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Doing Good Is Good For Business: The Win-Win of Cause Marketing

by Beth Douglass Silcox

We lace up our sneakers walking miles for cancer research and apply new shades of lipstick to stop domestic violence. Hungry kids half a world away grow strong, thanks to our nutritious gifts. Trees root in once clear-cut soils, children laugh and learn through books and instruction offered freely, and farmers in far off lands now sustain their families and villages with bountiful harvests. “We” are citizen consumers, who base more and more purchasing decisions on a company or brand’s willingness to make the world a better place.

So how then do companies embrace the ideals of the citizen consumer? Call it cause marketing, corporate social responsibility, or even to some degree, social entrepreneurship. These mutually beneficial, strategic alignments between companies or brands and charitable endeavors are causing a paradigm shift in both consumer expectation and the way companies act on behalf of charitable causes.

Today, doing good is good for business. “A well conceived, well implemented cause marketing campaign that is authentic, transparent and integrated with other company initiatives can have a significant impact on perceptions of a company and its appeal to consumers,” says David Hessekiel, President of Cause Marketing Forum, the world’s leading resource on building mutually beneficial business and nonprofit alliances.

Two decades ago, profit-seeking businesses rarely collaborated on a large scale with nonprofit organizations. Cause marketing, in practice, didn’t really exist and there was little talk of corporate responsibility to help heal the world’s social ills. Checkbook philanthropy was really the only game in town.

Where once an abysmal $120 million was spent on corporate cause sponsorship in 1990, a predicted $1.73 billion will be spent in 2012. That’s up 3.7 percent from 2011, and the consumer appetite for causes and their related marketing efforts is growing.

In the Beginning, There Was a Cause …

Economic development and anti-bullying efforts led Cone Communications’ list of cause marketing and corporate responsibility trends for 2011. No one can be sure what charitable category will strike white hot in 2012, but following trends really doesn’t speak to the point of cause marketing anyway.

“It has to hit with the heart of the company,” says Crayton Webb, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Communication at Mary Kay Inc. “Too many try to give back in a way that is not really a fit for who they are. Too many companies try to be everything to everyone. You’re much more successful if you can focus on one area.”

Nancy Glaser, Avon’s Senior Vice President of Global Communications and member of the Avon Foundation for Women’s board of directors, says, “We’ve learned that you want to find something that is important to your customers and business owners.”

Avon surveyed representatives about causes of importance and engaged them in a dialog before launching their breast cancer crusade and again before committing efforts to violence against women. “Look at where your money can do the most good, where you can make an impact,” Glaser says. “Then you can pick a cause that’s strategically important and find the right moment.”

David Hessekiel, President of Cause Marketing Forum Inc., advises companies to select the cause they want to align themselves with first, then evaluate what nonprofits in that field could bring to a partnership from both a marketing and good works implementation perspective. “It’s smart to work with an experienced nonprofit partner, instead of trying to develop expertise in a social cause internally,” he says.

Cause marketing programs need clearly defined business and philanthropic goals. Once established, companies can use the same business and social impact metrics they use to measure other marketing or philanthropic initiatives. “A common problem is that many programs are started with very vague objectives and with no measurement built in. Then it is very difficult to assess what the impact was,” Hessekiel says.

After a little experimentation to make sure a cause is a good fit with corporate philosophy and mission, Hessekiel recommends, “Stick with it for the long term.”

What changed? Everything.

Times change, consumer attitudes change, everything changes. Perhaps exposed vulnerabilities in a post-9/11 world refreshed our need to be our brother’s keeper. Maybe consumers unwittingly harnessed the energy from a collective existential crisis, giving rise to the current era of the citizen consumer. Whatever the case, ethically minded citizen consumers are drafting a new social contract with business that reads, “Doing good matters! Sign here.”

Ethically minded citizen consumers are drafting a new social contract with business that reads, “Doing good matters! Sign here.”

Of the 2,733 corporate foundations awarding grants in 2009, nearly one-third were established after the year 2000. Nearly 19 percent of those foundations awarded more than $1 million in grants in 2009. The Foundation Center, a leading source for information about philanthropy worldwide since 1956, estimates total corporate giving for 2010 at $4.7 billion.

