IMARK Corporation Set to Launch Swamp Critters Children's and Family Internet Service Provider
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 3, 2000--IMARK Corporation (TSE-IAK) today announced that Animazing Entertainment Inc., its wholly owned children's entertainment subsidiary, will launch an Internet Service Provider (ISP) initiative designed specifically for families. The Swamp Critters ISP service, named after the popular television show, will be hosted by InfoCast Corporation (OTC BB - IFCC) on their network of Sun Microsystems super computers. It has been developed by i360 inc. of Tucson, Arizona, the leading provider of branded online communities.
The ISP will provide safe, secure, filtered content through X-Stop, the leading web filtering software. A Swamp Critters branded web guide will enable the search engines at 1.5 million websites to be accessed. A unique area of emphasis will be the home-schooling market, currently totaling 1.8 million households with a heavy family focus. Each ISP subscriber will have personal webspace, multiple e-mail addresses and access to exclusive content. Marketing of the ISP will be through television, product inserts in videos sold at retail and through Mail America direct mail offerings. The Swamp Critters television show is broadcast into 33.5 million homes each week.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) is the official watchdog of the Internet. The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon are officially endorsed by the NCMEC.
"The Internet is being accessed by children as young as 2 years old. We have identified a market need for an ISP service focused on children and families. The Swamp Critters brand recognition is growing in the family market as well as in areas served by the Jazzland theme park," stated Donald Matheson, IMARK's president & CEO.
"Animazing has partnered with InfoCast for the technology development and operation of the site. IMARK's wholly owned subsidiary, Animazing Entertainment, will collect monthly royalties of $6US for each subscriber. Future cost savings relating to providing service will be 65% retained by Animazing. This structure allows Animazing to focus on its strengths in product development and marketing."
The new services' Swamp Critters brand was created by singer/songwriter Bobby Goldsboro, "I created the Swamp Critters to bring quality, family-based values to television. The Internet has now evolved to the extent that very young children have the ability to access inappropriate content. I am excited that the development of this ISP will allow continued access to the intriguing world of the Internet, yet reduce the likelihood of unacceptable content being accessed by, or sent to, our children."
IMARK will initially market the ISP service to the family and Christian markets by traditional means. "Each week the Swamp Critters television show is broadcast into 33.5 million homes. Animazing owns 3 minutes of advertising time during the broadcast of each show that will be used to market the ISP. The family and Christian markets are a few of the last remaining verticals with demonstrated high customer loyalty, or stickiness. I am confident that through television exposure, Jazzland exposure, the nature of our target market and effective marketing campaigns we will build the Swamp Critters ISP into the premier ISP portal for children and families," said Matheson. Additional co-marketing opportunities will be announced shortly.
"89% of parents believe that access to the Internet at home helps their children with their schoolwork and a further 74% believe that children who do not have access to the Internet are at a disadvantage. Conversely, 71% of parents are concerned that their children may view explicit images on the Internet. The Swamp Critters ISP has been designed to deal with these concerns. By providing filtered content the Internet becomes an appropriate and safe tool for children."
"This is a exciting opportunity for InfoCast to use our technology expertise to help promote safe use of the Internet," said Jim Leech, president & CEO of InfoCast. "One of the best ways to encourage family web surfing is for the family to surf the Web together when children are very young. We believe that the site we are creating and marketing through the Swamp Critters brand will provide this encouragement." |
