MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
May 15-31, 2005 Edition
Harlequin Signs
Premium Licensing
Deal With Vocel
TORONTO/05/09/05In an effort to appeal to younger audiences, Harlequin Enterprises Limited has announced a new branding and content licensing agreement with wireless application publisher Vocel.
Under the agreement Vocel will develop an innovative platform for Harlequin that extends their enriching reading experience to a new, technically savvy young audience. Harlequin will provide subscribers with a variety of entertainment choices, including daily-serialized novels by bestselling authors, romance-writing seminars and interactive pursuits such as helping to choose male cover models for upcoming Harlequin novels or even using their camera phones to submit pictures of their own boyfriends as possible cover models.
“We are pleased to work with Vocel in bringing content to our readers using their mobile phones,” commented Donna Hayes, Publisher and CEO of Harlequin. “With all the mobile phone applications targeted toward men, I am delighted a mobile phone application is being developed specifically for women.”
The Harlequin experience, which has delighted millions of women for over 50 years, will now be accessible anywhere, anytime via the mobile phone, says Ms. Hayes.
“At Harlequin we’re experts at creating entertaining and rewarding experiences for women,” stated Pam Laycock, Executive Vice President, New Business Development and Strategy. “We are always searching for exciting new ways to reach readers. In addition to being a groundbreaking new format, this application introduces a fun and refreshing new way for women to enjoy the Harlequin experience.”
Vocel specializes in bringing premium branded content to mobile phone users via its patent-pending push technology. “We’re excited to bring one of the world’s most well known publishers to a new medium and a new audience,” commented Carl Washburn, CEO and president of Vocel.
Harlequin’s content is scheduled for availability in the fall of this year.
About Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is the one of the world’s leading publishers of women’s fiction. Its books are published worldwide in 25 languages and sold in over 94 international markets. The company publishes over 100 titles monthly and publishes more than 1000 authors from around the world. Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation, a broadly based media company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TS.nv.b). HARLEQUIN’s Web site is located at www.eHarlequin.com .
About Vocel, Inc.
Vocel is a publisher of premium branded mobile phone applications. Vocel has branding and content partnerships with The Princeton Review and the United States Postal Service, Living Language and Prima Games. Vocel is based in San Diego, California, and is privately held. For more information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.vocel.com .