“People ask more and more of the companies they do business with,” says Dave Wentz, CEO of USANA. “Every legacy company that wants to stand the test of time needs to be giving back or they will be replaced by a competitor who thinks about more than just profits. The direct selling industry understood this very early on and we are way ahead of the game, which is why we will grow faster and continue to take market share from other industries.”

“Every legacy company that wants to stand the test of time needs to be giving back or they will be replaced by a competitor who thinks about more than just profits.” 
—Dave Wentz, CEO, USANA

Like so many companies in the industry, Todd Goergen, Chairman of the Board at ViSalus, says, “Giving back to the community, volunteering and contributing to nonprofits is part of the DNA of our company. We are in business to be successful and create a company that makes people money, but not to sacrifice values to get there.”

The 2010 Edelman goodpurpose™ study, a global consumer study that explores consumer attitudes around social purpose, found 80 percent of Americans believe corporations hold a unique and powerful position to make a positive impact on good causes, and 87 percent of Americans believe businesses need to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as they do on their own.

Reeling from the Haitian earthquake, lengthy Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, and Japan’s devastating earthquake/tsunami/nuclear catastrophe and coping with a worldwide economic recession, it is little wonder the 2010 Edelman survey depicts consumers expecting more from business. “These events have created a tremendous outcry from consumers that companies not only need to act as responsible citizens, but they also need to lead innovative solutions in a way that only business can,” says Mitch Markson, Chief Creative Officer at Edelman and Founder of Edelman goodpurpose™.

Crayton Webb, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Communications at Mary Kay Inc., says, “Corporate social responsibility has been a way of life in a number of direct selling companies long before anyone talked about cause-related marketing. In a way, our industry has set the bar and set the trend.” The Mary Kay Foundation is a philanthropic leader in the industry, raising $4.7 million in 2011 with a 16-year cumulative total of $28 million for good works in domestic violence shelters and women’s cancer research.

Engaging an Industry

Direct selling—spanning 100 countries, six continents and 66 million independent business owners—pumped more than $132 billion into the world economy in 2010, and 72 percent of companies in this industry engaged in philanthropic activities, according to the 2009 Direct Selling Worldwide Corporate Philanthropy Report issued by the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations.

Their generosity is as varied as the companies and the products they sell, and the dollars-and-cents impact of direct selling’s philanthropy totaled $336 million in 2009, an increase of 24 percent, reported by WFDSA.

Regardless of the giving method—one-on-one hunger relief product matches like at ViSalus, USANA’s cash donation for every ace served on the Women’s Tennis Association tour, Scentsy’s specialty charity warmer sales, or long-term social investment initiatives like Natura’s Crer para Ver sustainable education program—philanthropic success depends on consumer and salesforce engagement.

“One of the advantages the direct selling industry has is active and passionate salesforces. If they have a mechanism to do ‘good,’ they will do that,” says Kara Schneck, Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Nu Skin. “Our channel can mobilize large forces of people to do ‘good’ in the world, and we can maximize our ability to help.”

Nu Skin distributors have donated more than 250 million meals, on average 2.1 million each month, through its Nourish the Children initiative. Specially formulated nutritional powders mix well with food staples such as rice, lentils and maize, providing malnourished children a versatile porridge.

Nu Skin’s Force for Good Foundation, established in 1996, is funded in part by their Epoch line of products and an annual Force for Good Gala, which raised $700,000 in 2011. Over the years cumulative cash and in-kind donations equal $212 million to feed the hungry in Malawi, Thailand, The Philippines and South Africa; build libraries in Korea; and fund life-saving heart surgeries for 4,000 children in Southeast Asia, among other projects.

Mary Kay’s Webb says, “Give them something that they can do: crowd sourcing on Facebook or a cause-related marketing program for a product or a petition they can sign online. The key is doing something your salesforce can sink its teeth into, get involved with and be part of.”

Mary Kay’s corporate social responsibility program, Pink Changing Lives, features a lipstick/lip gloss cause marketing campaign called Beauty That Counts. Sales of these products in the United States bring domestic violence out of the shadows and give independent beauty consultants and all their customers the ability to help by purchasing lipsticks named Confidence, Compassion, Inspiring and Possibilities.

