Press Release – June 19, 2006
VOCEL ADDS MOMENTUM TO SUCCESSFUL INCA LAUNCH WITH ADDITIONAL GROWTH FUNDING
FROM TORSTAR CORPORATION
San Diego, CA – VOCEL, which is revolutionizing the way mobile content is delivered and purchased via cell phones, announces it has received a second infusion of funding from Torstar Corporation, one of Canada's premier media companies. The funding will fuel VOCEL’s further growth after the successful launch of its INCA mobile marketing and promotion engine last week with Qualcomm and Midwest Wireless. Torstar, which became an investor in VOCEL in 2005, owns a roster of successful businesses including newspapers led by the Toronto Star; Harlequin Enterprises, a leading global publisher of women’s fiction; and Torstar Digital.
VOCEL’s groundbreaking new Interactive Commerce Accelerator (INCA) technology lets mobile phone users purchase all kinds of content including ringtones, wallpaper and games with just one click. INCA, in conjunction with Qualcomm’s BREW solution, is powering a just-launched pilot program run by Midwest Wireless in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. VOCEL’s patent-pending technology streamlines the preview and purchase of wireless applications on the mobile phone allowing Midwest Wireless subscribers to directly purchase content with a single click.
Lorenzo DeMarchi, Managing Director Corporate Development, Torstar Corporation, said, "Torstar is active in looking for new and exciting ways to extend our brands through digital delivery of content, and VOCEL is leading the way in the mobile and wireless space. We have already partnered with VOCEL to deliver the industry’s first female targeted mobile content via Harlequin-To-Go on cell phones. We are equally excited about the rapid evolution of INCA and the opportunities it presents both carriers and consumers for the accelerated adoption of purchasing content over mobile phones.”
Previous investor Random House Ventures is also contributing additional capital as VOCEL works to meet the flurry of demand both domestically and abroad triggered by the company’s announcement that its INCA product was ready for large scale deployment. Random House Ventures is the venture capital investment subsidiary of Random House, Inc., the world's largest consumer book publisher.
Carl Washburn, CEO of VOCEL, said, "We've been delighted by the industry response to our INCA one-touch promotion engine. Our opportunities have increased exponentially and the additional funding enables us to aggressively pursue a new series of platform launches on a global basis. We are partnering with operators across the board to implement INCA on their networks so they can take advantage of the increased revenue and targeted data opportunities that INCA’s technology provides.”
About VOCEL
VOCEL's patent-pending, active push promotion engine puts operators and content owners in the data driver’s seat to actively, versus passively, market content. VOCEL’s Interactive Commerce Accelerator (INCA) creates one-to-one marketing based on user preferences that converts existing non-buyers into buyers and builds an ongoing customer relationship that drives repeat purchases. VOCEL’s opt-in platform ensures users receive only the content they want, when they want it and simplifies the data purchase experience to a simple, single click.
VOCEL's partners include The Princeton Review, Living Language, Random House Children’s Books, Harlequin Romance, The Pill Book, Verizon, Prima Games, and the United States Postal Service. VOCEL technology integrates voice, data, and messaging to improve the quality of your life!
For additional information, please visit VOCEL at www.VOCEL.com
Torstar Corporation
Torstar Corporation is a broadly based Canadian media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.B). Its businesses include newspapers led by the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper; CityMedia Group, publishers of daily and community newspapers in Southwestern Ontario; Metroland Printing, Publishing & Distributing, publishers of more than 90 community newspapers in Southern Ontario; digital properties including workopolis.com, toronto.com and LiveDeal.ca ; Harlequin Enterprises, a leading global publisher of women’s fiction; Transit Television Network, a leading out-of-home digital network providing information, entertainment and advertising to transit riders across North America; and Torstar Media Group Television, operator of SHOPTV Canada, a 24-hour DRTV channel.
Random House Ventures, L.L.C
Random House Ventures, L.L.C. is the venture capital investment subsidiary of Random House, Inc., the world's largest consumer book publisher. Random House Ventures, launched in 2000, focuses companies which have strong content, channel, or IP positions and which operate at the intersection of publishing and technology. In addition to VOCEL, Inc., its portfolio companies include Audible, Inc. (www.audible.com, ADBL on NASDAQ) The Princeton Review, Inc. (www.review.com, REVU on NASDAQ) American Reading Company (www.americanreading.com) Xlibris (www.xlibris.com) Classic Media (www.classicmedia.tv) and Ebrary (www.ebrary.com). Random House, Inc. is a publishing market leader in 12 countries around the world, and publishes more than 10,000 new adult and children's titles annually in hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, audio, and electronic formats. Random House, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann AG, a leading global media company with consolidated revenues of approximately U.S. $20 billion. With more than 600 individual companies, Bertelsmann has significant interests in all areas of media, including books, magazines, music, television, direct marketing, and media services.
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