Rand McNally is Ready to Hit the Road With the 88th Edition of the Road Atlas

SKOKIE, Ill., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With summer travel season approaching, Rand McNally today launched the latest edition of its iconic Road Atlas, which includes new smartphone tags with mobile web links that provide users with enhanced road trip content.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110503/CG94385)

"Americans rely on the Road Atlas each year to help them plan their travels and to keep as a just-in-case back up in their car," said Dave Muscatel, CEO of Rand McNally. "The new 2012 Road Atlas has some extras that travelers will find even more useful."

In addition to hundreds of map updates, the new Road Atlas features smartphone tags (also called QR codes).  When scanned, the tags link to rich destination content. In addition to images and text, some tags point to videos featuring attractions and activities.  Travelers who don't have the tag scanner on their smartphone can get information and access to the free app at www.RandMcNally.com/QR.

"With the new smartphone tags in the 2012 atlas, travelers will be able to get relevant destination content that will help them plan for interesting stops while on the road," explained Muscatel.

The first Road Atlas was published in 1924 with annual editions rolling ever since.

Updates

Among this year's updates to the Road Atlas is a return to some favorite road trips – a program that kicked off the Best of the Road® brand a decade ago.  The new edition of the atlas contains overviews highlighting Rand McNally editors' favorite Best of the Road® trips from the last ten years.

This year's trips are:

• A Shore Thing: Michigan's Lake Michigan shore
• From Pacific to Palms:  A slice of Southern California
• Head for Hill Country:  The lush Hill Country of Texas
• Cultivating New York:  Canandaigua to Cooperstown, New York
• Simply Sonoma:  The backroads of Sonoma County, California
• Seaside to Summit:  Manchester to Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
• Southern Charm:  Rock Hill to Greenwood, South Carolina
• Snow on the Eastern Shore:  Ocean City to Baltimore, Maryland
• A Pacific Northwest Passage:  Portland and down the coast of Oregon

Best of the Road®

The new 2012 Road Atlas will be featured prominently in the recently announced Best of the Road® search and road rally.  Rand McNally and USA TODAY recently announced the joint program, which expands the Best of the Road® program from the pages of the Road Atlas to an online point of interest search and road rally.

Rand McNally and USA TODAY have kicked off a nationwide search for the best small towns and the best attractions in the U.S. The search will be celebrated in a cross-country road rally this summer.  Winning towns will be prominently featured in the next edition of the Road Atlas. For more information, to nominate a town, or nominate a team for the road rally, visit www.BestOfTheRoad.com.

About Rand McNally – Rand McNally is the most trusted source for maps, directions, and travel content.  Rand McNally's products and services include: Interactive travel service, Tripology; America's #1 Road Atlas; Award-winning IntelliRoute® truck routing software and GPS devices; TruckPC mobile communications solutions for the transportation industry; and the leading geography-based educational resources for the classroom.  Consumers, businesses, truckers, and educators depend upon Rand McNally to help navigate today's world. www.RandMcNally.com

About Best of the Road® – This year Rand McNally is celebrating the great American road trip with an online guide to the Best of the Road® -- featuring top attractions in more than 20 categories.   In collaboration with USA TODAY, Rand McNally also is searching for the best small towns in America.  From the "Best Beach" to the "Best BBQ" to the "Friendliest" small town, Rand McNally and USA TODAY will have travel covered.  Select winners in the program will be featured in next year's Rand McNally Road Atlas.  For more information about this program, visit www.BestOfTheRoad.com.  

Rand McNally, IntelliRoute, and Best of the Road are registered trademarks of Rand McNally.

In regard to the Best of the Road® rally:  No purchase necessary.  LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C.), 25 YEARS AND OLDER WHO DID NOT PURCHASE ANY EQUIPMENT FOR PURPOSES OF ENTERING THE CONTEST. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Enter Contest by: 5/23/11. For Official Rules and prize descriptions, visit www.bestoftheroad.com. Sponsor: RM Acquisition, LLC. d/b/a Rand McNally, 9855 Woods Drive, Skokie, IL 60077.

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SOURCE Rand McNally