Maxell Continues Multi-Million Dollar Targeted Sponsorship Campaign by Aligning With Action Sports Pro Tour

Maxell Continues Multi-Million Dollar Targeted Sponsorship Campaign by Aligning With Action Sports Pro Tour

Sponsorships, Programs and Contests Reach "Millennial" Consumer

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 2004, Maxell Corporation of America, (www.maxell.com), has made an unprecedented investment for a media company in supporting entertainment experiences, programs, and sweepstakes that enhance the culture and lifestyle of its customers. Maxell, the technology and marketing leader in advanced storage media and accessories for music, video and data, set out to reach their core audience of Millennials - men and women aged 16-34- where they go to be entertained. Maxell's targeted sponsorships include the Action Sports Pro Tour, ESPN X Games, the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and Songwriting Contest, South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, The New York Film Festival (NYFF), and House of Blues Music Clubs Nationwide.

"Maxell's sponsorships of extreme sports, music and film mirror the interests and lifestyle choices of our target audience," said Cheryl Severini, senior marketing manager at Maxell. "Participation at these events keeps Maxell top-of-mind with our customers while they are enjoying themselves. These sponsorships are also strategically tied to our product lines, including audio and video media storage and a wide range of headphones and other MP3 accessories."

Action Sports Pro Tour

Early this fall, Maxell added the Action Sports Pro Tour to its roster of sponsorships to offer exciting on-site experiences for fans. The Action Sports Pro Tour is an action-packed event designed for Millennial consumers, fusing world-class skateboarding, freestyle BMX and motocross, inline skating and snowboarding competitions with cutting edge performances by nationally recognized bands. The Tour moves from city to city, reaching a broad audience.

At each event, consumers not only cheer on some of the world's best extreme sports athletes but also get to watch their favorite band perform on the "Maxell Music Stage." In 2008, some of the bands who played on the Maxell Music Stage included The Game, Hoobastank, Filter, Theory of a Deadman and Kardinal Offishall. The first event to be broadcast took place in Cincinnati and aired on CBS on November 8, 2008. Events were also broadcast on Versus and Fuel TV throughout 2008 and will continue into 2009. Attendees to the events have a chance to visit the Maxell booth and spin the prize wheel to win free giveaways like digital headphones, CDs and DVDs. Custom Maxell-branded skateboards are also given away throughout the events.

ESPN X Games

For the third consecutive year, Maxell's sponsorship of the ESPN X Games creates exciting on-site experiences for dedicated extreme sports fans and enthusiasts who enjoy recording digital music and videos. To build excitement before, during and after X Games, Maxell offers a sweepstakes that runs as an on-pack promotion on Maxell DVD-R, DVD+R and CD-R media products providing participants with the opportunity to win an exclusive Grand Prize trip for two worth over $20,000 to the following summer's X Games. Additional prizes include a custom designed Maxell-branded skateboard featuring the blow-away icon in flame red, gray and cool white graphics. This proved to be Maxell's most successful sweepstakes to date with more than 75,000 online entries.

The ESPN X Games sponsorship provided opportunities for the brand to interact with the target audience through booth activities in the "Experience Village." Maxell was also able to expand brand awareness to a broader group of fans, including event attendees and television viewers, through TV spots on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, online banners on ESPN.com and EXPN.com and on-site signage at the events.

John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and Songwriting Contest

Maxell is one of the founding sponsors of the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest which support both aspiring and professional musicians, videographers and music and arts education everywhere. The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit, mobile recording and multimedia studio outfitted with musical instruments and audio and video capabilities sponsored by Maxell. Attendees at events where the Tour Bus visits, including the ESPN X Games, benefit from hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment used by professional recording artists and filmmakers.

Celebrating its 11th year, the John Lennon Songwriting Contest provides an opportunity for both professional and amateur song writers to win the Maxell Song of the Year honor. Selected by a line-up of famous music industry icons like Elton John, Tim McGraw, Wyclef Jean and many more, the winner of the Maxell Song of the Year is granted $20,000, courtesy of Maxell, and a host of other prizes and opportunities. 72 other winners in the 12 musical categories are also honored and awarded prizes.

Film Festivals

Maxell has also continued to support the independent film industry through sponsorships of the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) and the New York Film Festival (NYFF). To help recognize new artistic talent in film, Maxell provides one lucky filmmaker at the SXSW Film Festival with the "Emerging Visions Audience Award." The prize includes a glass trophy

featuring the Maxell "Blow Away" icon, a check for $2,500 toward the winner's next film and an additional $2,500 to be given to a charity of the winner's choice. Since 2007, Maxell has also been the official media sponsor of the New York Film Festival. The company plans to increase its involvement in 2009 by becoming a co-lead sponsor of the NYFF.

House of Blues Music Clubs

In 2008, Maxell provided its target audience with great music experiences and premium media accessories by sponsoring the House of Blues Music Clubs Nationwide. To end their year-long sponsorship, Maxell gave consumers the chance to win a grand prize trip for four to a New Year's Eve concert of their choice and $1,000 in House of Blues Gift Cards. Ten runners-up received two tickets to a concert of their choice and $400 in House of Blues Gift Cards. The House of Blues is located in 10 major US cities and offers more than 2,400 shows each year. Maxell's presence at House of Blues venues touched more than 1.5 million music fans at over 2,000 shows in 2008.

Youth-Oriented Packaging

In addition to supporting entertainment events geared to the Millennial generation, Maxell has also given its digital media product packaging a makeover to appeal to a younger audience. Maxell's new package design features a fresh new look with brightened colors and a sleek, modern design, while maintaining the overall color scheme and prominent red and white logo that consumers have come to recognize. In addition to the aesthetic updates, the packaging also includes an easy-to-read capacity bar for more convenient shelf browsing.

About Maxell

Maxell Corporation of America, a technology and marketing leader, is a full line manufacturer of digital media products for consumer, professional and data storage markets. The company offers a full line of electronics care and maintenance products along with storage products and a well-known brand of headphones, iPOD/MP3 peripherals and speakers. Maxell has been recognized for forty years for delivering a comprehensive line of digital tape and disc-based recording media products for consumer audio, video, camcorder and data storage applications. www.maxell.com

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Source: Maxell Corporation of America

CONTACT: Jessica Lokaj, Cohn & Wolfe for Maxell, +1-212-798-9702,
Jessica.Lokaj@cohnwolfe.com

Web Site: http://www.maxell.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment