News

Repeat winners lead CityXpress Golden Auction Awards for July-December '06

Bi-annual awards honor newspapers for excellent event auction performance

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - June 5, 2007 - CityXpress Corp., the leading provider of event auctions to newspapers in the Americas, Europe and Australasia, today announced the winners of its coveted bi-annual Golden Auction Awards for July-December 2006. The list includes five newspapers which have won multiple awards, as well as first-time winners from the U.S. and international markets.

The Golden Auction Awards honor newspapers that conduct the most successful auctions, as measured by a set of key performance criteria: total revenue generated, percentage of items sold, and lowest ad discount ratio. The awards are presented to North American and international newspapers in each of four circulation bands. In addition, the newspaper generating the overall highest revenue is recognized annually.

The winning newspapers are:

North America

International

The Vancouver Sun and The Province have claimed the top revenue award for three consecutive years. The Oklahoman also stands out among repeat winners, having won an award for each of its three auctions to date. The Mercury News and Billings Gazette have each won two awards. The Daily Herald, El Tiempo, Skånemedia and Örnsköldsviks Allehanda/Tidningen Ångermanland are first-time winners.

"We're particularly pleased to see our clients taking home their second or third awards. This demonstrates that they are learning from their experience and refining the auction program so it works best for them. It also shows that auctions have lasting value for newspapers which commit to the program year after year," said Phil Dubois, president and CEO of CityXpress Corp. "We salute the commitment and effort of all of our winners."

Among North American newspapers, The Vancouver Sun and The Province earned approximately $3.25 million USD ($3,628,567 CAD) in their 2006 auction, attracting 77 new and revived accounts among 299 participating advertisers. The Mercury News grew its auction revenue by 45 percent over 2005 to $854,334, and The Oklahoman earned $497,262 while attracting 90 new advertisers. With weekday circulation of just over 50,000, The Daily Herald generated an impressive $304,903 in revenue while selling 75 percent of its auction products. The Billings Gazette grew revenue from its annual gift certificate auction for the third consecutive year to $156,725.

"We are extremely proud and honored to have won this award for three consecutive years. The success we have achieved speaks to the dedication and hard work from our sales representatives, including the support staff who worked on the Auction Mart program," said Tony Guarascio, retail sales manager for the Sun/Province. "Focusing on new clients and a better product mix from our existing customers benefited all who participated in the auction."

"We're honored to receive this award for the second year. Our fall 2006 auction was far more successful than we anticipated and all the credit goes to our sales team," said Jeff Kiel, vice president advertising of The Mercury News. "They did a spectacular job of targeting and presenting and that was the key to our improvement. Our focus for this year is to continue to improve our targeting and to increase our number of bidders."

"Our Bid and Buy auctions continue to be a successful source of new business development for us, as non-advertisers use their earned auction credits to try new products and current advertisers buy deeper into our product line," said Christopher Reen, director of advertising and marketing for The Oklahoman. "As we approach our fourth auction, we continue to refine our model. Our account executives, customers and bidders get it, and look forward to bigger and better events each time."

"I believe all of our CityXpress auctions have been successful, when considering the amount of incremental advertising business they generate from new and existing accounts, and the heightened profile they give our newspaper and website brands in the marketplace," said Stephen Hawes, advertising director of The Daily Herald. "Having completed four annual auctions, we've managed to refine the process and benefited from the experience our sales team has gained in soliciting the right kind of businesses."

Introducing newspaper auctions to the Latin American market, El Tiempo sold 86 percent of products offered to earn about $733,700 USD (2.516.547.609 Colombian pesos) in its first event. In Sweden, Skånemedia AB, publishers of Kristianstadsbladet, Ystads Allehanda and Trelleborgs Allehanda, generated approximately $427,800 USD (2,947,470 krona) in its first auction, while Örnsköldsviks Allehanda/Tidningen Ångermanland sold 84 percent of products offered in their inaugural auction.

"With help from CityXpress, we have given our sales organisation a new tool and a way for our existing and new customers to feel the strength of combining web and print. Furthermore, the auction is profitable," said Johan Ungesson, marketing manager of Kristianstadsbladet. "We're looking forward to another successful auction later this autumn."

"We are very pleased with the results of the auction," said Thomas Östlund, sales manager of Allehanda Media. "It is exciting to be able to provide businesses, readers and our newspapers with an activity where everyone feels a winner and which creates excitement and engagement."

In general, the key factors in the success of an event auction are offering the right mix of attractive products, strategic promotion of the auction through a variety of channels, and a well-prepared and organized team, said Dubois.

All newspapers that conduct a CityXpress auction are eligible for the bi-annual awards, which are based on auctions held between January and June and between July and December. Each winning newspaper will receive a crystal gavel from CityXpress in recognition of its outstanding auction performance.

Newspaper auctions are online events staged by newspapers with goods and services provided by local retailers in exchange for exposure through the auction and advertising credits that are earned if the retailer's items sell. Auctions help newspapers attract new advertisers and generate incremental revenue from existing advertisers, while boosting in-store traffic for vendors and producing good deals for consumers.

About CityXpress Corp.
CityXpress Corp. (www.cityxpress.com) is a leading developer of revenue-generating products and programs for newspapers and the broadcast media. Founded in 1999, CityXpress works with clients across North and South America, Europe and Australasia to stage local event and continuous auctions, as well as develop online classified marketplaces. CityXpress provides its customers with its hosted software, sales training programs, and customer support services. The company currently provides services to newspaper companies including MediaNews Group, McClatchy, Gannett, Lee Enterprises, Scripps, the New York Times Company, the Tribune Company, CanWest, the Northcliffe Newspapers Group and Fairfax. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, CityXpress maintains an international office in London.

Media Contact:
Michael Togyi
CityXpress
mtogyi@cityxpress.com
604.638.3825

This press release and/or communication contains forward-looking statements regarding the Company's business strategy and future plans of operations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, such as the Company's capital requirements and other liquidity concerns, fluctuations in demand for newspaper auctions and for the Company's other products, competition, technological developments, and other risks and factors. These and other important factors may cause actual results and performance to differ materially from the results expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company and speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not assume, and expressly disclaims any obligation or duty to update or revise any of the information presented herein.