The products are sold by 2.4 million independent beauty consultants around the world in Russia, China, Mexico, Korea—35 affiliates in all—and Webb says, “All the Mary Kay markets around the world have the freedom to find the right partner for the needs of their country, particularly focusing on women and children.”

Webb says a nuance of Beauty That Counts that goes unnoticed to many outside of Mary Kay is the relationship between the campaign’s product choice and philanthropy. “In our case, we’re taking products—although specially developed for this program—that are frontline products. The company is showing its dedication to giving back with this product choice and saying, ‘It’s not just about our bottom line.’ ”

Bonding with Citizen Consumers

Greater numbers of consumers than ever before are willing to purchase, recommend or promote companies who commit to good causes. Citizen consumers are putting their money where their ideals are, and they don’t mind paying a little more for it. At the same time, business profits and philanthropy are no longer mutually exclusive, and 79 percent of Americans told Edelman as much.

They also made perfectly clear their intentions toward businesses that neglect their social responsibilities. Over one-third indicated they would “punish” such a company and nearly one-half would take their investment dollars elsewhere. Citizen consumers want businesses to invest time, energy and money in causes. They want to hear about their good works, feel a part of them, celebrate them and forge a relationship with the brands they trust most.

“The power of relationships is paramount in directs sales,” says Cause Marketing Forum’s Hessekiel. “Cause marketing gives direct sellers the opportunity to create an even deeper bond with their customers by coming together to support a good cause. Cause marketing provides direct sales companies with great platforms for enhancing the esprit de corps within their ranks.”

ViSalus’ Goergen says, “When you’re doing the right things and you’re doing them visibly, that’s a group I can respect, people I want to be in business with and work hard with. It’s going to give me more than monetary rewards. It’s going to give me fulfillment.”

Corporate social responsibility endeavors and cause marketing campaigns, such as ViSalus’ One-to-One matching donation program, shine a light on corporate purpose for everyone—consumers, employees, direct sellers and public, alike. When disaster strikes, ViSalus is there. “We’re happy that we can react very quickly with significant amounts of nutrition for people,” Goergen says. ViSalus meal donations total 1 million since November 2009.

Herbalife Family Foundation’s 73 Casa Herbalife programs not only improve nutrition of at-risk kids around the world, but also give direct sellers and employees an easy way to express their generosity. Whether it’s 20 million micronutrient sachets to feed the hungry in Ethiopia and Kenya or daily shakes served to the folks at Union Rescue Mission on L.A.’s Skid Row, Herbalife’s commitment helps build relationships with consumers, direct sellers and the public at large.

Benefits of Cause Marketing

For business:

• Greater awareness for company product or service
• Increased sales
• Access to new audiences
• Competitive advantage
• Increased brand image and awareness
• Higher employee retention
• Highlight to be used in employee recruiting
• Opportunity for new strategic partnerships
• Technical expertise from nonprofit partners
• Training and development opportunities for upcoming company leaders and staff

For nonprofits:

• Increased revenue
• Enhanced visibility of the cause or the nonprofit’s message
• Increased volunteer pool
• Access to new audiences
• Connections to the corporation’s network of employees, suppliers, distributors and other contacts
• Expertise in marketing, strategy development and other corporate experience

(Source: Cause Marketing Forum website)

Crusading for Purpose

Nancy Glaser, Senior Vice President of Global Communications at Avon, and member of the Avon Foundation for Women board of directors, says, “We are a relationship-based company empowering women. We have a high-touch relationship with our constituency and are dedicated to supporting and nurturing them.”

Avon is one of the direct selling industry’s philanthropic heavy hitters, arguably its star player. Founded in 1955, the Avon Foundation for Women operated in low-key fashion until adopting a cause marketing approach some 20 years ago. That’s when they started nothing short of a breast cancer crusade.

Today, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t heard of Avon’s two-day, 39-mile weekend fundraising Walk for Breast Cancer or their line of Pink Ribbon products. They’ve raised a cumulative total of $860 million in 58 countries over the course of the foundation’s history. In 2010, they gave grants totaling more than $43.6 million.

