FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Timothy P. McKenna, CLU, President 412-231-5630
tmckenna@themarketingalliance.com
Pittsburgh, PA - February 18, 2004 - The Marketing Alliance, Inc. (MAAL) ("TMA"), which provides back office and carrier support to a national network of independent life brokerage general agencies, today announced the formation of TMA Marketing, Inc. ("TMAM"). This new subsidiary is based in Philadelphia, PA.
This marketing arm will represent TMA members in offering non-traditional products to both existing and new customers. As one of its first services, TMAM expects to begin providing members with a turnkey annuity marketing and support program from a variety of carriers by March 1, 2004. For those distributors that don't presently have an annuity department, this will allow them to save marketing support expenses by providing additional staff expertise without adding staff. Plans are to broaden offerings to include growth areas such as long-term care. These benefits will be seamless to distributors customers and be no more difficult than transferring a call from one internal person to another.
Additionally, TMAM will serve customers such as banks, brokerage business for mutual companies and some internet insurance providers with unique services that can combine national distribution with national or local contact through a network of more than 140 distributors.
TMA Marketing will not compete for business in those instances where existing TMA distributors are offering identical or competing products. Rather, TMAM will seek to provide member agencies with additional/complementary support and services to assist in their growth.
All profits generated by TMAM will flow to The Marketing Alliance, Inc., with the majority portion paid out to qualifying distributors in the form of additional benefits and compensation.
About the Marketing Alliance, Inc.
Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, The Marketing Alliance (TMA) is one the largest organizations providing support to independent insurance brokerage agencies, with a goal of providing members value-added services on a more efficient basis than it is possible to achieve individually.
TMA stock is traded in the "pink sheets" (www.pinksheets.com) under the symbol "MAAL.PK". These shares may be purchased or sold through any broker, or through a market-maker in TMA stock, Robotti & Company (Ken Wasiak)
e-mail: wasiak@robotti.com, fax: (212) 986-0816, or phone: (212) 986-4800
Disclosure Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical matters contained herein, statements in this press release are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company's business and prospects. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our estimates only as of the date hereof, or as of such earlier dates as are indicated, and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, even if our estimates change.