Elsevier Using Private Online Communities to Open Doors to its Customers

Two Communities of Librarians and Researchers Enable Publisher to Co-innovate on New Products and Services

BOSTON, December 7 - Communispace, a pioneer of online customer insight communities for some
of the world's leading brands, and its client Elsevier, a leading publisher
of scientific and technical products and services, celebrated their first
year of successful online community collaboration. Through online discussions
and activities of two private communities, one consisting of librarians and
one made up of researchers, Elsevier is fostering transparency among its
customers and extracting valuable insights that ensure product and service
innovation is customer-driven and validated.

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Elsevier and Communispace launched two communities in 2008. The
communities comprise 450 individuals from 69 countries, and Elsevier plans to
launch a third community of research administrators. Current activities
include ongoing discussions among members, product ideation and co-creation
initiatives and prototype testing. Elsevier's communities are fostering
loyalty and openness among its customers, giving users a clear sense of the
company's creative process and customer focus, strengthening brand identity
and demonstrably reducing product development cycles.

Among the many benefits of being involved in all cycles of the product
development process, members of Elsevier's communities listed the following:

    - A sense of camaraderie, as though they were a part of the
      Elsevier team.
    - First-hand knowledge of Elsevier's continued efforts to innovate
      and enhance their products and services.
    - An increased awareness of the breadth of Elsevier's product
      line-and a glimpse into what will be available in the future-enables
      librarians to make informed recommendations to their users.

Direct Member Feedback

"Being asked to provide feedback and suggestions, and seeing the thought
that goes into designing said products, makes the practice of recommending
them easier than it had been previously," said community member Robert
Stibravy, academic librarian.

"I have become aware of extra features in Elsevier products that I did
not previously know about and I have also realized how well it compares to
other products. Looking at future developments is also encouraging," said
community member Laura Foley, librarian, Australian and New Zealand College
of Anaesthetists.

"The field of research is constantly evolving in pace with the latest
technological advances, and to meet the needs of our customers we must ensure
that our solutions are useful, relevant and in step with how they work," said
Juliette Goetzee, head of marketing relations, A&G products at Elsevier.

"Communispace provides a direct line to customer insight throughout our
product development, creation and testing processes. Equally important are
the deeper connections we've forged with our customer base, making them a
real partner in our mission to improve research outcomes for academics around
the world."

"Elsevier is a leader in the research community because they actually
focus on the needs of their customers," said Maria Rapp, managing director,
Europe at Communispace. "Using online communities to tap into the global
wisdom of its customers proves once again that Elsevier is committed to
delivering greater value through innovation. The active and valuable
participation of community members during this first year is proof that
customers can - and want to - play an important role in that process as
well."

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and
medical information products and services. The company works in partnership
with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000
journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles,
including major reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online
solutions include ScienceDirect, Scopus, Reaxys, MD Consult and Nursing
Consult, which enhance the productivity of science and health professionals,
and the SciVal suite and MEDai's Pinpoint Review, which help research and
health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier employs 7,000
people worldwide. The company is part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, a
world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned by
Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN (Euronext
Amsterdam), EL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York Stock
Exchange).

About Communispace

Communispace Corporation is the leader in helping major brands generate
game-changing customer insights via online communities. Founded in 1999, the
company has created more than 350 customer communities for industry leaders
such as Kraft, Hewlett-Packard, Charles Schwab, Hallmark, Unilever,
GlaxoSmithKline and Hilton Hotels Corporation. Headquartered in Watertown,
Massachusetts, the company has offices in New York, San Francisco, London,
Chicago, Atlanta, as well as Sydney, Australia and San Remo, Italy. For more
information, please visit: www.communispace.com.

Liz Shulof, Greenough Communications, +1-617-275-6522, lshulof at greenoughcom.com, for Communispace Corporation