Hessekiel calls Avon a cause marketing pioneer, beginning with their breast cancer crusade and now expanding into domestic violence and reforestation. Their 2010 Hello Green Tomorrow cause marketing campaign, which paired the company with The Nature Conservancy, won a Silver Halo Award from Cause Marketing Forum. The multi-channel, worldwide promotion included a microsite, social media outreach, fundraising incentives, as well as awards. It focused on Avon’s 6.4 million-strong “force for good” to match a $1 million Avon corporate donation. In six months, the campaign raised $2.1 million to support the planting of 2 million trees and restore 5,000 acres of forest.

“There’s this intangible, emotional culture that we have. People are very loyal and a lot of that has to do with this mission-based purpose,” Glaser says.

Edelman’s Markson adds, “Purpose allows brands to have a deeper level of engagement with their consumers—and it also allows consumers to put their own mark on brand marketing by collaborating with brands to tackle important issues.”

So central is purpose to today’s marketing mix that it’s now considered the fifth “P”—alongside its cousins: product, price, place and promotion. “It is the ultimate avenue for consumer engagement and inclusion—two vital pieces of the successful marketing puzzle,” says John Quelch, senior associate dean and Lincoln Filene professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, and co-author of Greater Good: How Good Marketing Makes for Better Democracy. “Today’s ‘citizen consumer’ demands that brands supply not products, but solutions—not functions, but benefits. Purpose does just that,” Quelch says.

Engaging a Global Community

Amway China, the largest of Amway’s markets, is rallying around purpose in ways never before seen in that country. They aim to solve a growing education problem for migrant Chinese children.

Uprooted to cities by parents looking for work, or left behind in rural areas with grandparents, while parents seek jobs elsewhere, China’s migrant children often do not qualify for social services, such as education, once they move. So Amway Charity Foundation, the first-ever, nonpublic, multinational company foundation created in China, now deploys some 60,000 volunteers to teach English, health and art classes, plus provide nutritional support to these kids in need.

“This is different for China. They don’t have that culture of volunteering formally. Amway China is leading the way with those efforts,” says Debb Kalmbach, Manager of Global Corporate Citizenship at Amway. Amway U.S. operates a corporate giving program, rather than a foundation.

“As a corporation we are focused on giving to our communities. For nearly 52 years, it’s been part of who we are,” Kalmbach says. “Volunteering is a critical component. It is much more engaging when people can see the people they are helping.”

Amway’s community includes 80 countries and a diverse cross-section of corporate giving, including Amway’s One By One Campaign for Children, The NUTRILITE Little Bits childhood nutrition program, and matching corporate grants for projects like Habitat for Humanity in Guatemala, educational costs for rural Taiwanese children, and support of a power wheelchair soccer program in Atlanta. Since 2003, Amway has helped 9.5 million children with $166 million in contributions and 2.5 million volunteer hours.

One Step Beyond Cause Marketing

Mannatech says a need for consistency caused it to switch from charity model philanthropy to social entrepreneurism in 2010. “In the first 10 years, our not-for-profit, Mannarelief, relied on charity model ebb and flow of donations that never gave us consistency,” says Sam Caster, Founder of Mannatech.

“What we do goes one step beyond cause marketing because social entrepreneurism is a purposeful business venture, combining for-profit technology and cash flow with not-for-profit purpose and passion to create sustainable change of a global problem.”

Believing that global malnutrition is the single biggest problem children face today, Mannatech looked at it with new eyes.

That’s because 5 million children under the age of 5 die every year of malnutrition. And 500 million people worldwide take nutritional supplements.

Mannatech holds 60 patents around the world and manufactures whole-food alternatives to synthetic nutritional supplements. Using their food industry technology, they could cost-effectively formulate a product specifically for malnourished youngsters. Using the direct selling staple “autoship,” they could develop a one-for-one donation program and partner with international and community feeding programs for distribution to children in need.

In a well-planned burst of innovative social entrepreneurism, Mannarelief launched Give for Real in late 2011. “Our goal is to educate and inspire 1 percent (of the 500 million people taking nutritional supplements) with a real food solution and link them to the 5 million children in need,” Caster says. “By ourselves, we can create the solution for that problem!” The fledgling effort thus far meets the needs of 60,000 kids a day and aims to trigger social change.

Mary Kay’s Webb adds, “In this day and age, cause-related marketing of products or corporate social responsibility is a door opener. But for a lot of us in direct sales, it’s a door opener to a long history of giving back, and we have a great story to tell.”

