General Motors to Partner With Zilo Networks for Extreme Team College Games
NEW YORK--April 12, 2001--ZILO Networks, the leading multi-platform entertainment network (television, online, and live events) targeting the college market, announced today that General Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, has signed on as title sponsor for the Extreme Team College (ETC) Games(TM) West Coast Spring 2001 tour, and GM nameplate, Pontiac, will be a presenting sponsor for the Northeast ETC dates.
The partnership places the Chevrolet, Pontiac and GMC nameplates at live events on 15 of the largest U.S. college campuses from April 18 through June 2, and also includes extensive coverage of the games via ZILO TV, a proprietary college television network reaching 3.2 million viewers, and via online streaming broadband website ZILO.com, which receives over 500,000 monthly unique visitors.
The 'Extreme Team' events will feature a variety of alternative sports, including Speed Wall Climbing, Dyno-Lunging, Razor competitions, and Adventure Racing. The GM models that will be featured at the ETC Games include: Pontiac Grand Am, 2002 Pontiac Vibe, GMC Sierra Hot Truck, Chevrolet Cavalier, 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and Chevrolet S10 on the West Coast; and the Aztek by Pontiac in the Northeast. The GM vehicles will be seamlessly integrated into the ETC Games competition and set design, and each vehicle will have its own unique participatory 'vehicle challenge' activity.
"We are excited about General Motors coming on board and partnering with ZILO," said ZILO CEO David Isaacs. "GM's sponsorship of the ETC Games proves that our integrated live, TV, and online platforms deliver a unique impact to the elusive college audience."
"The ETC Games create a unique opportunity to expose the youth market to a breadth of General Motors product through a fun, interactive and sporty platform," said Mike Colleran, manager of youth marketing for GM's Western region. "Roughly 35% of our nation's population is under the age of 25, and by 2010 every Gen Y'er will have reached driving age, so it's important to not only market to this consumer, but find unique ways to let them experience your product vs. oversaturating them with advertising. This is a highly educated, technology savvy and value-conscious consumer group that will have a significant impact on the buying trends and future of the automotive industry."
The decision to send the Chevrolet, Pontiac and GMC models "Back to School" is part of GM's overall youth strategy to remain a strong presence in the under-25-year-old market. According to Katherine Zhang, assistant manager of youth marketing for GM's Western region, Gen Y represents more than 25 percent of the nation's population and already six percent of all U.S. automotive sales, with an even higher percentage in certain important segments like trucks, small and mid-low cars, and sports cars. Consideration of SUVs has also sky-rocketed with young buyers recently.
"It's important to recognize that the youth market is 'not' a niche market; they 'are' the market," said Zhang. "So we're always looking for innovative ways to get our products and messages in front of young buyers, and teaming up with ZILO to reach the college market is a perfect fit for our needs."
ZILO created the ETC Games concept, and held a highly-attended tour in both spring and fall of 2000. Beyond the GM-sponsored dates, the ETC Games will also be held on major college campuses throughout the country and will continue touring through fall 2001.
"In only its second year, the Extreme Team College Games are gaining amazing momentum as an emerging collegiate tradition," noted ZILO President and Creative Director Campbell McLaren. "The events capture and embody a fresh kind of participatory excitement and as a result, more and more colleges and students are getting involved."
The complete West Coast Spring 2001 schedule of the "General
Motors ETC Games" includes:
Date College Campus Date College Campus
---- -------------- ---- --------------
April 24 USC May 6 Cal State Northridge
April 26 University of Arizona May 10 UC San Diego
April 30 Arizona State May 31 UC Irvine
May 4 Northern Arizona Univ. June 2 UC Santa Barbara
The complete Northeast Spring 2001 schedule of the "ETC Games
presented by Pontiac" includes:
Date College Campus Date College Campus
---- -------------- ---- --------------
April 18 George Washington Univ. May 3 Boston University
April 25 University of Rhode Island May 4 Drexel University
April 27 Rutgers University May 19 Northeastern University
May 2 University of
New Hampshire
About ZILO Networks
Based in New York City, ZILO Networks Inc. was founded in 1999 as the first integrated multi-platform network designed for the tech-savvy, high bandwidth college market. The company is backed by Sutter Hill Ventures of Palo Alto, California and Red Coat Capital of New York City. ZILO Networks includes: ZILO TV, a fully-integrated wholly-owned college television network that provides 12 hours of programming per week and cross promotes the web site to 3.2 million subscribers nationwide; ZILO LIVE, a series of multi-campus, sponsor-driven participatory event franchises which form the anchor of ZILO's multi-platform distribution platform; and ZILO.com, a next generation high speed website with compelling interactive programming offering broadband's enhanced rich media capabilities and functionality.
About General Motors
General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2000, GM earned $5 billion on sales of $183.3 billion. It employs about 386,000 people globally. Founded in 1908, GM today sells its vehicles in about 200 countries. The company has manufacturing operations in more than 30 countries.
Last year, GM sold about 8.6 million cars and trucks - more than any other automaker and 15.1 percent of the world vehicle market. GM's major markets are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Its largest market is North America, where it is in its 74th year as the market leader.
GM cars and trucks are sold under the following brands: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac, GMC, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Opel, Vauxhall and Holden.