|
Newsletters
|
|
|
|
|
|
WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Esurance and AvantGo Team Up to Bring College Hoops to Mobile Devices
DUBLIN and SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 1 -- The month of March means two things -- spring is around the corner and the college basketball tournament is here. Smartphone and personal digital assistant (PDA) users won't miss a second of the action thanks to Esurance(R), sponsor of this year's AvantGo(R) College Basketball National Tournament channel. Now in its fourth year, the 2006 College Basketball mobile Web site, sponsored by Esurance, provides all of the exciting tournament action, delivering game-day information directly to users' mobile devices wirelessly or via desktop synchronization.
The College Basketball National Tournament channel provides mobile users with a 24-hour news feed from SportsTicker. Users can stay current with the college basketball tournament wherever they go, with additional headline news and editorials from The Sporting News, including updated brackets, the latest scores, schedules, player stats and game recaps.
This year, not only will brackets be updated within one hour of the end of each game, but the College Basketball National Tournament mobile Web site also features exciting new bracket pool functionality in the "Bracket Challenge." A built-in feature of the mobile channel, the Bracket Challenge enables users to invite other AvantGo subscribers, friends or co-workers to join a pool and predict the bracket winners for each game. These private pools are self-administered to allow for personalized scoring preferences and a running total of individual scores in the pool. Additionally, subscribers can choose to play in the AvantGo-wide bracket challenge and pit their bracket prediction skills against tens-of-thousands of channel subscribers to see how they score based on a standard point system for correct predictions.
Applications that track bracket pools on mobile devices are a perennial favorite but often require the user to purchase a new version of software each year. AvantGo provides this service for free with the added benefit of being able to play against a nationwide pool of contestants.
The mobile Web site also builds awareness for the award-winning direct-to-consumer auto insurance company, Esurance, helping it reach a captive and engaged audience of 24-54 year-old tech-savvy users. Not only can basketball fans throughout the country follow their favorite teams, they can also find handy tips on topics such as saving money at the pump, defensive driving and more. Subscribers can also check out the latest adventures of "Erin Esurance," the company's perky cartoon spokesperson. Best of all, users can submit their e-mail address from their mobile device to request quotes on car insurance.
"AvantGo allows Esurance to deliver valued content to its target consumers -- tech-savvy busy professionals who need to stay connected. We believe the College Basketball National Tournament Channel is an efficient and intriguing way to help Esurance consumers get the latest game stats while catching their attention," said John Swigart, Esurance's Managing Director and CMO. "The rich, interactive medium that AvantGo provides is a novel way to extend our brand to a mobile audience with entertaining and useful information."
"We're excited to be able to offer college basketball tournament fans a free application that can not only keep them informed but can also help them easily manage their brackets and office pools. Now basketball fans can stay connected no matter where they might be-standing in line, on the road, at the airport, or even on vacation," said Neil Versen, senior director of AvantGo at iAnywhere. "We're also pleased to be working with Esurance to help them build awareness for their auto insurance products and services."
About Esurance Inc.
Esurance Inc., a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM) , provides personal auto insurance direct to consumers online and through select online agents. Esurance is dedicated to constantly improving the way people shop for, buy, and manage their auto insurance. By combining the best of technology with industry know-how, Esurance is able to offer hassle-free auto insurance coverage with 24/7 customer service and claims handling at competitive prices.
Through Esurance's Web site, http://www.esurance.com/, customers can get instant quotes, view comparison quotes, buy an Esurance policy, and print their proof of insurance card- all in minutes. Esurance also offers policyholders the ability to make policy changes and file claims instantly online, demonstrating its commitment to improving the entire insurance process from quote to claim.
About AvantGo
AvantGo is a free service from iAnywhere that delivers rich, personalized mobile websites to smartphones and PDAs. Today, hundreds of major brands, including BMW, CNET, Delta Airlines, Esurance, Microsoft, Rolling Stone and The New York Times, leverage AvantGo to target a highly desirable demographic of millions of registered users. AvantGo offers the convenience of anywhere, anytime access, seamlessly supporting both wireless and "sync and go" connectivity. To learn more about AvantGo visit http://www.avantgo.com/.
About iAnywhere
iAnywhere enables success at the front lines of business. The company holds worldwide market leadership positions in mobile and embedded databases, mobile management and security, mobile middleware and synchronization, and Bluetooth(R) and infrared protocol technologies. Tens of millions of mobile devices, millions of subscribers, and 20,000 customers and partners rely on the company's "Always Available" technologies, including SQL Anywhere, Afaria, OneBridge, and the AvantGo(R) mobile Internet service. iAnywhere is a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. (NYSE: SY) . Visit http://www.ianywhere.com/ for more information.
|
|
|
