Western Union \"Returns the Love\" With Consumer Campaign for Mother\'s Day

ENGLEWOOD, CO, – April 28, 2010 – The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU), a leader in the money transfer segment of global payments, announced today the launch of “Return the Love”- a national Mother’s Day Campaign designed to encourage consumers to give mom the perfect gift.  Also, Western Union and Grammy-award winning recording artist Wyclef Jean, and “Queen of Latin Pop” Paulina Rubio, “Return the Love” with special performances and appearances at the Billboard Latin Music Conference & Awards and a concert honoring military moms.

“Western Union’s ‘Return the Love’ campaign reminds us that mom showered us with countless acts of love throughout our lives, and Mother’s Day is the perfect time to return the sentiment by giving her a gift she really wants,” said Stewart A. Stockdale, President, The Americas and EVP, Global Key Accounts and Global Cards, Western Union. “Cash is a practical gift-giving idea, it’s a quick and easy alternative.”

When researching Mother’s Day gifting trends, a recent Western Union consumer survey¹ found daughters and sons of all ages have good intentions when it comes to finding the perfect gift, but 42 percent find it hard to shop for the perfect gift for mom.

“Seventy three percent of consumers are planning to give a Mother’s Day gift this year and Western Union’s ‘Return the Love’ campaign is designed with both the gift giver, and the gift recipient, in mind,” continued Stockdale.  “The gift of cash is easy and convenient to give, and it’s sure to be something that mom will never return or exchange.”
 

“Return the Love” is a multi-faceted, integrated consumer campaign designed to encourage consumers to send the gift of cash, this Mother’s Day.“Return the Love” campaign elements include:

• Kick-off special performance dedicated to Moms featuring Wyclef Jean and Paulina Rubio at the Billboard Latin Music Awards, on April 29, produced and broadcast live by Telemundo. 
• Several Wyclef Jean and Paulina Rubio performances and consumer-facing events, including a special concert honoring military moms;
• Advertising via print, broadcast, radio, out-of-home, mobile and online channels showcasing the myriad of ways mom shows her love to her children, from giving them 12,368 kisses to changing 5,345 diapers and preparing 19,710 meals;
• In the social media space, Western Union dedicates a tab on its Facebook page encouraging fans to share how they are honoring and celebrating their moms;
• Additionally, Western Union has a Flickr^® page (flickr.com/groups/love2010) where consumers can share photos of their moms. Each week, Western Union will select photos from this gallery to display on the company’s home page, www.westernunion.com.
• The Western Union consumer survey also found 42 percent of moms have pretended to like a Mother’s Day gift; and separately, 30 percent thought the gift was either “thoughtful” but not a gift they wanted, or they did not receive a gift at all.

“Western Union believes every mother should receive the perfect gift,” said Wyclef Jean.  “I have relied on Western Union to move money worldwide for years, and there’s no company I trust more with my money.”

Paulina Rubio added, “The Latin culture places a special emphasis on Mother’s Day and it’s an honor to be a part of Western Union’s ‘Return the Love’ campaign.  If you are going to send mom the gift of cash, Western Union provides a great way.”

Western Union provides a variety of fast, reliable ways for consumers to send and receive money around the world, with more than 364,000 Western Union^® Agent locations. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com.

About Western Union
The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Custom House branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, as well as send payments and purchase money orders. The Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services are offered through a combined network of more than 410,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories. In 2009, The Western Union Company completed 196 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $71 billion of principal between consumers, and 415 million business payments. For more information, visit www.westernunion.com

¹ The survey, commissioned by Western Union and conducted by Wakefield Research, polled 1,000 people 18 years old and older between March 26 and March 28, 2010.