Captivate Network Unveils Plans to Help Brands Come Alive; Strengthens Senior Management Team

    CHELMSFORD, Mass., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Captivate Network, the
 North American digital out-of-home news and entertainment network, today
 announced several new additions to the management team in order to execute
 on its plans to extend engaging network content beyond office tower
 elevators and lobbies and into the viewer's daily life. Currently in beta
 testing, the company's brand activation programs will be rolled out next
 year, creating exciting new ways for viewers to interact with brands that
 they see on the network, as well as offer advertising partners an
 integrated marketing platform approach to campaigns.
 
     Recently, Captivate brought sought-after elevator programming to the
 Web via six new blogs by the company's live editorial team. Under this new
 initiative, Captivate will continue to find and build out unique ways to
 boost its clients' brand awareness initiatives through a variety of
 channels, including Web, mobile and events, increasing audience engagement
 among affluent consumers. To help execute the new strategy, Captivate has
 made three new hires that will strengthen the company's leadership position
 in the media and advertising space and steer the direction of the company
 during a time of growth. Scott Lyon joined the company as vice president of
 marketing, Deanna Murray has joined the digital network as director of
 content, and Heather Frugoli has joined as brand activation manager.
 
     "Captivate continues to emerge as a rapidly growing multimedia brand,
 and this is just the beginning," said Mike DiFranza, president and general
 manager of Captivate Network. "We know that advertisers and viewers want to
 interact beyond the elevator and lobby, so creating more touch-points
 during the day is the next logical step. With new talent and innovative
 products in the pipeline aimed at increasing the brand awareness of our
 clients, I am confident that these three experienced media veterans will
 strengthen our corporate direction as we embark on the execution phase of
 our new strategy."
 
     Lyon will spearhead efforts around product development, studio
 operations and research, as well as promote the network strategically to
 its three distinct audiences: the real estate and advertising communities
 and the Captivate viewers. He brings more than fifteen years of media, real
 estate and consumer-based experience to Captivate. Lyon previously served
 as the director of marketing and general manager for LATimes.com and has
 held management positions at Turner Broadcasting and Sony interactive
 gaming. Lyon has an MBA from Harvard Business School.
 
     Deanna Murray, formerly the director of programming at AOL, will work
 with Captivate's editorial team and content partners to ensure the network
 provides live programming content to its viewers. At AOL, Murray led the
 team that developed and launched new consumer Web sites, including AOL RED,
 RED Blogs, RED U and Project Freshman. She has more than fifteen years of
 media content experience.
 
     As Brand Activation Manager, Heather Frugoli will work closely with the
 network's advertising partners, and she will be responsible for leading the
 network's bundled offerings and services. Frugoli will leverage her more
 than ten years of experience in promotions, events and sales management in
 her new position. Before joining Captivate, Frugoli managed promotions and
 events for Comcast Spotlight, a division of Comcast Cable.
 
     Captivate is the only medium that offers advertisers the opportunity to
 reach an exceptional audience of mobile professionals in a distraction-free
 environment during the workday. Captivate advertisers include BMW, Hyatt,
 Travelocity, Charles Schwab, AT+T, Avis, Microsoft, Visa, FedEx, American
 Airlines, Audi and Sun Microsystems.
 
     Captivate's network is viewed on digital-quality flat-panel television
 screens in the elevators of premier office towers, reaching more than 2.6
 million viewers each day in top DMAs. Captivate is seen in Atlanta, Boston,
 Calgary, Chicago, Columbia, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Hartford, Houston,
 Los Angeles/Orange County, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Montreal, New York,
 Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco/San Jose, Seattle, Toronto,
 Vancouver and Washington, DC. Captivate recently announced new lobby
 displays and a multi-media platform for its elevator displays. These next
 generation products provide a scalable, complete solution for both office
 towers and suburban office buildings, as well as for advertisers seeking to
 reach a target audience.
 
     About Captivate Network
 
     Captivate Network (http://www.captivate.com), is the North American
 news and entertainment network that delivers quality programming and
 advertising to a highly desirable and targeted audience during the workday,
 when they are making business and personal buying decisions. Captivate is
 one of the most effective advertising vehicles available, earning a high
 48% average total ad recall, according to Millward Brown studies*.
 Captivate's network is seen in a distraction-free viewing environment, on
 wireless flat-panel television screens in the elevators of premier office
 towers across North America. Currently, Captivate is seen on over 8,400
 screens, delivering more than 55.6 million impressions per month.
 Established in 1997 and headquartered in Massachusetts with offices
 throughout North America, Captivate Network is a Gannett company.
 
     *unaided plus visually aided
 
 
 

SOURCE Captivate Network