LIVONIA, Mich. and WINDSOR, Conn., Dec. 5 2007- Valassis and ADVO today announced plans to retire the ADVO name at the end of the year and move forward as Valassis, the nation's leading marketing services provider. Great strides have been made since the integration began nine months ago when Valassis acquired the country's largest direct mail marketer, based in Windsor, Connecticut.
"We are extremely pleased with the success of our integration efforts, which drove strong results in the third quarter of 2007," said Alan F. Schultz, Valassis Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "The level of collaboration between both organizations has been exemplary. I am excited to begin the new year under a unified name as the undisputed leader of delivering value to consumers how, when and where they want. Each company has brought great practices, resources and relationships to this integrated organization and we intend to continue to build upon that strong foundation."
Valassis is a well respected leader in the marketplace, offering unparalleled reach and scale by integrating shared mail with home-delivered newspaper promotions in addition to a variety of other distribution methods. The company's expansive product portfolio reaches over 100 million households each week.
In conjunction with this change, the organization has expanded its commitment to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service and will increase coverage of America's Looking For Its Missing Children program to millions of more homes each week. This public service program to assist local and national efforts to locate missing children through the mass distribution of pictures using its shared mail medium began at ADVO in 1985. To date, this program is responsible for the safe recovery of 147 missing children and will continue to call upon the public to take up the cause of missing and exploited children, let their voices be heard, and make a difference as the company's commitment to the most successful private-sector program of its kind, strengthens.
"I am equally excited to start the new year with renewed vigor for the future of this outstanding program and strong partnership," said U.S. Postmaster General John E. Potter while visiting the company's Windsor office where he met with Schultz; Vince Guiliano, Senior Vice President of Government Relations; and several key Valassis leaders. "I know the company's employees are among the best in the industry, and their commitment to this program is unmatched. I welcome expansion of the Have You Seen Me? program, which will further our mission to safely recover even more children."