ASCEND MARKETING EXPANDS,
OPENS SECOND OFFICE IN GRAPEVINE

Fort Worth Firm Cites Rapid Growth in Outsourcing of Marketing Functions

FORT WORTH, TX – January 9, 2007 – Ascend Marketing, a marketing firm specializing in sales support programs, announced the opening of a new office in Grapevine to complement the company’s corporate facility in Fort Worth. The two-year-old firm attributes its rapid expansion to the growing trend toward outsourcing marketing programs and sales support functions.

Ascend Marketing’s Fort Worth facility will continue to serve as the company’s operational hub for the firm’s sales incentive, reward, and promotional fulfillment programs. The new Grapevine location (1450 Hughes Rd., Ste 106 in Grapevine) will provide 1300 square feet of office space for staff workstations as well as meeting rooms for client strategy and planning work.

According to Co-founder and Managing Partner Rich Herbst, more and more firms are augmenting their marketing and sales departments by outsourcing programs and engaging outside resources.

“The marketer’s job today is tougher than ever,” says Herbst. “Web marketing, new sales channels, sales force automation, database marketing – all these things create new opportunities but they also create new challenges. With so many priorities to juggle, the job becomes so complex that even large companies can’t permanently hire all the right experts they need. On top of that, most companies are operating with reduced marketing staff.

“Contracting with multiple agencies for advertising, PR, and so on only exacerbates the pressure,” he continues. “Ascend Marketing is built to step in and augment marketing departments – whether that be in sales support, communications, creative development, database or Web marketing – to get the job done smartly and efficiently.”

Since its launch in 2004, Ascend Marketing has grown from five people to a staff of 18, creating the need for additional operating space. The company currently has more than 30 active clients, including multiple Fortune 500 names, in fields such as telecommunications, manufacturing and hospitality.

About Ascend Marketing

Ascend Marketing’s unique business model delivers results-focused marketing and sales support programs via a comprehensive suite of marketing services designed to support clients’ internal sales and marketing efforts. The Ascend team brings expertise from telecom, technology, travel and hospitality, B2B services, consumer packaged goods, retail, restaurant, and health care. For more information, contact Ascend Marketing. Headquarters: 3904 West Vickery Blvd., Fort Worth, TX, 76107; Satellite Office: 1450 Hughes Rd., Ste 106 Grapevine, TX 76051-7356; Phone: (817) 886-0014. Or visit the company’s website at: www.ascend-marketing.com.

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