DMA Names Best Buy and Zurich Financial Services 2009 Marketers of the Year During DMA09 in San Diego

San Diego, CA, October 20, 2009 — The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) today honored both Best Buy and Zurich Financial Services with its 2009 Marketer of the Year Award during a ceremony at the San Diego Convention Center, held during the DMA09 Conference & Exhibition, the Global Event for Integrated Marketing.

Each year, the DMA Marketer of the Year award honors either a company or an individual for outstanding achievements in the multichannel direct marketing process. This year, John Greco, DMA’s president & CEO, presented the award to both companies for their innovations, leadership, and work that exhibits corporate and environmental responsibility.

Best Buy’s commitment to new ideas and focus on enhancing customers’ enjoyment of technology has been instrumental in making them a leader in the retail and marketing communities.

The transformation of Zurich Financial Services from a traditional insurance player to a customer-centric enterprise has garnered them much success as a pioneer in the community at large.

Past DMA Marketers of the Year:

2008 eBay

2007 Microsoft-MSN

2006 Yahoo! Inc.

2005 David Neeleman, JetBlue Airways

2004 Jason Ackerman, FreshDirect

2003 Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson, Paxson Communications Corporation

2002 Shelly Lazarus, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide

2001 Thomas O. Ryder, The Reader’s Digest Association

2000 Janice Brandt, America Online, Inc.

1999 Jay Walker, Priceline.com

1998 Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Marketing 1to1/Peppers & Rogers Group

1997 Susan Hendricks, Metromail Corporation

1996 Jim McCann, 1-800-FLOWERS

1995 Jack E. Rosenfeld, Hanover Direct, Inc.

1994 Richard Wolter, The Columbia House Company

1993 Jack Miller, Quill Corporation

1992 Jerome W. Pickholz, Ogilvy & Mather Direct

1991 Robin B. Smith, Publishers Clearing House

1990 Richard L. Benson, The Benson Organization

1989 Stan Rapp & Tom Collins, Rapp & Collins Inc.

1988 Walter Weintz, The Weintz Company, Inc.

1987 Rose Harper, The Kleid Group

1986 Alexander C. Hoffman, Doubleday & Company

1985 Harold L. Schwartz, Montgomery Ward & Co.

1984 Henry C. Cowen, The Cowen Group, Inc.

1983 Robert J. Teufel, Rodale Press

1982 David Heneberry, RCA Selecta Vision Video Discs

1981 Joseph Sugarman, JS&A

1980 Leon A. Gorman, L.L. Bean

1979 Victor Sawdon, The Sawdon Company, Inc.

1978 Robert B. Clarke, Grolier Enterprises, Inc.

1977 Nat Ross, Lincoln Graphic Arts, Inc.

1976 Lou Kislik, Publishers Clearing House

1975 Cornelius Keating, CBS/Columbia House

1974 Joan Manley, Time-Life Books

1973 Joseph Segal, The Franklin Mint

1972 Jerome S. Hardy, The Dreyfus Fund

1971 Herman “Sonny” Schwartz, Fingerhut Corporation

1970 Leonard Carlson, Sunset House

1969 Walter Hitesman, Reader’s Digest

1968 Raymond C. Hagel, Macmillan Inc.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Mexico, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $45 billion in annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy, Audiovisions, The Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster, Pacific Sales, The Phone House, and Speakeasy. Approximately 155,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in its communities. Community partnership is central to the way business is done at Best Buy. In fiscal 2009, Best Buy donated a combined $33.4 million to improve the vitality of the communities where its employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.

About Zurich Financial Services

Zurich Financial Services Group (Zurich) is an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Founded in 1872, the Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It employs approximately 60,000 people serving customers in more than 170 countries.

About Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

The Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org) is the leading global trade association of businesses and nonprofit organizations using and supporting multichannel direct marketing tools and techniques. DMA advocates standards for responsible marketing, promotes relevance as the key to reaching consumers with desirable offers, and provides cutting-edge research, education, and networking opportunities to improve results throughout the end-to-end direct marketing process. Founded in 1917, DMA today represents more than 3,100 companies from dozens of vertical industries in the US and 48 other nations, including nearly half of the Fortune 100 companies, as well as nonprofit organizations.

In 2009, marketers – commercial and nonprofit – will spend $149.3 billion on direct marketing, which accounts for 54.3% of all ad expenditures in the United States. Measured against total US sales, these advertising expenditures will generate approximately $1.783 trillion in incremental sales. In 2009, direct marketing accounted for 8.3% of total US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly support 8.4 million other jobs, accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

The Power of Direct: Relevance. Responsibility. Results.

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