FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 21, 2003

Contact: Jana Muntsinger, 804.754.2118

jana@mmpublicrelations.com

Parable & Tyndale Give Away 45,000 Copies of Left Behind

Exclusive Direct Mail Promotion for Parable’s New Customers

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA—Parable Christian Stores haves been providing their new customers with excellent service, extensive product selection and a copy of the best selling novel in the industry—FOR FREE. For more than three years now, any new customer who came into the store and Parable Christian Storewas added to the store’s mailing list received s has mailed a posta post card coupon good for a free trade paperback copy of Left Behind (a $14.99 retail value) to every new customer. More than 45,000 copies of Left Behind have been distributed free of charge through Parable stores from fall 1999 to February 2003.

Marilyn Largent, Vice President, Wholesale Sales and Marketing for Parable, offers this promotion as an example of Parable’s strategic marketing to new customers. “Stores wanted to reach new customers, but rather than just provide a coupon, we knew ‘free’ would give customers a big incentive to return. And particularly when it involved the biggest seller in our industry—Left Behind.”

Tyndale House Publishers was a pivotal strategic partner in the three-year promotion. Says Dan Balow, Tyndale’s Director of Business Development: “The best kinds of partnerships are those that create benefits for both sides. The free copy of Left Behind to new customers creates a positive effect for both the retailer and Tyndale.”

Fulfillment for this promotion was simple. For every Left Behind book given away, the Parable store would send Tyndale the coupons and choose a trade paper book in the Left Behind series as a replacement. In addition, there was no cost to the retailer. “Retailers know that Parable makes promotions as easy as possible, and this is a perfect example,” says Largent.

QUOTE FROM RETAILER TO COME. Called three, no response yet.”We have been very pleased with this program,” says Dorothy Alford of Parables in Omaha, Nebraska. “These postcards work well to turn a new customer into a familiar face in our store.” Mark Bingle, president of Lighthouse Christian Stores in Southern California agrees: “I really like this promotion. I love giving the customer something free, particularly of such high value. There is no downside to this promotion. It is a ‘win’ all the way around.”

Based in the hills of San Luis Obispo, CA, The Parable Group provides comprehensive marketing services to hundreds of Christian retail outlets in the United States. Each member store is independently owned and operated, representing more than $325 million in annual sales of Christian products to consumers. Some of Parable’s specialized services include full color catalogs, data base marketing, in-store displays, e-commerce websites and exclusive products.

# # #

February 21, 2003