uPlanet Selects MessageMedia

planet U Selects MessageMedia to Expand Its E-Messaging Efforts for Its Flagship Internet Coupon Service

planet U Outsources E-Messaging Program to More Efficiently
Manage the Company's Rapid Growth

Oct. 5, 1999--MessageMedia Inc. (Nasdaq: MESG), a leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services, announced today it will provide e-messaging services for planet U, the premier provider of targeted Internet promotions services for the consumer packaged goods industry. Initially, planet U's registered consumers will receive timely notification of targeted offers from planet U's flagship service, called U-pons(TM) Internet Coupons along with additional content that members will find useful.

U-pons customers can register to receive e-mail newsletters at any of the partner sites operated by planet U. After completing a short profile when they join, consumers select offers they wish to receive from a targeted list. planet U targets offers to members based on their profile, usage of the system and actual purchase behavior in-store. Offers are distributed electronically to consumers via their frequent shopper card at participating retailers, or via the US Mail.

MessageMedia will handle e-mail list management as well as enable planet U to deliver newsletters on a more timely and frequent basis. MessageMedia's scaleable service capabilities will handle the
increasingly large volumes of e-messages for planet U's growing customer base.

"As a result of the tremendous success of our current e-messaging program, planet U recognized the urgency to expand the efforts to a larger audience. We were faced with the challenge of having the resources to fulfill our e-messaging requirements," said Bob Egan, executive vice president for planet U. "MessageMedia's expertise and breadth of services enable planet U to maximize relationships with its current and future customers in an extremely cost-effective way."

"A sophisticated Internet company like planet U shares our value of customer relationships and the importance of maintaining consistent, timely communication with customers," said Robin Green, vice president of sales and marketing for MessageMedia. "By outsourcing it's e-messaging initiatives to MessageMedia, planet U can keep focused on it's core business of Internet promotions without having to invest time and money on technical staffing and processing of e-mails."

About planet U

Founded in 1996, planet U (www.planetU.com) is best known for its groundbreaking "paperless" U-pons on-line system, which enables consumers to select promotional offers from a retailer web site and automatically redeem them by presenting their frequent shopper card at their favorite retail store checkout counter. For retailers without the necessary point of sale systems or frequent shopper program, or for third party marketer web sites, planet U offers its "Net to Direct Mail" U-pons solution which allows consumers to visit a participating site and select offers that are distributed via the US Mail within a few days. The company is based in San Francisco, California.

About MessageMedia Inc.

MessageMedia (Nasdaq: MESG) is a leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of outsource messaging services for information delivery, e-commerce services, permission-based direct marketing, ongoing customer communications and real-time customer feedback solutions using industry standard Internet protocols. MessageMedia's customer portfolio includes clients from the financial services, publishing, direct marketing, retailing, software and electronic commerce industries. Clients include E*TRADE, AOL, Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GeoCities, Intuit, CMP Media, Barclays Bank, EDS, CNBC, Universal Studios and Bertelsmann.
Investors in MessageMedia include SOFTBANK and its affiliates, which constitute the world's largest investors in the Internet and Pequot Capital Management, a Connecticut-based
research-intensive investment firm.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the integration of a new senior management team, MessageMedia's limited operating history, the integration of recent acquisitions, risks associated with pending and future acquisitions, the anticipated fluctuations in operating results, the uncertain acceptance of new services being offered, and undeveloped and rapidly changing market and other factors detailed in MessageMedia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MessageMedia undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

MessageMedia Inc. 6060 Spine Road, Boulder, Colo. 80301 Phone: (303) 440-7550; Fax: (303)
440-0303; http://www.messagemedia.com

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