“ViSalus’ members continue to validate that our 90-Day Challenge business model works with their fast-paced lifestyle and helps them achieve their health goals,” stated Ryan Blair, Co-Founder and CEO of ViSalus. “Our targeted new products and services support the growth and success of our Promoters, Leaders and customers as we build ViSalus into a leading lifestyle brand together.”

“ViSalus had a very strong start to the seasonally-important first quarter for weight management and healthy lifestyle companies,” stated Robert B. Goergen, Blyth’s Chairman of the Board and CEO. “Programs such as the Body by Vi 90-Day Challenge and Rising Star that were so effective leading into and throughout 2011, were bridged successfully into 2012. Moreover, Vi-Net Mobile products and services that support Promoters as they build their businesses launched during the first quarter with very positive reception from the Field.”

“In Q1 we put a lot of focus into our social and mobile strategy,” said Blake Mallen, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “People love sharing their Challenge results, and the simpler we can make it for them to do so, the more people they can share them with.”

ViSalus recently entered the Direct Sales Industry Top 100 Global Companies List, ranked at 47. As a result, ViSalus was awarded the prestigious DSN Bravo Growth Award by top industry trade Direct Selling News for its nearly seven-fold sales increase in 2011, from 2010. The award was presented to ViSalus Founders Ryan Blair, Nick Sarnicola and Blake Mallen on April 16.

Launched originally in 2005 as ViSalus Sciences® and known today as ViSalus, the company remains resolute on its mission to improve “Life, Health, and Prosperity”–through network marketing, premium wellness products, and a global community culture. ViSalus champions a range of personal health goals through five unique Challenge Kits designed to support individual milestones toward healthier living. The company’s recent acquisition of the domain “challenge.com” emphasizes its continued aggressive expansion in the challenge marketing space.

Learn more about ViSalus at http://www.visalus.com and http://www.bodybyvi.com .

About ViSalus

Founded in 2005 with headquarters in Los Angeles, CA and Troy, MI, ViSalus(TM) is the company behind the wildly successful Body by Vi(TM) Challenge, a 90-day lifestyle transformation platform. ViSalus champions personal victories and entrepreneurship through a social marketing model, premium products, and global community culture. Simple, Rewarding & Fun–the Body by Vi Challenge is the fastest growing health and fitness Challenge in North America today. ViSalus(TM) is majority-owned by Blyth, Inc.

Public Relations

Contact: Bobbie Wasserman

VP, Public Relations, ViSalus

(323) 454-2896

bwasserman@visalus.com

SOURCE ViSalus

LOS ANGELES, April 30, 2012 – /PRNewswire/ – ViSalus, the number one challenge marketing company with its Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge, broke into the Direct Sales Industry Top 100 Global Companies List at #47. As a result, ViSalus was awarded the prestigious DSN Bravo Growth Award by top industry trade Direct Selling News for its seven-fold sales increase over the past 12 months. The award was presented to ViSalus Founders Ryan Blair, Nick Sarnicolaand Blake Mallen at the Direct Selling News Global 100 Celebration held in Dallas on April 16.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120430/LA97615)

“We are humbled that the Direct Selling Industry has recognized ViSalus’ innovative customer centric approach,” stated Ryan Blair, Chief Executive Officer of ViSalus.

“With today’s social sphere, it’s amazing how quickly a simple message that brings real value to a consumer can spread,” continued Blake Mallen, Chief Marketing Officer. “I’m very proud of our ViSalus Community.“

Since 2010, the annual Bravo Growth Award has been honoring the company that reported the greatest sales increase during the prior 12 months.  The winner is selected by the leadership ofDirect Selling News based on the data compiled for the year. In 2011, ViSalus achieved net sales of $231 million, seven times its 2010 earnings of $34 million.

“This is an honor well-deserved and a testament to the leadership team at ViSalus,” said John Fleming, Publisher of Direct Selling News. “Ryan and Blake have shown over the past two years a strong commitment to their employees, sales associates and customers, and it shows in the great success they have achieved.”

Launched originally in 2005 as ViSalus Sciences and known today as ViSalus, the company remains resolute on its mission to improve “Life, Health, and Prosperity”—through network marketing, premium wellness products, and a global community culture.  ViSalus champions a range of personal health goals through five unique Challenge Kits designed to support individual milestones toward healthier living. The company’s recent acquisition of the domain “challenge.com” emphasizes its continued aggressive expansion in the challenge marketing space.

