Publishers Take Back Control of Their Ad Revenue with FAST AdMomentum

Oslo, Norway and Needham, Massachusetts, United States , 2007-02-05

Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), a leading developer of search technologies, today unveiled FAST AdMomentum(TM), a private-label contextual advertising and monetization platform for online media companies, retailers and telecommunications service providers. FAST AdMomentum was developed in close cooperation with leading online publishers to meet the growing demand for a more profitable and flexible alternative to third-party contextual advertising services. FAST AdMomentum has already proven itself in trials and in production, and will be generally available later this quarter. FAST will spotlight AdMomentum later this week at FASTforward, its annual business and technology conference.

"There's no question that search technology and performance advertising have dramatically transformed the world of publishing, but for many publishers the transformation has not paid off as well as it should," said John M. Lervik, CEO of FAST. "Publishers want to maintain control of their revenue, serving their advertisers and audiences more effectively, and this has been difficult to do with third-party platforms. With FAST AdMomentum, we give that control and independence back to publishers - enabling them for the first time to fully monetize their assets without having to share revenues or risk customer disintermediation."

"Online ad revenue drives the digital economy, and no one has a lock on that revenue stream today," said Sue Feldman, IDC's Vice President for Search and Digital Marketplace Technologies. "Online advertising - particularly contextual advertising - continues to soar. IDC believes that large publishers and ad networks can seize a significant share of this revenue. FAST AdMomentum provides the infrastructure for publishers to manage and monetize their online content. It's a digital marketplace in a box."

Publishers need a "revenue engine"

This joint development with online publishers around the globe has resulted in a powerful solution that tightly aligns with the business and technological requirements of this sector. These early customers have responded enthusiastically to the platform's ability to provide a wide assortment of options for monetizing content on their sites and for creating their own ad networks.

"Publishers know their content, their audiences and their advertisers' needs best - key insights necessary to compete in the online world," said Perry Solomon, VP and GM, Media Solutions at FAST. "But to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace, they need a revenue engine, not just a search engine. The R&D; that FAST has committed toward the development of that revenue engine will pay off for publishers, growing their revenues and reversing the tide of ad dollars that are going to third-party services."

"Contextual advertising continues to drive the advertising economy, and publishers everywhere are looking for ways to deliver more qualified leads to their advertisers," said Stephen Baker, CEO of Search at Reed Business. "As a long-time vendor and partner to media companies, FAST understands this need. We are pleased with the direction they are taking."

Purpose-built for online publishers and directories
FAST has tailored the development of the platform to meet the specific needs of online media companies, retailers and telecommunications service providers. Among other features, the platform offers customers the ability to sell locally and nationally, a self-service environment for their advertisers, and multiple ranking algorithms and innovative customer interfaces to better match the needs of both their audiences and advertisers.

"To meet the needs of our customers, we have to meet the needs of their customers - the readers and advertisers that support their businesses," said Dylan Fuller, Senior Product Director at FAST. "There's a reason why contextual advertising has done so well with readers and advertisers, and now publishers will be able to make the experience even better. They know their customers better than anyone else, and with the right tools they can better serve them."

About FAST

FAST creates the real-time search and business intelligence solutions that are behind the scenes at the world's best- known companies with the most demanding information challenges. FAST's flexible and scalable integrated technology platform and personalized portal connects users, regardless of medium, to the relevant information they need.

FAST is headquartered in Norway and is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The FAST Group operates globally with presence in Europe, the United States, Asia, Australia, the Americas, and the Middle East. For further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.

(C) 2007 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer, FAST, Adaptive Information Warehouse, AIW, AdMomentum, Impulse and Hubway are trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. The FAST logo, FAST ESP, FAST InStream, FAST InPerspective, FAST ProPublish, FAST Contextual Insight and FAST Unity are registered trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved.
Contact

CONTACT: FAST Giovanni Rodriguez +1 650-279-8415 [email protected] or Europe: Carine Zeier +47 23 01 12 00 [email protected] , ,