zanox Initiates Code of Conduct for its Global Network of Affiliates

Leading online marketing company aims to raise industry standards with an International code of behaviour for its advertisers, publishers, and service providers worldwide

September 24th, 2008 – zanox, a global leader in performance-based online marketing, today announced the company has released a comprehensive and detailed code of conduct for its global affiliate network (see http://www.zanox.com/de/zanox_code_of_conduct) as an industry measure toward establishing a rigorous benchmark for the affiliate marketing sector worldwide. Conceived as a an industry-wide call to action, the zanox Code of Conduct will be implemented across the company’s entire network, including advertisers, publishers and service providers.

The zanox Code of Conduct governs clear quality standards, content descriptions, technical functionality and sanctions for potential infringements in a way that is completely transparent to all participants. In order to develop the new Code of Conduct, zanox referenced numerous international standards such as the ICRA vocabulary, which was established by the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI). Additionally, as zanox’s global footprint spans more than 200 countries worldwide, the company also took into account the different national legal systems and privacy standards of its global target markets.

“As the market leader in Germany, where our headquarters is based, and a global player with more than one million sales partners worldwide, we feel that we’re in a position of special responsibility for the affiliate marketing sector”, said Thomas Hessler, founder and CEO of ZANOX.de AG. “With the zanox Code of Conduct, we have the opportunity to promote effective quality standards and are proud to stand up for the entire industry.

Since the company’s founding, zanox has been dedicated to promoting ethical practices and has taken measures to ensure compliance to its code of behaviour, including continuously developing and implementing abuse prevention systems. In addition, zanox created a third-party legal framework and established an internal zanox NetworkWatch team to consistently monitor all activity within their extensive global network 24 hours a day.

About zanox

ZANOX.de AG is leading the German market for performance-based online marketing and has established a strong presence in all core markets around the world. More than 2000 prestigious international companies rely on the zanox affiliate network and sector-specific expertise in all sectors where innovation is taking place, such as retail and shopping, travel, T.I.M.E.S. (telecommunications, internet, media, entertainment, software) and financial services.

Affiliate programs provide companies with global solutions for efficiently marketing their products and services on the Internet. zanox attaches great importance to the quality and the continuing development of its affiliate sites, whose owners are in addition being motivated by fast and transparent compensation. zanox’s technological lead becomes manifest in its currently running 1 million euro idea contest for new applications based on its affiliate web services.

In addition to its 24 branches in foreign countries, zanox’s international focus is strengthened by its Global Alliance Partner (GAP) programme. Furthermore, in June of 2008, the GAP campus opened its doors at zanox headquarters in Berlin to serve as an international meeting point for developers and designers.

Since 2007, 60 % of zanox have been owned by Axel Springer AG and 40 % by PubliGroupe. Axel Springer AG is Germany’s largest newspaper house, ranks third among her magazine publishers and is also one of the leading European media companies. PubliGroupe AG is an independent, internationally leading group offering marketing, sales and services to media and advertisers, which it assists in the implementation of their communication and media strategies by delivering marketing and technology services to them.