CONTACT:
Sears Public Relations And Communications
(847) 286-8371
Sears Joins Forces With Americans to Fulfill Holiday Wishes of Military Servicemen and Women
Sears Selects Sojern to Support Fundraising Efforts by Bringing 'Heroes at
Home' to Travelers Across the Country
OMAHA, Neb., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Sojern, Inc., the first company to
bring customized, destination-oriented content to travelers on boarding
passes, today announced that Sears will utilize the Sojern advertising
platform for its Heroes at Home campaign. Sears selected Sojern's
innovative approach to encourage airline travelers during the busy holiday
travel season to lend their support to military servicemen and women
through the Heroes at Home Wish Registry.
With Sojern's boarding pass advertisements, travelers can learn more
about helping military personnel and their families this holiday season.
Sears Heroes at Home ads will be displayed on leading airline boarding
passes now through December 31, 2008. Sears created the Heroes at Home Wish
Registry to help make the wishes of members of the military come true for
the holidays and enable Americans to provide a direct 'thank you' to them
through an online donation.
This fall, more than 30,000 active military members registered to
participate in the Wish Registry at Sears.com. Sears heard from U.S.
Service members around the world -- ranging from one soldier just wishing
to spend the holidays with his family, to another wishing for simple items
after his family's home was destroyed in a fire.
"Sears' long standing commitment to military servicemen and women has
driven the company to explore unique ways to inspire Americans to show
their appreciation and give back. As one of the first companies to enable
mobile giving through texting capabilities, it is clear that Sears looks
beyond traditional advertising platforms to find opportunities to connect
with Americans and spread the message of saying 'thanks' to members of the
military," Gordon Whitten, CEO and founder of Sojern. "Partnering with
Sojern is a prime example of selecting advertising that can reach the
largest audience in an innovative setting. We're honored to be helping
Sears with its Heroes at Home Wish Registry efforts and believe the
boarding pass is the perfect medium to deliver their message during this
busy holiday travel season."
Americans, who choose to donate to the Wish Registry, can do so on
Sears.com through Dec. 24. Upon making a donation, consumers can include a
note to the families and wish them happy holidays. Donations to the Wish
Registry are not tax deductible and will be used to purchase Sears' gift
cards which will be distributed equally to registered families.
Active service personnel who participate in the Heroes at Home Wish
Registry will remain anonymous to ensure compliance with the military's
standards of conduct regulations.
Last year, Sears Holdings launched the Heroes at Home program to
provide support to service members, veterans and their families through
joint efforts with various nonprofit organizations, including Rebuilding
Together, Inc. Since the program's inception, Sears Holdings has helped to
rebuild or renovate more than 200 homes and has raised more than $5 million
through the Heroes at Home program for Rebuilding Together.
Launched in July 2008, Sojern is the first and only company to bring
together the leading airlines with local and national advertisers to
provide customized, destination-specific information on the online and
printed boarding passes. Leveraging the popularity of online check-in and
print-at-home functionality, Sojern enables airlines to provide additional
value to their passengers while also giving advertisers the opportunity to
reach a powerful demographic. Since launching, Sojern has served more than
100 million ad impressions and continues to strengthen its position in the
market.
About Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation (Nasdaq: SHLD) is the nation's fourth
largest broadline retailer with over $50 billion in annual revenues and
approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United
States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as
well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive
repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman
and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels
as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and
Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are
offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart and in Canada by Sears Canada. The
company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than
13 million service calls made annually. For more information, please visit
Sears Holdings' website at http://www.searsholdings.com.
About Sojern, Inc.
Sojern, Inc. is an Omaha-based organization that is partnering with the
airline and advertising industries to enhance the travel experience by
providing destination specific information and offers via the boarding
passes that travelers obtain through the airline's web check-in process.
Since its founding in September 2007, Sojern has secured partnerships with
leading U.S. airlines including American Airlines, Continental Airlines,
Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways. The
company is funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trident Capital. Sojern's
patents are currently pending. For more information please visit
http://www.sojern.com.
SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation
Web site: http://www.searsholdings.com http://www.sojern.com
CONTACT: Tom Aiello of Sears Holdings Corporation,
+1-847-286-7387, TAIELL1@searshc.com; or Susan Booth of Sojern,
Inc., +1-402-996-2027, susan.booth@sojern.com