Learn more about ViSalus at http://www.visalus.com and http://www.bodybyvi.com.

About ViSalus

Founded in 2005 with headquarters in Los Angeles, CA and Troy, MI, ViSalus^™ is the company behind the wildly successful Body by Vi™ Challenge, a 90-day lifestyle transformation platform. ViSalus champions personal victories and entrepreneurship through a social marketing model, premium products, and global community culture. Simple, Rewarding & Fun—the Body byVi Challenge is the fastest growing health and fitness Challenge in North America today. ViSalus™ is majority-owned by Blyth, Inc.

About Direct Selling News

Direct Selling News magazine has been serving direct selling and network marketing executives since 2004. It is a controlled-circulation, print magazine sent to executives throughout the industry. The contents of each publication are posted online along with up-to-date headline news of major happenings within the industry, both domestically and globally. For more information, visit www.directsellingnews.com.

Public Relations Contact: Bobbie Wasserman VP, Public Relations ViSalus (323) 454-2896bwasserman@visalus.com

SOURCE ViSalus

LOS ANGELES, March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – ViSalus, the number one challenge marketing company with its Body by Vi™ 90-Day Challenge, today launched “Vi-Net Swipe,” furthering ViSalus’ technological lead by allowing its sales force Promoters to enhance customer experience via a quick, safe and secure mobile network.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120326/LA76131)

“ViSalus Promoters will now provide their customers an experience equivalent to that of the most technically advanced retail stores,” stated Ryan Blair, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ViSalus. “This innovation will be the single most important shift toward customer-first, service-centric direct selling that the industry has experienced since ViSalus paved the way by launching challenge marketing in 2009.”

“Our Promoters now have a fully integrated, mobile point of sale solution,” stated Blake Mallen, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer. “This technological innovation gives our challenge Promoters the ability to provide instantaneous enrollment with a safe and secure point of sale. We believe this will provide a much better Promoter and customer experience and continue to drive our significant customer acquisition growth.”

Vi-Net Swipe operates on Apple®, BlackBerry® or Android™ devices and is fully integrated into ViSalus’ Vi-Net Mobile and social technology.

Further enhancing Visalus’ customer value proposition, the company has opened its ViSalus Reverse Group Offer (RGO) to social media and web channels. The proprietary patent pending RGO technology, originally only offered to its promoter sales force in beta, now allows ViSalus’ one million customers the opportunity to participate in tiered group savings on ViSalus products and services as well. “The goal is to offer our customers and promoters the best price on our products by allowing the community to purchase in volume from the company,” continued Mallen, “and purchasing in a group allows for that, whether it’s a box of our Nutra-Cookie’s™, or a ticket to a Body by Vi™ Challenge event.”

Launched originally in 2005 the company remains resolute on its mission to improve “Life, Health, and Prosperity”—through Direct Selling its premium weight-loss and active life style wellness products, and a global support community.  ViSalus champions a Body by Vi™ member’s range of personal health goals through five unique Challenge Kits designed to support individual milestones toward healthier living.

Learn more about ViSalus at http://www.visalus.com and http://www.bodybyvi.com.

About ViSalus
Founded in 2005 with headquarters in Los Angeles, CA and Troy, MI, ViSalus™ is the company behind the wildly successful Body by Vi™ Challenge, a 90-day health transformation platform. ViSalus champions personal victories and entrepreneurship through a social marketing model, premium products, and support community. Simple, Affordable, Rewarding & Fun—the Body by Vi Challenge is the fastest growing health and fitness Challenge in North America today. ViSalus™ is majority-owned by Blyth, Inc. (NYSE:BTH - News) www.ViSalus.com

Public Relations Contact:
Bobbie Wasserman
VP, Public Relations
ViSalus
(323) 454-2896
bwasserman@visalus.com

Contact Daniel Adams, Executive Chairman (203) 599-6064 x162

Meriden, CT February 22, 2012—Protein Sciences Corporation (www.proteinsciences.com)

(“Protein Sciences”) announced today that it has granted Merck, through a subsidiary, a nonexclusive license to Protein Sciences’ proprietary expresSF+® serum-free insect cell line (SF+) and related technology (collectively, PS Technology) to conduct vaccine research. In addition, Protein Sciences has granted Merck an exclusive license to use PS Technology for commercial production of an undisclosed vaccine candidate.

