Siegel+Gale Brands Future of Interactive Television

Siegel+Gale Brands Future of Interactive Television

Creates tru2way Brand Just Announced at Consumer Electronics Show

NEW YORK, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Tru2way, the new cable industry brand announced earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, was created by global strategic branding firm Siegel+Gale.

(Logo:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080124/NYTH014LOGO )

"Tru2way is the future of interactive television," says Alan Siegel, Chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. "This new, industry-standard technology will allow a whole new generation of interconnected media devices, including interactive television needing no cable box. Consumers will be able to vote, order pay-per-view, purchase products, services and music, organize their content, and access a personalized TV guide, all with a click of their remote."

The brand, previously called "OpenCable(TM) Platform," was brought to life by a multi-industry consortium that included cable operators Comcast, Cox, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, and Bright House Networks; electronics manufacturers Panasonic, Samsung, LG, and Microsoft; cable industry trade organizations CTAM and NCTA; and CableLabs(R), the cable industry's research and development arm, which owns the tru2way trademark.

"Our technology initiatives often result in consumer-facing products, such as the cable modem and digital voice products. But tru2way is the first industry-wide brand. I was greatly impressed by the excitement and reception it received during the electronics show. Tru2way appears to have really nailed it for cable's interactive video future," said CableLabs President and CEO, Dr. Richard R. Green.

Siegel+Gale's cross-functional strategy and creative teams collaborated with the consortium's partners to explore the technology's potential. An accelerated research process to include client and customer interviews led to development of the name, logo design, and brand positioning for this next-generation technology in five months.

"Branding tru2way was one of the most challenging, all-encompassing assignments we have tackled, joining together our media, entertainment, and technology practices," says David Srere, Siegel+Gale's Co-President and Chief Strategy Officer. "The brand not only needed to signal convergence to the consumer, it called for convergence within Siegel+Gale."

"Tru2way needed not only to convey to consumers a breakthrough in interactive TV," says Siegel+Gale's Co-President and Chief Creative Officer, Howard Belk, "it needed to become an imprimatur, a mark, to place on consumer electronics to signify the potential of the technology within that device. The brand needed to have a powerful verbal and visual identity, with a fresh, future-oriented, beautiful look that could mean something to consumer and developers alike." Tru2way-enabled televisions will be available for purchase by the 2008 holiday selling season.

THE NAME: The name, tru2way, expresses the true, two-way interactivity of this cable technology -- its ability to dramatically increase and deploy an array of exciting, new interactive services for cable consumers. It establishes a common software platform that enables cable companies, content developers, network programmers, consumer electronics companies, and others to extend interactivity to the television set and many other devices.

THE BRAND PROMISE: Tru2way promises to streamline how the public chooses, uses, and enjoys television. For enabled TVs, it means the television set is truly plug-and-play - no setup box, fewer wires, fewer remotes. On top of that, tru2way brings viewers simple two-way, interactive television that lets them see what they want and have more control.

THE LOGO: The tru2way logo is designed to help bring the brand promise to life. The arrows and name are integrated, giving it a streamlined, directional feel. The gradient color suggests fluidity. The lowercase letterforms are technical and modern. It is compact and legible. It also operates as a stand-alone trademark and technology symbol, signifying the purity of the interactive experience.

About Siegel+Gale

Siegel+Gale is one of the world's premier strategic branding companies. Since it was founded by Alan Siegel in 1969, the firm has applied the art and science of simplicity to create branding programs that have helped many of the world's best-known organizations excel. Driven by its philosophy of "Simple is Smart," Siegel+Gale has led the way in bringing innovation to the corporate branding field, including transforming complex, incomprehensible customer communications into plain English; helping clients create distinctive brand voices across all their communications; transporting brands onto the Internet; and aligning the brand experience for customers with the brand promise.

The firm has worked with an array of blue chip organizations, including American Express, Bayer, Lehman Brothers, Medtronic, Dell, Harley-Davidson, Lexus, Merrill Lynch, Yahoo!, Caterpillar, Sony, Motorola, the National Basketball Association, 3M, Dow, and The Four Seasons Hotel Group. Siegel+Gale has full-service offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Dubai and strategic partnerships around the world. It is part of the Omnicom Group Inc. (www.omnicomgroup.com), a leading global marketing and corporate communications company. Omnicom's branded networks and numerous specialty firms provide advertising, strategic media planning and buying, direct and promotional marketing, public relations, and other specialty communications services to over 5,000 clients in more than 100 countries.

For more information on the tru2way technology brand, or to speak with Siegel+Gale experts, please contact Davia Temin of Temin and Company at 212-588-8788 or news@teminandco.com.

Tru2way is a trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.

CONTACT: Davia Temin of Temin and Company, 212-588-8788, or
news@teminandco.com, for Siegel+Gale.

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080124/NYTH014LOGO
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Siegel+Gale

CONTACT: Davia Temin of Temin and Company, +1-212-588-8788,
news@teminandco.com, for Siegel+Gale

Web site:

http://www.omnicomgroup.com/

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