Dear Valued Customer:

I'd like to share some news about MDR’s recent acquisition of QED, an education marketing services provider, formerly owned by Scholastic Inc. I’m excited about the opportunities for the combined entity and hope that you are as well, as I believe that this acquisition will provide significant benefits to you.

I know you make choices every day about where to invest your marketing dollars to improve ROI and that there are alternatives in the marketplace for our services. We also know that if our services become too costly and they don’t deliver results, you’ll choose to invest in alternative marketing and sales channels. MDR has a long history of helping customers find new ways to make your marketing programs more effective and profitable. I’m confident this acquisition can help you save money with better information and more efficient data management opportunities, while also expanding options for us to work together to build the best-performing campaigns.

We’re committed to providing the highest quality products at competitive prices to help you get measurable results from your sales and marketing dollars. The synergies from the combined strengths of both MDR and QED will result in our ability to more quickly and cost effectively serve your needs:

• Building on MDR’s and QED’s combined expertise in the education market, we’ll be able to provide you with a more robust education marketing database earlier in the year with more coverage, especially at the early childhood, Pre-K, and K-5 grade levels.
• Expanding both organization’s world-class customer service model with more sales consultation opportunities across time zones will deliver even better service and results for you.
• The combined product suite will offer a broader range of integrated and coordinated sales and marketing solutions for the education market, providing you with better offerings to grow your business in this tough economic climate.

The net result for our customers, our business, and our team members is continued growth through this acquisition. Our commitment is stronger than ever to the core principles of quality data and great customer service. This acquisition will enable us to expand on this commitment by providing you with a complete spectrum of marketing services—from creative to market research to data analytics and
e-marketing solutions, all driven by a strong team of experts who can help you solve your marketing challenges and improve your ROI.

We expect a seamless integration of our businesses over the next several weeks. Our primary goal during this time is to remain focused on your needs and to provide the best possible products and services. In anticipation of some of your questions about service and support, please review our detailed Q&A. Look for more updates in the coming weeks, and reach out to your sales representative with any questions or services you need now.

Thank you for your business. We look forward to continuing to help you grow in the education market.

Best wishes,

Fady Khairallah
President, MDR