PIGEON FORGE DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM REUPS DIRECT DIGITAL HOLDINGS' ORANGE142 FOR DIGITAL MEDIA SERVICES IN NEW 5-YEAR AGREEMENT

HOUSTON, March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT) today announced that its buy-side advertising platform, Orange142, has once again been named digital agency of record for the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism. This new 5-year agreement builds on Orange142's nearly 25-year relationship with Pigeon Forge. The town of 7,000 residents saw an economic impact of over $2 billion from tourism in 2021, marking a 100 percent increase in Pigeon Forge's overall tourism tax base over the last 5 years. The plan for the next 5 years is to drive incremental uptick in the region's new visitor base, party size, party spend and length-of-stay, as well as targeted initiatives to increase tourism from key markets including Chicago, Washington DC, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay.

Orange142 provides an extensive list of digital services to Pigeon Forge, including media negotiation, buying, and monitoring, website development and maintenance, social media management, eCRM management, strategic planning, software management and reporting, and analytics. Beyond the technical capabilities, Orange142 invests in building relationships with key stakeholders, including the Tourism Advisory Board and local businesses to ensure all sectors are represented appropriately and effectively.

"We've partnered with Orange142 for almost 25 years, their team's understanding of our brand and audiences is unparalleled. Orange142 truly serves as an extension of Pigeon Forge's Department of Tourism and is a key strategic marketing partner based on their digital expertise," said Leon Downey, Executive Director, Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism.

"It's a no brainer on our part to continue our partnership with Orange142 for another 5 years, this will be a critical time as our destination continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic impacts. There's no other digital platform better suited to help us navigate upcoming challenges and opportunities than our O142 team," added Downey.

"We're proud of what we've been able to deliver for Pigeon Forge and can't wait to see what we can achieve together over the next 5 years," said Ross Ramon, CEO, Orange142. "Annual website visitation, a great indicator of visitor intent, has grown by more than 500,000 users per year since 2016, with new user growth up 20 percent over that time period. This is a direct impact of the city's digital advertising efforts – and has generated a tremendous uptick in tourism revenue for Pigeon Forge."

"The numbers speak for themselves when looking at what Orange142 and Pigeon Forge have accomplished," said Mark Walker, CEO, Direct Digital Holdings. "Digital marketing works when the technology and expertise are employed to pinpoint a client's exact needs and develop unique strategies. The beauty of these partnerships extends beyond the direct goal of increasing tourism, like in Pigeon Forge – it has the potential to enhance the economic wellbeing of an entire community."

About Direct Digital Holdings

Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT) brings state-of-the-art sell- and buy-side advertising platforms together under one umbrella company. The holding group's Sell-side platform Colossus SSP offers advertisers of all sizes extensive reach within general market and multicultural media properties. Its operating companies Huddled Masses and Orange142 deliver significant ROI for middle market advertisers by providing data-optimized programmatic solutions at scale for businesses in sectors that range from energy to healthcare and travel to financial services. Direct Digital Holdings' sell- and buy-side solutions manage 56,000 clients daily, generating over 44 billion impressions per month across display, CTV, in-app, and other media channels.

About Orange142
Part of Direct Digital Holdings (Nasdaq: DRCT), Orange142 combines demand-side technology with real-time intelligence and data-driven strategy to support omnichannel marketing. Based in Austin, Texas, Orange142 specializes in driving strong results for mid-market clients in CPG, higher education, government, travel/tourism, and wellness/beauty. For more information, visit www.orange142.com.

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SOURCE Direct Digital Holdings