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Bay Area Developments Create Free Wireless HotSpots Using AnchorFree SolutionSUNNYVALE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Madison Marquette and AnchorFree today announced the deployment of free wireless hotspots at both Bay Street in Emeryville, CA and Bayfair Center in San Leandro. The partnerships utilize AnchorFree's network to offer free Internet access to patrons, while at the same time providing advertising partners a means of interacting in a highly targeted way with consumers while they enjoy the properties' retail, food and entertainment offerings at both of these large retail and entertainment centers. "People already come to our centers with their laptops in tow, so providing free Internet access seemed like a logical addition to enhance our shoppers' experience," said Whitney Tresidder, director of marketing for Madison Marquette at Bay Street Emeryville and Bayfair Center. "Both San Leandro and Emeryville have a day time employment population that exceeds 50,000 people, many of whom visit our properties on their lunch hour and breaks, so offering free Internet access really made sense in completing the atmosphere for those shoppers who want to stay connected." The AnchorFree broadband advertising network allows marketers to reach and interact with out-of-home laptop users and wireless device users throughout their entire online experience. With AnchorFree, hotspot locations--from cafes and restaurants, to hotels, airports, shopping centers and other leisure and travel locations--are able to offer patrons free broadband access that is subsidized via relevant, interactive and unobtrusive advertisements. AnchorFree has already signed multi-year, exclusive advertising agreements with wireless operators that represent thousands of hotspots, which together generate hundreds of millions of page views and several million user sessions per month. AnchorFree provides a new media opportunity for local, brand and direct marketers to create a captive, persistent, branded experience with consumers. This broadband advertising network offers all of the attributes of successful direct marketing channels including a direct, 1-to-1 connection with consumers, strong targeting and measurability, enabling marketers to reach a captive and attentive consumer in an uncluttered environment. The consumer then has the ability to interact with and respond directly to the advertiser. AnchorFree is able to target consumers with 100% precision based on their exact location. By leveraging partnerships with thousands of hotspot locations, AnchorFree provides non-intrusive, ongoing advertising exposure to mobile laptop users throughout the duration of their online session. "Together with venues like Bay Street Emeryville and Bayfair Center, we are pioneering a new advertising medium uniquely positioned at the intersection of out-of-home and interactive advertising. Never before have advertisers been able to target affluent mobile Internet users precisely at the point of consumption based on their exact location," said Mark Smith, EVP of marketing and strategy for AnchorFree. "In working with large, high traffic centers such as these, we are able to not only facilitate greater accessibility to broadband services for thousands of daily on-the-go consumers, but at the same time offer a completely new channel for marketers to reach these consumers in a highly targeted way." About Bay Street Bay Street is located in Emeryville, California ideally situated at the foot of San Francisco's highly traversed Bay Bridge. Encompassing two city blocks, Bay Street is home to more than 65 shops, 10 restaurants, a 16-screen AMC theatre and over 1,000 residents who live in the 400 residential units. Its retail line-up includes Apple, Sephora, Pottery Barn and H&M and will be joined by bebe this October. These fashionable retailers combined with delicious restaurants, weekend concerts and street performers create an active nightlife and popular downtown alternative. For more information visit www.baystreetemeryville.com. About Bayfair Bayfair Center features over 816,000 sq. ft. of retail space including Target, Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kohl's, Macy's, Old Navy and a 16-screen state of the art Century Theatre. This full service shopping destination highlights local retailers and events supporting the community, culture and tradition of San Leandro, including a weekly farmers market on Saturdays and weekly events in the centers common areas. The Bayfair Center is the East Bay's destination for distinctive shopping and is conveniently located next to the San Leandro Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station. For more information visit www.shopbayfair.com About AnchorFree AnchorFree, the largest Hotspot media network, is working toward enabling 10,000 Hotspot locations, with advertising contracts to generate more than 400 million page views through five million user sessions per month. AnchorFree's presence-based messaging medium is a new marketing channel for brand and direct response marketers to deliver interactive, timely and targeted advertisements to laptop users when they are away from the home or office. The AnchorFree network connects advertisers with millions of consumers in a captive, persistent manner that is highly measurable and geo-targeted to the user's exact location. Any business, from coffee shops and restaurants to travel spots and retail locations, can leverage the AnchorFree network to offer free Internet access to its patrons while generating new revenues with no financial investment required. AnchorFree is also the first advertising network to provide consumers with full control and choice regarding their privacy and security through the company's free HotSpot Shield, available for download at www.anchorfree.com. AnchorFree is a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, California. |
