AvantGo and Audi Team Up to Bring College Hoops to Mobile Devices
SYNOPSIS: Mobile marketing campaign is a "slam dunk" for basketball fans and raises visibility of the Audi brand among the tech-savvy crowd.
DUBLIN, Calif., March 15 -- PDA and smartphone users won't miss a minute of the action when the college basketball championship tournament begins this month, thanks to Audi of America, sponsor of this year's AvantGo(R) College Hoops Channel. In its third year, the PDA-based channel provides basketball fans with all the thrilling NCAA Men's Division 1 tournament action, supplying up-to-the-minute information directly to users' handheld devices. With content provided by Sporting News, AvantGo users will receive the latest scores, schedules and bracket information to stay on top of tournament action when they are away from their televisions and computers.
By sponsoring the AvantGo College Hoops Channel, Audi is reaching a captive and engaged audience of 24-54 year-old technology-savvy, innovative and "on-the-go" males. The channel is one facet of Audi's tournament marketing campaign, which also includes strategic print and television advertisements by Audi of America's advertising agency McKinney. The AvantGo initiative will spotlight the four key components of Audi's brand: design, performance, technology and innovation.
"We believe AvantGo users share many of the values inherent in the Audi brand, making the College Hoops Channel an exciting way for us to reach a highly desirable demographic," said Mary Ann Wilson Audi National Advertising Manager. "The innovative medium, coupled with the opportunity to help consumers enjoy the excitement of the NCAA Division I tournament made this sponsorship the right match for Audi."
"College basketball becomes a hot topic of conversation in March in the U.S., and Audi is taking advantage of that enthusiasm to further its brand visibility," said James Ryan, editorial director at AvantGo, a service of iAnywhere. "We had the privilege of working with Audi recently on its launch of the A8 and AvantGo's ability to provide focused access to a highly desirable demographic played an important role in the expansion of our relationship."
Using the AvantGo service, companies such as Audi can build brand awareness, acquire new customers, reduce customer care costs and generate incremental revenue through customized, interactive advertising, media and marketing campaigns designed for mobile users. AvantGo uniquely delivers a robust mobile user experience, delivering content to consumers at their convenience -- whether connected to a public wireless or Wi-Fi network or working offline.
About Audi
Audi of America is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and markets performance-oriented European luxury vehicles: the A4, A4 Cabriolet, A6, A8, TT, the allroad quattro. Audi has also driven technology with its legendary quattro(R) all-wheel drive and its multitronic(TM) continuously variable transmission. For more information about additional Audi-related events and corporate news, visit www.audiusa.com.
About AvantGo
AvantGo is a free service that delivers rich, personalized mobile websites to PDAs and smartphones. Today, more than 2,500 major brands, including American Airlines, CNET, GM, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, leverage AvantGo to target a highly desirable demographic of more than ten million registered users. AvantGo offers the convenience of anywhere, anytime access, seamlessly supporting both wireless and "sync and go" connectivity. To learn more about AvantGo visit www.avantgo.com.
About iAnywhere
iAnywhere is the worldwide market leader in mobile databases and mobile middleware. More than 12,000 customers and 1,000 embedded database partners rely on its SQL Anywhere(R) technology and mobile enterprise solutions. In addition, the company's AvantGo(R) mobile Internet service is one of the most popular mobile applications. iAnywhere is a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. , and its mobile technology plays an important role in the Sybase(R) Unwired Enterprise initiative to unlock and deliver enterprise information anytime, anywhere. Visit www.ianywhere.com for more information.
AvantGo, iAnywhere Solutions, iAnywhere and Sybase are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sybase, Inc. or its subsidiaries. (R) indicates registration in the United States of America. All other company and product names mentioned may be trademarks of the companies with which they are associated.
Special Note: Statements concerning iAnywhere Solutions' new business relationships and related products are by nature forward-looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties and risks and cannot be guaranteed. Factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially include shifts in customer demand, rapid technological changes, availability and quality of third party products, competitive factors and unanticipated delays in scheduled product availability. Some of the risks are detailed from time to time in the Sybase Inc. consolidated Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which can be viewed on Sybase's web site. iAnywhere Solutions is a subsidiary of Sybase Inc.
Marsha Ann Marsh iAnywhere Solutions (978) 287-2632 mmarsh@ianywhere.com Lisa Hiland Citigate Cunningham (617) 374-4246 lhiland@citigatecunningham.com