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Terrible Herbst Unveils New Media

8/27/2003

Las Vegas, NV (August 27, 2003) — Since 1937, savvy marketing has ensured a reputation for Herbst Oil of being a “terrible”, tough competitor. So it should come as no surprise Terrible Herbst is turning the tables on casinos that have no alternative than to dump millions of dollars into advertising to lure local players. Starting October 12, they're creating their own media and getting more than $1 million in free advertising in the process.

Terrible's is launching “Terrible's Weekly”, a weekly magazine targeting their own customer base — 1,000,000 locals that patronize Herbst's growing chain of convenience stores, car washes, and oil change shops. To motivate their “retail” customers to play at Terrible's five casinos and patronize its slot alcoves Herbst within major grocery stores around the city, Terrible's will hand each customer a full-color tabloid-size magazine filled with what customers say they want: TV listings; notice of upcoming local events; a recap of significant news; and, easy-to-achieve player rewards. The magazine will be free of charge.

“We've been printing a coupon booklet for members of Terrible's Players Club, putting them in racks in our stores and mailing them to members,” said Mark Sterbens, General Manager of Terrible's Casino. “When Avid Media came to us with a proposal to convert our booklet into a full-fledged magazine and putting out a new edition every week, it was a no-brainer to execute a long-term deal with them.”

Las Vegas-based Avid Media publishes Lake Mead Magazine, Hoover Dam Magazine, Lake Powell Magazine, and other lake-related annual visitor guides, with a combined readership of 2.6 million readers. Publishing Terrible's Weekly makes Avid Nevada's largest weekly publication serving residents.

“Terrible's achieves a true competitive advantage by leveraging their huge retail customer base,” according to Leigh Kimball, Avid Media's President and Chief Operating Officer. “Inasmuch as Terrible's Weekly becomes the best ad buy in Las Vegas for advertisers, this initiative reaches tens of thousands of potential new players for Terrible's every week.”

Ads Priced Low To Lure Mass Marketers:
When it premieres in Terrible's retail stores and slot alcoves in October, Terrible's Weekly will have a circulation 33% larger than The Las Vegas Mercury, currently Nevada's largest weekly media. A full page, full color ad in Terrible's Weekly, however, can cost 21% less the Mercury. According to Kimball, the quality of Terrible's Weekly will be comparable to Business Week magazine, with all ads in full-color at no additional cost to advertisers. The ad rate card for Terrible's Weekly is on the Internet at TerriblesWeekly.com.

Price, Prizes To Lock In Readers:
Being free is a sure-fire lure Avid Media believes will ensure readers devour every issue of Terrible's Weekly. Leaving nothing to chance, however, Avid also will have a Grand Prize drawing every month, awarding readers exotic vacations. To enter, players must appear at a Terrible's casino. “This is a tangible example of how an in-house publication can drive traffic through the front door of a casino,” observed Kimball. “Local players will recognize the favorable odds for them in our monthly Grand Prize drawing and respond accordingly.”

“Las Vegas-area residents will be able to get ads in Terrible's Weekly for free instead of having to pay $2.50 to get them from the local paper on Sunday,” Kimball added.

Circulation Throughout Terrible's Empire:
Each week, Avid will print 100,000 copies of Terrible's Weekly for distribution at eight distinct venues. Copies will be distributed to Terrible's convenience stores and slot alcoves in area grocery stores. More than 1,000 copies a day will be mailed to members of Terrible's Players Club. Guests staying at Terrible's Casino and Terrible's Lakeside RV Park in Pahrump will receive a copy. Tens of thousands of motorists washing their vehicle or changing their oil at a Terrible Herbst facility will get a copy inside their vehicle. Copies will be available at Herbst's five casinos, at all advertiser locations, and delivered to residences near Terrible's casinos in Las Vegas and Henderson.

“Eighty percent of the residents in the Las Vegas metropolitan area live within a couple of miles of a Terrible Herbst facility,” Kimball said. “In terms of deliberate distribution, no other local print media, including the daily or Sunday newspapers, comes close to equaling Terrible's Weekly's saturation distribution.”

“Readers respond to Terrible's Weekly by choice, not by chance,” he added. “Our publication is not sitting atop a cigarette machine in the back of a bar or in a rack at the front door of a restaurant, available to consumers who could simply stumble across it. Terrible's Weekly is presented to 1,000,000 readers a month with a personal encouragement to read it and patronize advertisers. In a real sense, Terrible's is personally inviting their customers to read each issue and respond to the offers and ads in the magazine. That is a level of endorsed encouragement unique to any other print media locally, making this a ‘high-touch', favorably intrusive media.”

Avid Media Opens Las Vegas Sales Office:
Cost-sensitive advertisers can call Avid Media in Las Vegas at (702) 260-6843 for information on Terrible's Weekly's rates and distribution. Additional advertising-related information can be viewed at TerriblesWeekly.com.

Contact Information:
- Avid Media, Inc
- Leigh Kimball
- 702-260-6843