LinkShare Press Releases

Bento Box and New Deep Linking Browser Tool Showcased at LinkShare Symposium East 2009

Early-stage features and 3rd party plug-ins are now available all in one place for Affiliate Marketers

New York -- June 18, 2009 -- LinkShare (www.linkshare.com), a leading pay-per-action marketing network provider will showcase the LinkShare Bento Box, an innovative showcase where early-stage features and 3rd party plug-ins are available, and its new Deep Linking LinkGenerator Bookmarklet at the upcoming LinkShare Symposium East, which will take place on June 23, 2009 at Chelsea Piers in New York City.

Continuing to redefine the affiliate marketing industry, LinkShare’s Bento Box is designed to satisfy the new technology cravings of any affiliate marketer. With an assortment of delicious applications and tools, the Bento Box features:

• Plug-ins that enable you to get links without logging in to the LinkShare Publisher Dashboard, such as a Mac Dashboard widget or plug-ins for WordPress
• Tools in Beta, like the Deep Linking U.S. LinkGenerator Bookmarklet
• 3rd Party tools that integrate LinkShare Web Services, like those from Toldya where one can create portable stores for a blog or website.
  

The LinkGenerator Bookmarklet is the newest addition to the Bento Box and allows a publisher to generate a deep link with the click of a button, without logging in to the Publisher Dashboard.

“We used LinkShare's new LinkGenerator bookmarklet on Offers.com to make great deep links for Orbitz's promotions,” said Howard Schaffer, Director of Marketing, Offers.com. “The new tool saved us time and we will be using it more in the future to build links for Offers.com.”

With this new and innovative tool, a publisher enters their Web Services Token and then click-and-drags the bookmarklet to his/her browser toolbar. Once on the toolbar, a publisher can go to an advertiser page then click the bookmarklet, and will get back a tracking link to that page – creating a deep link in seconds. The U.S. feature is based on a successful launch and positive response from the UK affiliate market industry – check out this LinkShare YouTube Demo to see how it works.

“No other competitor is currently showcasing all of their available applications – including those in beta form – all in one place. The Bento Box is a playground for all parties in our affiliate marketing network and allows us to be more open and creative with all of our partners,” said Jonathan Levine, co-president of LinkShare. “This is a great differentiator for LinkShare – a platform that is changing the face of affiliate marketing by creating an environment of openness and collaboration across the network.”

The Bento Box and LinkGenerator Bookmarklet, along with new research on the habits of the “recession shopper” – a new online consumer demographic – are among the highlights of this year’s Symposium East 2009.

Symposium East 2009 Golden Link Awards
LinkShare announced the finalists for this year’s sold out Symposium Event 2009 Golden Link Awards. Categories include: Innovative Publisher of the Year, Innovative Advertiser of the Year, Best New Advertiser, Best New Publisher, Advertiser's Choice Award, Publisher's Choice Award, International Advertiser of the Year, Best Communication Strategy, MVP – Most Valuable Publisher for Lead Generation, Technology Genius Award, Best Distribution Strategy and Performance Marketing's Most Vocal Advocate. Winners will be announced at the luncheon hosted by Joan Rivers.

For the complete list of finalists, visit: http://www.linkshare.com/events/golden_link_2009/golden_link_finalists/.

Additional References

• Check out our LinkShare blog: www.linkshareblog.com
• Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LinkShareBlog
• 2008 LinkShare Golden Link Awards on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/5ctylo
• LinkShare on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/linkshareblog/
• LinkShare International: http://www.linkshare.com/about/international/

About LinkShare Corporation
LinkShare Corporation provides ecommerce businesses with a vast, high quality pay per action marketing network, along with expert consultative services and patented technology. LinkShare's cost-efficient pay per action (PPA) affiliate, search and lead generation campaigns acquire new customers, increase revenue and drive results. LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and prominent companies doing business online, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express and Avon Products. LinkShare was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, London and Tokyo.  For more information, please visit: www.linkshare.com.

About Rakuten
Headquartered in Tokyo, Rakuten is one of the world's largest and most comprehensive Internet service companies, providing leading services in e-commerce, portal & media, travel, financial services, and professional sports. Rakuten focuses on new business development and increasing its scope in order to improve and diversify service offerings. Rakuten is a publicly traded company in Japan (JASDAQ: 4755).

Media Contacts:

Mark Kirschner
LinkShare
646-943-8359
mkirschner@linkshare.com

Kristin Parran
Blanc & Otus Public Relations
617-451-6070
kparran@blancandotus.com