TAUBMAN CENTERS LETS BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPERS CREATE A LIFE-LIKE VIRTUAL VERSION OF THEMSELVES
Released: 08/13/07
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH, Aug. 13, 2007 — Taubman Centers, Inc. (NYSE: TCO) today announced it is helping students send family and friends a back-to-school wish list delivered by a personalized virtual version of themselves.
Beginning Aug. 9, students may visit 10 Taubman shopping centers or www.findyourgo.com and transform a regular photo of themselves into a custom talking avatar— a virtual talking cartoon-like representation of a person. The talking characters may be customized down to their clothing, hair color and background. Users can also record a personal voice message, type a message for the computer to speak or select a clever pre-recorded message that humorously tells parents why they need the attached wish list to succeed in school.
The customized avatar, created with the newly released Auto Photo technology from Oddcast, a speaking avatar technology company, may be emailed to friends and family as well as posted on a user’s MySpace page, blog or website for others to view.
Not only will parents get to view their child’s wish list and access weekly sales information organized by shopping categories, they can also learn about the trendiest back-to-school items and voice their opinions by voting on featured products.
"Students, particularly teens, like to be heard and this talking avatar and trend poll are two ways for them to voice their thoughts," says David Goldberg, Taubman Vice President, Marketing and Sponsorship.
To launch the avatar program, Many of Taubman’s shopping centers will host in-mall events that feature Pixman — people equipped with LED screens suspended over their heads via a backpack-like device. The head-turning Pixman will walk among shoppers educating them about the avatar program, directing traffic to center court. There, teams will hand out findyourgo lip balm and show visitors how to create their own avatars onsite from the center’s avatar kiosk or from home.
"Taubman is ahead of the curve. This deployment is a perfect example of digital and nontraditional coming together for an innovative and inspiring campaign that empowers and entertains shoppers," says Adi Sideman, CEO of Oddcast. "The students are going to think it’s cool and the parents will be wowed. It’s the perfect viral marketing mix."
The shopping centers to debut the Auto Photo technology are: Fairlane Town Center, Dearborn, Mich.; Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax, Va.; Northlake Mall, Charlotte, N.C.; Regency Square, Richmond, Va.; Stamford Town Center, Stamford, Conn.; Sunvalley, Concord, Calif.; Twelve Oaks Mall, Novi, Mich.; The Mall at Wellington Green, Wellington, Fla.; Westfarms, Farmington, Conn.; and The Shops at Willow Bend, Plano, Texas.
The avatars will be available for three months.
Taubman Centers, Inc., a real estate investment trust, owns and/or manages 23 urban and suburban regional and super regional shopping centers in 11 states. Taubman Centers is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. To learn more about Taubman visit www.taubman.com.
Oddcast is the leading provider of speaking avatar-based products designed for viral marketing, user generated content, website conversion, eLearning, social networks and mobile devices. Oddcast's voice and avatar platforms enable companies to improve business results, and provides consumers a tool for self-expression and personalized online communications. The company’s avatar platforms include: Enterprise (high-end custom solutions for brands and agencies), SitePal (self-serve avatar solutions for small business), and Voki (avatar platform for social networks and online communities.) Oddcast's products are Web-based, ASP-hosted and can be delivered to any device including browsers, mobile devices, TV and CD-ROMs. Oddcast serves over 200 million characters a month, and has over 9,000 customers including many of the most recognizable consumer brands. For more information log on to www.oddcast.com or call 212-375-6290.
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