NEW YORK, July 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Media Buying Business under Alloy Media + Marketing has announced new ownership under Prospect Capital Corporation (Nasdaq:PSEC), a publicly traded investment company with more than $1 billion in market capitalization.
Effective immediately, the company will operate under the new name re:fuel (www.refuelnow.com), with continued focus on print media buying, out-of-home and sampling services centered on targeted and thriving consumer segments including youth, military, multicultural and local audiences, according to President and Chief Executive Officer, Andrew T. Sawyer, who previously led the division under Alloy.
re:fuel is a leading marketing firm that develops and deploys scalable media and promotional solutions for a wide range of brands, including half of the Fortune 100, to effectively connect with niche youth, military, and multicultural consumer markets. The company provides marketers and advertisers access to these difficult-to-reach demographics through targeted publications, out-of-home assets, on-site marketing and sampling programs. Over its multi-decade history in the media industry, the company has developed deep vendor relationships with colleges and universities, all major military bases, and key multicultural partners throughout the U.S.
Mr. Sawyer served as President of the company prior to its acquisition by Alloy in 2002. He continued to lead as Executive Vice President, significantly growing the niche media buying services during his tenure. Mr. Sawyer brings to re:fuel an established team of sales and marketing leaders who served under Alloy's business for more than a decade delivering stellar client service and customer value.
"I am incredibly proud of the exceptional executive, operations, and sales teams we cultivated within Alloy's Media Buying Business. The marked growth the business experienced under Alloy is testament to the expertise of a strong group of dedicated professionals who join re:fuel energized for our next phase," stated Andy Sawyer, President and CEO of re:fuel.
"re:fuel remains fully focused on servicing our clients with optimal solutions that respond to an ever-changing marketing environment," Mr. Sawyer added.
Additionally, re:fuel will continue to field nationally syndicated surveys addressing the mindset and behaviors of the college, military, and multicultural consumer segments. Under the company's direction, the College Explorer stands as the largest national survey addressing spending and behavioral trends of the influential college student. Now entering its 11th year, new findings from the College Explorer survey, fielded in spring 2011, will be released in early August. Other current and available research include syndicated surveys offering valuable insights into media and spending habits of the military market and college newspaper readership.
Key facts:
- Multicultural: According to the 2010 Census, the Hispanic population now stands at more than 50 million and grew 43% since the 2000 survey. Hispanic population growth was responsible for more than half of the total U.S. population growth in the last decade. However, the fastest-growing ethnic group was the Asian population which grew 43.3% to 14.7 million. The black population grew 12.3% to nearly 39 million.
- College: The college population in the U.S. continues to mark strong gains in both size and spending. Total enrollment has grown to 19.6 million students (up 12% from five years earlier), while discretionary spending has reached $76 billion (up 25% in the same period), according to unreleased data from the 2011 College Explorer.
- Military: The military market continues to be an important consumer target comprised of young, family-oriented men and women who are educated and employed. Today's military community includes 1.4 million active duty personnel, nearly 2 million spouses and children, more than 880,000 civilian employees, and more than a million reservists.
Mr. Sawyer concluded, "We look forward to growing re:fuel and extending our market expertise to our clients as the power of our niche consumer segments continues to grow in size and market influence."
About re:fuel
re:fuel, a former division of Alloy Media + Marketing, is a leading marketing firm connecting a wide range of brands, including half of the Fortune 100, with niche and thriving consumer segments through scalable and impactful media and promotional solutions. With decades of expertise serving youth, multicultural, military, and local audiences, re:fuel deploys brand campaigns that speak to these consumers in their world, throughout their day. re:fuel has locations nationwide, with headquarters in New York City, and offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, CA, Harrisburg, PA, and Cranbury, NJ.
The re:fuel logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=10017