SOURCE: Harte-Hanks

 

ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- October 19, 2005 -- Harte-Hanks (NYSE: HHS) today announced that its client, King Pharmaceuticals, is a Direct Marketing Association 2005 International ECHO Bronze Award recipient in the "Pharmaceutical/Healthcare" category. The DMA International ECHO Awards honor direct and interactive marketing campaigns that demonstrate innovative strategy, database techniques, creativity and, importantly, results. King Pharmaceuticals was selected for its physician-focused, integrated direct marketing campaign driving the Intal® Inhaler brand for the treatment of mild to moderate persistent asthma, and helping to revive the 17-year-old brand without the use of a field sales force.

The winning campaign also was honored with a special distinction, the Henry Hoke Award, named posthumously for DMA Hall of Fame member and longtime industry editor Henry R. Hoke, Sr. The award is named for the single direct-response advertising campaign that advances a "courageous solution to solve a difficult sales marketing problem." Winners were announced at an evening DMA International ECHO Awards Ceremony & Gala on October 18, 2005, in Atlanta, GA.

In its campaign for Intal® Inhaler, King Pharmaceuticals successfully revitalized the brand by reaching physicians with powerful messaging that incorporated consumer insights, updated detailing, and patient/provider interaction materials. Harte-Hanks developed the "Clear the Way" campaign to give the drug a new identity, to build awareness among physicians, and to increase prescriptions. The response rate recorded for sample requests were well into double-digits.

"The breakthrough innovation here is how data-based marketing, a much smaller component of a larger sales and brand marketing budget, successfully revived a mature prescription brand -- serving as a cost-effective alternative to a direct sales force conducting time-consuming visits to clinics and physician offices," said Kathy Calta, corporate officer and senior vice president, Harte-Hanks.

About the DMA International ECHO Award

The Direct Marketing Association International ECHO Award is the only comprehensive international direct marketing award recognizing excellence in strategy, creativity, and results. Entries are categorized into 12 primary business segments, and then further divided into ten advertising media categories. After three rounds of qualifying judging by direct marketing experts, the winners are picked and verified by the ECHO committee, a group of senior members of the direct marketing community. Campaigns are evaluated for their response results, marketing strategy, and creative components.

About King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

King Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in Bristol, Tennessee, is a vertically integrated branded pharmaceutical company. King, an S&P 500 Index company, seeks to capitalize on opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry through the development, including through in-licensing arrangements and acquisitions, of novel branded prescription pharmaceutical products in attractive markets and the strategic acquisition of branded products that can benefit from focused promotion and marketing and product life-cycle management.

About Harte-Hanks, Inc.

Harte-Hanks, Inc., San Antonio, TX, is a worldwide, direct and targeted marketing company that provides direct marketing services and shopper advertising opportunities to a wide range of local, regional, national and international consumer and business-to-business marketers. Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing improves the return on its clients' marketing investment with a range of services organized around five solution points: Construct and update the database - Access the data - Analyze the data - Apply the knowledge - Execute the programs. Expert at each element within this process, Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing is highly skilled at tailoring solutions for each of the vertical markets it serves. Visit the Harte-Hanks Web site at http://harte-hanks.com or call (800) 456-9748.

[Editor's Note: Photographs of the Intal Inhaler campaign can be secured by contacting Chet Dalzell, Harte-Hanks, at (212) 520-3232. For a complete list of DMA International ECHO Award winners, visit the Direct Marketing Association Web site, http://www.the-dma.org ]