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iBirthday's New Virtual Birthday Party

11/11/1999

NORWALK, CT - November 11, 1999 (Press Release Network):
Forget about e-mail, e-commerce and all the serious things you can do online. What everyone really wants to do is party. And now, thanks to iBirthday, anyone can throw virtual birthday parties for friends and families over the Internet. It's called the Virtual Birthday Party-an online birthday party you can give for anyone online. It's the coolest thing happening on the Internet, and it's free. Just go to http://www.iBirthday.com, and click on, "Virtual Birthday Party." As the party host, you'll be able to build a list of invitees who will receive e-mail invitations to join the party. Then, you'll be asked to answer questions-some fun and some potentially embarrassing-about the guest of honor. Your invitees do the same, all in advance of the big day. Once the party is ready, the guest of honor and invitees receive special e-mails, telling them there's a birthday party online.

By clicking on a Web address embedded in the e-mail invitation, the guest of honor goes directly to the party, where he or she is greeted by friends and family played by animated characters. You can assume a range of characters-anything from toga man (a real party animal), to a more conservative businesswoman. There are even non-human characters such as a smiley face and a walking wine bottle. Click on the guests' names and you get to read the party banter-all of it centering on you, your life and times! And with Kodak PhotoNet online, the leading online photo sharing service, you can customize the party to include pictures of yourself, the guest of honor or anybody else at the Virtual Birthday Party. Simply have your 35mm or APS film developed at any one of 38,000 participating Kodak PhotoNet online retailers, including all Kodak processing locations. Your pictures will be digitized and delivered to you online so you can download them and use them in the Virtual Birthday Party. "We wanted people online to have the same fun experience they would have at a real birthday party," says iBirthday's president and founder Brian Jersey. "With a Virtual Birthday Party, friends and family from around the world can share that special day, reminisce, joke around and otherwise enjoy themselves online." But it's not just fun and games. iBirthday is the preeminent online birthday site on the Internet, offering hundreds of specialized gifts and a free birthday reminder system guaranteed to prevent you from ever forgetting a birthday again. Just register and you'll be prompted via e-mail, every time an important birthday nears. And if you're short on gift ideas, well, that's what iBirthday is all about. They're a full-line retailer of flowers, candy and other traditional birthday gifts as well as the offbeat and unique. For instance, you can choose to send an actual newspaper from the day the guest of honor was born, a birthday party in a box with a balloon that inflates the moment it's opened, and Talking-Teddy, a teddy bear that can be personalized with the voice and birthday wishes of the sender. New gifts are added online all the time. Still, it's the Virtual Birthday Party that's really lighting things up. "We've been amazed at the response from the online community and Internet novices alike," says Jersey. "One of the biggest uses of the Internet to date has been sending and receiving online greeting cards. The Virtual Birthday Party takes that concept one step further, by providing the best way yet to party online-in the digital age and well into the next millennium. The parties have the humor of a celebrity roast and the feel of about 100 really good online greeting cards." But what do the party goers think? "Absolutely awesome," says Jon Seitz, a Pennsylvania advertising executive who just attended his 38th birthday party online. "My wife put the party together. I received my invitation online on my birthday, and figured it was an animated birthday card. Then, I went to the site and there were all my old buddies, portrayed by these really creative animated characters, wise cracking about our college days. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday and stay in touch with old friends."

About iBirthday
iBirthday is the worldwide leader in providing great birthday gifts and services online. With hundreds of the very best gifts available for that special day, iBirthday offers something for every one of the five million Americans who celebrate their birthdays each week. iBirthday's entire focus is on birthdays, a $10 billion a year business, that the company is tapping through innovative online marketing strategies. For instance, iBirthday's Birthday Bank is an innovative online birthday reminder service that automatically e-mails birthday reminders and gift suggestions to registered users. The Virtual Birthday Party is a one-of-a-kind interactive, online party that allows families and friends to share birthdays--no matter where they are located. iBirthday is the brainchild of Brian Jersey, an MBA from Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, who while working for American Express, launched the first "loyalty program" for Optima Cardholders. Later, while at Prodigy, Jersey used a full range of direct marketing programs to gain millions of online subscribers. He conceived of the idea for iBirthday when he was on a business trip and realized he'd missed his sister's birthday for the third year in a row. Jersey vowed never again. So in 1996, he partnered with the New Jersey-based firm Capital Express, LLC, to open 1-800-BIRTHDAY, the predecessor of iBirthday. This year, he brought his business to the Internet in order to make birthdays more fun and convenient for online consumers. In mid-1999, the Fingerhut Companies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Federated Department Stores, Inc. (NYSE: FD) acquired 19.9 percent equity interest in iBirthday. As part of the agreement, Fingerhut also acquired the right to increase its equity stake to a majority interest.

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