Business Editors/Advertising Writers/Technology Writers

AMHERST, N.Y. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2003--Kanoodle.com, Inc., a leading provider of sponsored search listings, today announced that it has closed a round of venture capital funding and has added three executives, formerly with sponsored link innovator Sprinks, to its senior management team. The executives will be based in Kanoodle.com's newly-opened New York office.

The financing and executive hires mark the expansion of Kanoodle.com's keyword-search based advertising business into content and local targeted sponsored links. Kanoodle.com's content-targeted ads, unlike traditional keyword search sponsored links, allow advertisers to select specific topics relevant to publishers' content, ensuring their ads appear on pages that directly match a user's topic of interest. Analysts project content-targeted advertising, the fastest-growing segment of online advertising, will grow to $1.4 billion over the next four years.

Joining Kanoodle.com are three key executives, each with deep experience in the online publishing and advertising paid search industries. The three will start Kanoodle.com's Content Division. They include: Lance Podell as President; Doug Perlson as Senior Vice President, Partner Development and Operations; and Mark Josephson, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Business Development. Prior to joining Kanoodle.com, Podell and Perlson were General Manager and Senior Vice President Partner Development and Operations respectively for Sprinks, an About, Inc. company and a division of PRIMEDIA (NASDAQ:PRM). Josephson was Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for About, Inc.

"We are thrilled to have the team that created content-targeted sponsored links join Kanoodle.com," said Kent Keating, Founder and CEO of Kanoodle.com, Inc. "They will allow us to take our core search business to the next level, while they launch new business lines for Kanoodle.com. Opening a New York office immediately gives us access to the advertiser and publisher communities critical to our next stage of growth."

"After exploring the landscape, it was clear that Kanoodle.com is among the best positioned to capitalize on the next wave of growth in all types of sponsored links," said Lance Podell. "Our keyword search business is solid and Kanoodle.com had the foresight to organize their advertisers into topic-specific categories, which is key to a successful content-targeted sponsored links business. That decision allows us to get to market very quickly with our content and local products."

"We are very encouraged by what we've seen of this team's approach to content targeted advertising," said Joshua Stylman, Managing Partner, Reprise Media. "It is crucial that advertisers be allowed to buy and measure contextual advertising separately from search links. Sprinks was the only provider committed to that approach and based on this announcement, I expect we'll soon see a similar product from Kanoodle.com. This is a positive development for the industry."

Deven Parekh, Managing Partner of Insight Venture Partners, added, "We are very impressed with the Kanoodle.com team and the business that they have built. Now, with the addition of this new talent and the opening of a New York office, Kanoodle.com is poised for real growth."

Mr. Parekh will be joining the board of Kanoodle.com.

"This influx of investment and human capital marks a major evolution in our business and a true validation of what our team has built to date," said Keating. "Insight Venture Partners is an ideal partner to help us chart the strategic direction for our business."

The terms of the financing, led by Insight Venture Partners of New York, were not disclosed. The venture capital round marks the first external investment into Kanoodle.com, which to date has been funded by its founders. Proceeds from the investment will support aggressive growth in Kanoodle.com's existing keyword search business, as well as the launch of new business lines.

About Kanoodle.com, Inc.

Kanoodle.com is a leading provider of sponsored listings. Kanoodle.com's proprietary "bid-for-location" search engine provides an efficient and cost-effective means of finding products and information on the Web. With offices in Amherst, NY and New York City, Kanoodle.com conducts business with clients internationally to all English-speaking countries. Kanoodle.com has been online, serving businesses and consumers, since October 1999.

About Insight Venture Partners

Insight Venture Partners, with approximately $1 billion in funds under management, is the leading venture capital firm specializing in enterprise software companies. Insight invests in entrepreneurial companies developing technology-based solutions for the corporate enterprise. Headquartered in New York, Insight has taken a global approach to e-commerce investing in a market where speed, domain expertise, and the ability to execute are the foundations of success. More information on Insight is available at www.insightpartners.com.

    CONTACT: Kanoodle.com, Inc.
             Mark Josephson,              or
             Hill & Knowlton
             Jessica Schweitzer,