Under the agreement, Merck will pay an up-front fee and Protein Sciences is eligible to receive payments associated with Merck exercising its option to the PS Technology for the commercialization of additional vaccine candidates. Protein Sciences will be eligible to receive payments contingent upon the achievement of certain milestones associated with the development and regulatory approval of vaccine candidates and royalties on sales of any vaccines produced by Merck using PS technology.

“We are very excited that Merck has chosen to use our technology,” said Dan Adams, Executive Chairman of Protein Sciences. “Merck joins several other pharmaceutical companies worldwide that have signed non-exclusive license agreements to use PS Technology.”

PS Technology provides a fast, reliable and inexpensive platform for the production of high quality recombinant proteins, making it a powerful tool for producing vaccines and therapeutics. The SF+ cell line offers significant manufacturing and regulatory advantages, including scalability to large volumes and high cell densities in low cost serum-free media. Over 1,000 different proteins have been produced using this technology, all of which have been correctly folded and biologically active. Licenses are available on a non-exclusive basis to use PS Technology for research and the development of new vaccines.

About Us

Protein Sciences is a vaccine development and protein production company based in Meriden, CT that is dedicated to saving lives and improving health through the creation of innovative vaccines and biopharmaceuticals. We use our powerful PS Technology to make all of our products. PS Technology is covered by broad patents that include our proprietary SF+ cell line.

Our lead product, FluBlok®, is a recombinant trivalent vaccine for seasonal influenza, consisting of recombinant influenza hemagglutinin (rHA) proteins that are manufactured using cell culture instead of eggs. Because FluBlok is highly purified, it does not require the use of thimerosal or antibiotics, and is low in endotoxins. FluBlok, which has shown exceptional performance in clinical trials, is under final review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In 2009, we received a $147 million five-year contract award by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a division of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, to further develop our technology for the production of recombinant influenza vaccines for pandemic preparedness. Budgets totaling more than $80 million have thus far been approved to support work through at least mid-2013.

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., SEATTLE and SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ – CTIA ENTERPRISE AND APPLICATIONS™ 2011 – So far this year, the Verizon Wireless network has outperformed the competition in 22 major U.S. markets in the categories of Combined Performance and Data Performance, according to the wireless testing company, RootMetrics™.

In October alone, RootMetrics bestowed its Combined Performance and Data Performance awards upon Verizon Wireless in Cleveland and Dallas.  Over the past six months, Verizon Wireless received RootScore™ Combined Performance and Data Performance awards in 20 additional cities: Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Cincinnati; Denver; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; Minneapolis; New York; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; St. Louis; and Washington, D.C.

“More and more, consumers are relying on wireless devices to communicate and stay up to date with friends, family and business.  To do that, consumers must have a network they can rely on,” said Bill Moore, chief executive officer of RootMetrics.  ”Our goal is to provide consumers with a true picture of the major carriers’ network performance and empower them to make educated decisions about the best carrier for their mobile habits.”

RootMetrics’ RootScore Reports highlight data, call, text and overall performances of the major wireless carriers’ networks in a specific geographical area.  To evaluate the networks in each specific market, a team of RootMetrics employees conducts tests during a seven-day period, covering all hours of the day and night.  Using current off-the-shelf smartphones available to the public at the time of testing, the evaluation focuses on popular consumer activities, including making phone calls, uploading and downloading files from the Internet, and sending and receiving texts in an effort to reflect the consumer experience in a specific geographical area.

“It’s no surprise that when it comes to lightning fast wireless data service, the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network is the clear winner among wireless customers for smartphones, tablets and other devices that rely on high-speed data,” said David Small, vice president and chief technical officer of Verizon Wireless.  ”We will continue to invest in the Verizon Wireless network to enhance and expand the reach and capabilities of our 4G LTE network — as well as our voice and 3G data networks — so that our customers can enjoy a superior wireless experience.”

Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE network is the fastest and most reliable 4G network in the country.  The company’s unrivaled deployment of its 4G LTE network makes it the largest 4G LTE network in the nation, with coverage in more than 140 cities.

