PlanetOut To Generate Sales Leads For CarsDirect From Gay Americans

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 8 -- PlanetOut Partners, Inc., the parent company of Gay.com and PlanetOut.com, and CarsDirect.com, the leading multi-brand online car buying service, have formed an alliance to develop a new and used vehicle buying service for gay Americans.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Gay.com and PlanetOut.com portals will host vehicle centers that highlight content and services from CarsDirect.com. Co-branded versions of the award-winning CarsDirect.com Web site will be created to enable users to research, finance and purchase both new and used vehicles. PlanetOut Partners will sell advertising throughout the vehicle centers and co-branded versions of the CarsDirect.com Web site.

"CarsDirect.com is a natural choice for us given the quality, depth and breadth of their resources on cars, trucks and related financial services," said Mark Elderkin, executive vice president and chief operating officer for PlanetOut Partners. "For the first time ever, auto manufacturers will be able to advertise directly to gay Americans while they are in the process of selecting and purchasing a vehicle."

According to research conducted by Socratic Technologies, 40% of Gay.com and PlanetOut.com members used the Internet to research vehicle purchases in the past six months.

"This agreement connects us with the two largest gay media properties in the world, reaching over 5 million gays and lesbians each month," said Bob Brisco, CEO, CarsDirect.com. "Our partnership with PlanetOut Partners extends CarsDirect.com's reach to a large and untapped consumer base with a high level of discretionary income."