Best Software Launches New “For Life” Branding Campaign
Awareness Initiative Highlights Customer Benefits of Market-Leading Solutions from a Single, Trusted Vendor

BOSTON - October 01, 2002 - Best Software today announced a new corporate branding campaign designed to raise awareness about the company’s diverse portfolio of business management solutions, including Abra, ACT!, FAS, MAS90, MIP and Peachtree, among others. The new “For Life” campaign addresses the benefits small and mid-sized organizations can reap by contracting with a single, trusted vendor for all of their front- and back-office needs.

“In an increasingly risk-averse marketplace, organizations are seeking a single source for their business management needs,” said Ron Verni, chief executive officer at Best Software. “Many of these organizations are looking to highly -visible industry vendors because of the trust associated with their brand. Often, however, customers are finding that these large vendors are not truly equipped to serve small or mid-market companies.”

By acquiring several smaller, well-known companies with established products designed expressly for the small and mid-markets, Best Software is strongly positioned to go head-to-head with such companies as Microsoft and Intuit. To capture market share, Best will differentiate itself by offering business management solutions to address its customers ’ specialized needs. They will provide the same financial stability traditionally associated with competitors’ brands, combined with stronger customer support.

To communicate the strengths of the Best Software brand most effectively to prospective customers, the company will kick-off an awareness campaign this month that integrates all of its brands under a single master brand umbrella. Print advertising is at the center of the branding effort and will be employed to create the same level of trust in Best Software as customers have demonstrated for its individual product lines for more than 25 years, according to Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Nina Smith.

“Small and mid-sized business owners are increasingly busy balancing the demands of their business with those of their personal life,” said Smith. “Our new campaign invites readers to weigh the importance of certain business situations—like the demands of merging multiple databases—against the desire for a 40-hour work week and other ‘real-life inside of work’ situations.”

The “For Life ” campaign will launch in more than 30 publications, including BusinessWeek, Forbes, Accounting Technology and other major trade and business press targeting employees, owners, entrepreneurs and accountants in small and mid-sized organizations.

“This campaign will create awareness among our current and prospective customers in the small -to-mid-sized market and show that Best Software is capable of, and dedicated to, meeting their needs for the life of their business,” added Smith. “By integrating our market-leading product brands, we are better positioned to deliver on our promise to provide the business insights that contribute to our customers’ success. Branding and advertising efforts will help us effectively communicate this pledge.”

Three core messages will be delivered throughout all elements of the branding campaign:

• Insights for the Life of Your Business—Best Software understands the needs of small and mid-sized businesses. For more than a quarter century, we have focused relentlessly on the small and mid-sized business (SMB) marketplace. Our market-leading products like Peachtree, ACT! and MAS90 are used by millions of businesses today. We provide solutions that address the needs of SMB customers as their businesses grow.
• Front-Office and Back-Office Solutions—Accurate and flexible accounting systems are pivotal to operating a successful business but, as a business evolves, additional tools are required to manage commerce, customer relationships and employees. That is why Best Software has products to meet the front - and back-office needs of its customers, including HR/payroll, CRM, nonprofit accounting and fixed asset solutions, among others.
• Ease of Product Migration—While all companies start out in the small business space, many will grow. Best Software product lines work together, allowing customers to migrate easily to more sophisticated Best Software solutions as their needs change.

About Best Software
Best Software offers leading business management products and services that give over 1.7 million small and mid-sized customers in North America the insight for success throughout the life of their business. Its parent company, The Sage Group plc (London: SGE.L), supports three million customers worldwide and has revenue of $815 million. For more than 25 years, Best Software has delivered easy-to-use, scalable and customizable applications through its portfolio of leading brands, including Abra, ACT!, CPASoftware, FAS, MAS 90, MIP, Peachtree and SalesLogix, among many others. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.bestsoftware.com/moreinfo or call (866) 308-BEST.

Products Offered

MAS 90 & 200 MAS 90 is an industry-leading accounting, distribution, manufacturing and e-business management software solution for small to medium-sized companies with 10 to 500 employees. Recommended by more CPAs than any other application in its class, this product suite offers a broad selection of feature-rich modules that empower customers with the ability to manage and grow their businesses more effectively. A more powerful addition to the product line is MAS 200. This client/server application incorporates thin-client technology, resulting in more efficiently distributed processing, high performance, enhanced data integrity and reliability, remote access support, and scalability. MAS 200 is also available on the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database management platform.

MAS 500 MAS 500 (formerly Best Enterprise Suite) is a highly reliable, robust and integrated series of applications covering all areas of business for the enterprise of 20 to 1,000 employees. These areas include customer relationship management (CRM), accounting and financials, project accounting, distribution, manufacturing, human resources, payroll, enterprise reporting, and electronic commerce. Built from the ground up for the needs of an integrated enterprise, MAS 500 is flexible, scalable and full-featured to deliver a total business management solution.

HR & Timekeeping Best Software is an industry leader in delivering powerful, easy-to-use human resource and payroll management solutions. HR & Payroll solutions from Best Software offer a wide variety of affordable solutions to meet your organization's changing business needs and daily operations. With solutions that include comprehensive payroll processing; recruiting; training and benefits administration, Best Software can help you get the best results from these elements of your operations.

CRM Products Business begins and ends with your customers, and your ability to follow through on requests and communicate in a timely, consistent manner can make or break your chances for success. To that end, software industry analysts are predicting that customer contact and relationship management will become the largest growth segment in the software market, and will have a lasting impact on how companies conduct business in the future. Best Software understands that the way you connect with your customers is one of the most important aspects of your business. That's why Birdwell & Associates has made it our business to integrate customer relationship management (CRM) systems that are designed to help you keep your customers satisfied.

Services Offered

Client Support Services Birdwell & Associates and Best Software offer support solutions that ensures that you can be secure in your investment, and in running your business. The cooperation between vendor and partner offers you a collaborative support solution - balancing the service of Birdwell & Associates and Best Software.

Training Training is essential to realizing the value of your solution, increasing its productivity benefits and speeding a return on your investment. We make it easy for you to develop the skills you need to become productive as quickly as possible by including basic training features within your implementation plan. Once you've learned how to use your solution, you can boost productivity through continuing education opportunities from classroom, to CD-ROM, to the Internet, to highly personalized on-site training. With Birdwell & Associates, you'll find training where and when you need it.

Web Design We know from our extensive experience and expertise, the key to success in any web project is in the planning phase. Your web development process will begin with a complete analysis and detailed design proposal prior to the actual production and implementation of your site. Our experts can seamlessly integrate the web shopping cart with the back office distribution system to eliminate the double-entry of transaction data.

Management Consulting Services Consultants can give many complicated answers when asked what they do. Our answer is simple - We look at business through our clients’ eyes, and we do whatever it takes to help them achieve their business goals and overcome their daily challenges. For detailed information on our service areas, click here. (For industry-specific information, use the "Solutions" link on the main menu.)