CoActive Marketing Group, Inc. Announces the Sportline Steps Across America(R) Walk for Fitness Wal-Mart Promotion

NEW YORK, April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CoActive Marketing Group, Inc. and its US Concepts and Digital Intelligence Group divisions announce a national wellness promotion for 17 Brands with Wal-Mart, as the retailer kicks off one of the biggest promotions of the year.

With Kristi Yamaguchi, World Champion Figure Skater, as Spokesperson, the $6 million Steps Across America(R) program's centerpiece is a team of 12 ordinary Americans who will do the extraordinary: walk 3,100 miles from New York to Los Angeles over 14 weeks starting April 18. In addition to Wal-Mart, the Program sponsors include Sportline as the Title Sponsor, Presenting Sponsor TracFone Prepaid Wireless, 7-Up(R), Centrum(R), Coppertone(R), IAMS(R), Image Fitness, Jif(R) / Smucker's(R), Kodak, Os-Cal(R), PayDay PRO, Weight Watcher's(R) Smart Ones(R), & Wisk(R), Advil(R), Alavert(R), Jennie-O Turkey Store(R), Carnation(R) Instant Breakfast(R) from NESTLE, and Otis Spunkmeyer(R).

"Every Day Well-Being" Events promoting a more fit and healthy lifestyle will be held at over 2,150 Wal-Mart Stores during the promotion, delivering the Steps Across America message to Wal-Mart shoppers and the public. The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is supporting the program. At all events people are being encouraged to undertake the "Steps Across America President's Challenge" - a customized 6-week Walking program which will reward those who complete it with a Presidential Patch and Certificate. Wal-Mart Associates are also being encouraged to take the Steps Across America President's Challenge.

In addition to the "Every Day Well-Being Events" at Wal-Mart stores, major Rallies are being held in New York on April 18 to kick off the Walk, in Washington DC to celebrate wellness with the President's Council, in Bentonville, AR as part of the Wal-Mart Shareholders Celebration and in Los Angeles where the event will finish. John Benfield, CoActive's CEO. said, "We are thrilled with Steps Across America, our latest partnership promotion with Wal-Mart. We are confident that it will be every bit as successful as the other partnership programs we have been privileged to work with Wal-Mart on including the award-winning Rimmel London Double-Decker Bus Tour which is now in its fifth year."

CoActive's US Concepts division selected the twelve National Walkers and has planned the tour and will execute the 14 week program. Digital Intelligence, CoActive's interactive division, has created and is hosting http://www.stepsacross.com/. The site showcases the program and sponsoring Brands, and tracks the Walkers daily progress. The Walkers will also keep blogs of their experiences on the site as they trek across the country. Consumers can also find an interactive route map showing upcoming local events and how many Steps have been taken so far, as counted by the official Sportline Pedometer. The site will also offer photos of America taken by the Walkers and relevant health and fitness content including links to the Steps Across America President's Challenge.

About CoActive Marketing Group

CoActive Marketing Group, Inc. is a full-service marketing, sales promotion, and interactive services company that develops and manages integrated marketing, sales and promotional programs at both national and local levels for consumer product companies. The programs are geared towards growing incremental sales and profits by identifying and addressing key trade, sales and consumer trends. http://www.getcoactive.com/.

About US Concepts

For over 23 years, US Concepts, a Divison of CoActive Marketing Group, has been a leader in delivering concept-to-contact event marketing programs that uniquely and effectively connect brands to target consumers. We design and execute brand experiences and back this up with consistent, measurable results for a core stable of long-term clients, with an average client tenure among the highest in the industry at 5+ years. Whether it's mobile marketing, retail events, field teams, on-premise activation, entertainment, media, or PR events, US Concepts has the experience and infrastructure to deliver results. US Concepts leverages its national network of offices and personnel in 38 markets to reach consumers in a manner that integrates brands directly with consumers and the trade. USC is an industry-leading expert executing thousands of events a year for clients such as Diageo, Lowe's, Best Buy, Nintendo, Coty Beauty Cosmetics, and others.

About Sportline

Sportline has been designing, developing and manufacturing Personal Fitness Monitors for 20 years, distributing them primarily in the sports and active recreational markets as well as through private brand channels. The strength of the Sportline product collection is a result of the company's commitment to design and development focused on quality and innovation. Sportline leads the Fitness Electronics industry across a wide range of product categories from performance pedometers, accelerometers and sport timers to heart rate and hydration monitors. Additionally, the company markets a broad line of fitness walking accessories offering unique storage, safety and reflective solutions. For more information on Sportline, visit us website at http://www.sportline.com/.

About TracFone Wireless, Inc.

TracFone Wireless, based in Miami, Florida, is America's largest prepaid wireless service provider and was the first prepaid wireless MVNO in the U.S. In 1996, the company was the first to introduce a pay-as-you-go wireless service with no contracts, no hidden taxes or fees and no monthly bills. Its prepaid wireless service incorporates a customer-friendly, cost-control feature that displays the exact remaining airtime balance on the phone. TracFone Wireless is a subsidiary of America Movil , Latin America's largest mobile phone provider, with more than 93 million cellular subscribers across the continent. For more information on TracFone Wireless, visit the web site at http://www.tracfone.com/.

About Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart is committed to helping our customers take care of their health. Every Day Well-Being initiatives highlight health and wellness topics and make them relevant to our customers. Every Day Well-Being is a service mark of Wal- Mart Stores, Inc., which operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. The company also operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company's securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartfacts.com/. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com/.

About Kristi Yamaguchi

Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic Gold Medalist; two-time World Champion, U.S. National Champion and a four-time World Professional Champion. A wife and mom, she continues to live an active lifestyle and recognizes the benefits of keeping a healthy regime including eating right and exercising. During Kristi's skating career she was the first U.S. women to compete in both pairs' events and ladies' singles, win pairs titles in 1989 and 1990, plus the first American to win the Olympic Gold Medal since Dorothy Hamill in 1976. Kristi has also won four titles and was honored as 1996 Skater of the Year by American Skating World. She has been named to the U.S. Hall of Fame by the United States Figure Skating Association and to the World Skating Hall of Fame, was and has also been inducted into the USOC Olympic Hall of Fame.

About President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

Established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 as the President's Council on Youth Fitness, the Council was later expanded to include Americans of all ages and abilities. Today, the Council is a federal advisory committee of up to twenty members, who recommend programs and initiatives on physical activity, fitness and sports to the President through the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). President George W. Bush established the HealthierUS initiative in 2002 to stress prevention through healthy lifestyle choices, including daily physical activity, sound nutrition, preventive screenings, and safe behaviors. For information about the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, go to http://www.fitness.gov/. To start a physical activity and fitness program, log on to http://www.stepsacross.com/ and sign up to take the President's Challenge.

Contact: Steve Buxbaum 212 366-3485 sbuxbaum@getcoactive.com