CKFR Checkfree Corp (MM)

CheckFree and Schwartz Communications Win PRSA Silver Anvil Award Second Time in Three Years the Companies Have Won in the Consumer Technology Category ATLANTA and WALTHAM, Mass., June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Schwartz Communications, Inc., one of the nation's leading public relations agencies focused on high-tech, medical technology and biotechnology companies, today announced that CheckFree Corporation (NASDAQ:CKFR) and Schwartz have received a 2004 Silver Anvil Award, the highest honor in the public relations industry. Sponsored by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the Silver Anvil Award recognizes the best public relations practices of the past year with an award that signifies the profession's role in forging public opinion. The award recognized CheckFree and Schwartz for planning and executing the year's best consumer technology campaign, which educated consumers on the benefits of viewing and paying bills online. The campaign was selected from among a field of more than 600 entries in a variety of categories by a panel of public relations industry experts. This is the second time in three years the companies have won the Silver Anvil for the "Marketing Consumer Services: Technology" category. CheckFree is a provider of financial electronic commerce services and products, and delivers market-leading electronic billing and payment services through more than 1,200 financial service providers across the United States. CheckFree's goal was to accelerate behavior change in moving household bill viewing and payment behavior from paper to electronic. Among its components, the campaign addressed consumer misconceptions and targeted women, who pay the majority of bills in a household, with the benefits of viewing and paying bills online. CheckFree and Schwartz conducted a multi-pronged campaign that focused on related experts, and utilized seminars, market research on the attitudes of prospective online bill payers, breaking industry analyst research, and media relations that linked national and local reporters with CheckFree's business customers, including banks, brokerage firms, credit unions, portals, personal financial software providers and billers. As the year progressed, analyst firms reported that electronic billing and payment was among the fastest growing Internet applications. CheckFree grew its subscriber base from eight million to more than 12 million -- an increase of 50 percent during the campaign period. Media relations contributed to this growth, generating more than 100 feature articles, with a combined circulation exceeding 240 million, as well as coverage by top morning TV, radio programs and online media. "CheckFree addressed the mainstream consumers' most frequent questions and concerns, and communicated benefits such as convenience, control and guaranteed protections that are in place when they view and pay bills online at a trusted financial services site," said Judy DeRango Wicks, APR, CheckFree's vice president of corporate communications. "CheckFree and Schwartz made category information available to reporters and linked them with our partners, including banks, brokerage firms, credit unions, portals, personal financial software companies and billers. This was an industry-wide effort, and we are proud to be recognized by PRSA, along with our agency team at Schwartz Communications, for the success of this campaign." "The PRSA Silver Anvil Award serves as a benchmark for identifying strategic public relations campaigns that produce quantifiable results and highlights the profession's role in forging public opinion. We are very proud to be recognized for helping to execute one of the year's most successful consumer technology public relations campaigns," said Steve Schwartz, president of Schwartz Communications. "The receipt of the agency's second Silver Anvil Award in three years for its work on behalf of CheckFree reflects the exceptional work of our staff and the marketing leadership of a great client." The PRSA's Silver Anvil Awards competition has grown steadily in scope and stature since its inception in 1946. The Silver Anvil is annually awarded to public relations practitioners who, in the judgment of their peers, have successfully addressed a contemporary issue with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness. Silver Anvil Awards recognize complete programs incorporating sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. The awards ceremony, held in New York, represents the highest standards of performance in the public relations profession. About Schwartz Communications, Inc. Founded by the husband-wife team of Steve and Paula Mae Schwartz in 1990, Schwartz Communications, Inc. is the premier public relations agency for technology and healthcare. With offices in Waltham, Mass., and San Francisco, Calif., Schwartz currently represents such innovative companies as Autonomy; Blue Martini; CheckFree; Cyberonics, Inc.; CYTYC Corporation; Gateway; MapInfo; Philips Medical Systems, Cardiac Resuscitation; Progress Software; Proxima Therapeutics; Sanctum; TruSecure Corporation; and Wright Medical Group, Inc. About CheckFree (http://www.checkfree.com/) CheckFree (NASDAQ:CKFR) is a provider of financial electronic commerce services and products. Founded in 1981 and celebrating its 23rd year in e- commerce, CheckFree is comprised of three divisions: Electronic Commerce, Software, and Investment Services. CheckFree launched the first fully integrated electronic billing and payment solution in 1997. In the quarter ended March 31, 2004, more than 13 million consumers initiated online payments through services offered by CheckFree's Electronic Commerce division. Electronic billing and payment is available through more than a thousand financial services organizations, including banks, brokerage firms, Internet portals and personal financial management (PFM) software. At these sites, consumers are able to electronically receive and pay essentially all the bills most common to a U.S. household. CheckFree delivers 22.5 million e-bills each quarter. CheckFree Investment Services provides a broad range of investment management services to thousands of financial institutions nationwide. The division's clients manage nearly 1.5 million portfolios totaling more than $900 billion in assets. CheckFree's Software division provides solutions through three operating units: CheckFree ACH Solutions, CheckFree Financial and Compliance Solutions (CFACS), and CheckFree i-Solutions. CheckFree ACH Solutions provides software and services that are used to process more than two-thirds of the nation's nine billion Automated Clearing House payments, while CFACS provides reconciliation, financial messaging, workflow and compliance software and services to more than 600 organizations in the banking, brokerage, investment management, insurance and credit card industries, among others. CheckFree i-Solutions is the leading provider of e- billing and e-statement software and services for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business applications. Contact: Mark McClennan Schwartz Communications, Inc. (781) 684-0770 DATASOURCE: Schwartz Communications, Inc. CONTACT: Mark McClennan of Schwartz Communications, Inc., +1-781-684-0770, Web site: http://www.checkfree.com/ http://www.schwartz-pr.com/

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