For more information about Verizon Wireless, visit http://aboutus.vzw.com/bestnetwork/overview.html.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 106.3 million total wireless connections, including 89.7 million retail customers.  Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 83,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD).  For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

SOURCE Verizon Wireless

ViSalus Sciences, a leading weight management and nutritional supplement maker that utilizes the direct selling channel to distribute its products, was featured in a special supplement to the Wall Street Journal sponsored by Direct Selling News.  The title of the supplement is The Ultimate Social Business Model: Why Now is Prime Time for Direct Selling.

Click the link below for a PDF copy:

WSJ Direct Selling News Supplement

For Immediate Release

iCentris Acquires Top Direct Sales Software Competitor SolutionX

With the competitive party plan, reporting and genealogy features of iCentris and the unique community enhancements and web marketing tools of SolutionX, an unbeatable direct selling software offering will be formed.

PROVO, Utah (June, 2011) — iCentris, a premiere software provider for the direct selling industry in Woods Cross, Utah, announced today an agreement to acquire Provo-based SolutionX Global, LLC, a social marketing, website design and development company, for undisclosed terms. The two companies have been competitors in the network marketing and direct sales market servicing clients such as Avon and MonaVie but, together, will now employ more than 100 people and have plans to add more jobs in 2011.

The combined strengths of SolutionX and iCentris will create a financially stable industry leader in distributor success systems, providing an unmatched offering of online business tools, social networking technology, advanced group management, prospecting/marketing systems, online training and e-commerce software. This will give SolutionX and iCentris the opportunity to leverage combined technology over the long term and offer clients a competitive suite of services in the Direct Sales, Party Plan and Network Marketing industries, significantly benefiting current and future clients as well as the website software end users.

“Looking at what both companies were doing and the reputation each had in delivering a similar product to our clients, it just made sense to take the strengths from each company and combine them into something remarkable,” said Peter Benedict, CEO of iCentris.

Rodger Smith, CEO of SolutionX and President of the now combined companies added, “We’re excited. This move is the next natural step in the growth of our companies. We’re going to be able to provide an exceptional product and deliver it to an industry that has a dramatic need for it. This will create the definitive software leader that the MLM/Direct Sales industry has been waiting for.”

About iCentris

Based in Woods Cross, Utah, iCentris is a premiere software provider for the direct selling industry. iCentris clients include Fortune 500 companies, as well as smaller companies just getting started.

iCentris clients include Avon, Herbalife, Stampin’ Up!, Longaberger, and Mannatech. Because of the flexibility and modular nature of their tools, iCentris provides clients with online tool sets to fit variable needs, no matter company size or budget. For the past ten years, clients have used iCentris to help them achieve increased sales, higher recruiting and retention rates, improved overall customer satisfaction and reduced operating costs.

iCentris has a strong business track record both locally and internationally. The top four executives at iCentris have a combined 32 years together at the company. iCentris has a vibrant company culture which leads to low turnover rates and creates an atmosphere of familiarity for their clients over the long term.

About Solution X Global

SolutionX is a global leader in providing online distributor success systems for the Network Marketing and Direct Sales industry. Solution X has received funding from Ropart Asset Management (www.ropart.com), a private equity firm based in Greenwich, CT.

The SolutionX team is proud of its team of innovators who have been developing web applications since the Internet’s infancy — as far back as 1995. The current SolutionX team boasts 100+ years of experience in the Network Marketing industry as vendors, corporate employees and/or distributors.

SolutionX’s latest offering, the UNITY platform, combines a replicate website prospect marketing system, a private social network, a training and certification system and integrated sales and genealogy data to better connect, convert and unite team members and prospects. Avon, Tupperware, MonaVie, Melaleuca, Unicity, Boresha, Limu, ViSalus and many others have all put their trust in SolutionX.

Launched in 2009, UNITY provides an online home for marketers to capture and convert visiting prospects, gather in a community and share stories of success, get third party back-end data integrated with other business reports, and watch a wealth of training and tutorials on how to sell successfully.

For additional information or to schedule an interview please contact SolutionX (solutionx.com) at 801-224-4444 and info@solutionx.com or iCentris (icentris.com) at 801-383-3262 and info@iCentris.com

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