Saratoga, CA and Maui, Hawaii – December 17, 2003
–MauiGames Inc., a Hawaii-based developer focused
on world-class video game products, announced today that
it has secured its first advertisers for its line of cell
phoned-based outdoor sports games. K2 Bikes, a division
of K2 Corporation, a leading designer of recreation products,
Saucony, Inc., a leading global supplier of performance
athletic footwear, and Zeal Optics, a sports performance
sunglasses designer, will place advertising in "Maui
Mountain Biking," an extreme downhill cell phone game
that MauiGames released this month.
More than 37 million people in the United States download
and play games on cell phones, according to surveys by Gallup
and Scarborough. Moreover, a recent study by University
of Wisconsin Professor Michelle Nelson revealed that recall
rates for ads embedded in video games result in greater
recall rates than print, radio or television media. MauiGames'
unique cell phone video game platform delivers immediate,
continuous access to advertisers' most desirable target
demographic through repeated, mobile exposure.
"Because Maui Mountain Biking which depicts a rider
riding, jumping and racing a K2 Bike just as K2 riders would
in real life, we expect this mobile video game will cost-effectively
reinforce the K2 bike brand name and enhance sales. To that
end, K2 Bike will customize ad placements in a number of
ways; the first of which will involve dealer salespeople
incentives," said Sandy Liman, Brand Manager, K2. "Moreover,
we believe the popular "extreme" outdoor sports
lifestyle depicted in MauiGames' cell phone games represents
broader advertising opportunities which can benefit our
snowboarding, ski and other K2 products. "
"MauiGames' cell phone games will give us access to
hundreds of thousands of players of self-selected sports
enthusiasts each month, which we expect will significantly
raise brand awareness for our line of sports products,"
said Kevin Turkof, Marketing Director, Saucony.
"We strive to compete with big manufacturers' ad budgets
by focusing closely on reaching people who wear high performance
sports sunglasses. MauiGames not only delivers that target
market with its cell phone game, the embedded Zeal Optics
ad educates the player about our product line, enables players
to earn product discounts, and enables us to readily correlate
sales to this new advertising media," said Michael
Jackson, president, Zeal Optics.
Description of MauiGames' titles
MauiGames "extreme outdoor sports" games, developed
for both console and cell phone platforms, include such
sports as mountain biking, downhill skiing, running, skiing,
skate boarding, snow boarding, and others. Because game
actions include jumping, turning, twisting and gravity-defying
feats, players are closely engaged for maximized ad impression
and recall and players like ads embedded in the games because
of the realism they add. The first product of MauiGames'
"Just For Fun" series --"Encore…Encore"
-- was recently released at Handango (www.handango.com),
a leading supplier of phone software. For a more detailed
description of MauiGames advertising opportunities visit
http://www.mauigames.us/cellads/rksindex.htm
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About K2 Bike and K2 Corporation
K2 Corporation, based in Vashon, Washington, is a leading
designer, manufacturer and marketer of brand name recreational
products. The Company's brands include well-known names
such as K2 alpine skis, K2 snowboards, boots and bindings,
K2 in-line skates and K2 bikes. To learn more about K2,
log onto www.k2sports.com. K2 Bike is a title sponsor of
the Xterra America Championship Series, and support the
Ford Outfitter Professional Women's Mountain Bike Team,
Jittery Joes Professional Road Racing Team, and the Ritchey-K2
Professional Mountain Bike Team.
About Saucony, Inc.
Saucony, Inc. is a leading global supplier of performance
athletic footwear, casual footwear, apparel, and accessories
with its widely recognized brands Saucony, Saucony Originals,
Hind, and Spot-bilt. All Saucony, Inc. sports brands develop
and manufacture technically advanced products that improve
the performance of active sports participants.
About Zeal Optics
Zeal Optics, based in the extreme outdoor environment of
Moab, Utah, is leader in designing performance eyewear that
focuses on design, fit & function. The Company gets
its inspiration for all of it's performance eyewear, including
ski goggles by testing and training near its world headquarters
in Moab. Founded by former professional MTB and multi sport
athletes, Zeal Optics sponsors more than 1,000 athletes
world wide including Team Trek, Team Dasani, and the Muddy
Buddy race series . To learn more about Zeal Optics, log
onto www.zealoptics.com.
About MauiGames LLC
MauiGames (www.mauigames.us) was formed in April 2002 to
develop video games for a variety of platforms including
consoles, internet, mobile devices and others. With Hawaii's
reputation as a quality place to live and work, MauiGames
has attracted world class game developer talent. Leading
this combination of world class talent and technology is
an experienced management team of senior game and Silicon
Valley executives.
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