search Behavior Study conducted by Jupiter Research, June 2007). The acquisition of Weblistic will enable Spot Runner to correlate TV and online advertising with phone- and Web-based responses to provide tracking, analysis and results.

Spot Runner will immediately integrate Weblistic's online marketing technology and campaign expertise into its portfolio of client services. Shah will lead the product, technology and operations for online marketing services at Spot Runner. For more information on Spot Runner's online marketing services, visit: http://www.spotrunner.com/search.

About Spot Runner

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Spot Runner develops technology solutions that revolutionize the way advertising is created, targeted, bought and sold. The company was founded on the idea that the Internet could help make television advertising more affordable and accessible for local businesses and put them on a level playing field with larger competitors. Today, Spot Runner focuses on automating many of the more inefficient aspects of the advertising process and creating turnkey ways for businesses of all sizes to access high-quality creative and expert media planning and buying services. Visit Spot Runner online at www.spotrunner.com.

About Weblistic

Weblistic (www.weblistic.com) is a leading online marketing services provider that delivers cost-effective and high-quality leads to local businesses using state-of-the-art search engine marketing. The company's goal is to make online advertising easy and turnkey for small and medium-sized businesses that want to capture customers online, but don't have the time, resources, and expertise to self-manage an online advertising program. Leveraging patent-pending technologies, the Weblistic solution takes the complexity out of local online advertising and delivers a measurable return on marketing dollars. Weblistic has helped thousands of businesses in hundreds of categories throughout the U.S. to plan and run online marketing programs.