History
Cyberian Outpost was one of the earliest successful online-only retailers and is an interesting case study in the history of the nascent online retail industry. Unlike many large retailers of the time, founder Peck marketed directly to expert consumers instead of businesses, and specialized in hard-to-find Macintosh products in a market saturated with Microsoft-compatible products. Having no physical retail store to manage, Outpost.com marketed its products overseas where it gained a strong word-of-mouth reputation for its low prices. Outpost.com was soon offered in 11 languages.
The company continued a rapid expansion, taking advantage of the booming Internet. In 1997, Money Magazine rated the site as "best online retail site" and "the best computer equipment site," placing it among giants like PC Connection and Amazon.com. Outpost.com raised $2.7 million in venture capital in 1997, and claimed 25,000 visitors per day and 1.3 million customers. It secured another $22 million in private equity financing in 1998, and $70 million from its IPO. Outpost.com opened a warehouse in Ohio that could guarantee next-morning domestic delivery and worldwide delivery within 48 hours, a notable achievement for the nascent online retail industry which competed directly with large and well-established mail-order companies.
Cyberian Outpost had many unique and unusual marketing programs. The company created an Affiliate program whereby partners could receive a commission for referring customers to the site. Outpost.com also forged marketing partnerships with major Internet portals, such as AOL, C|Net, and Lycos. Outpost.com hired Cliff Freeman to produce TV ads, whose agency Freeman & Partners had created the "Pizza Pizza" campaign for Little Caesar's and the "Where's the Beef?" campaigns for Wendy's International. Outpost.com adopted a zealous and controversial marketing program which included a Super Bowl ad where fake gerbils were shot out of a cannon at the company logo.
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