Santa Monica, California, United States
GGL has announced a multi-faceted marketing agreement with iCoke - Coca-Cola's branded online presence in China with more than 29 million registered users. As part of the agreement, GGL will host regional online gaming tournaments on the iCoke site, and in thousands of Coke supported cybercafes throughout the country. The winner of the iCoke tournaments will be flown to New York City to compete in the 2007 Digital Life gaming tournament, which will take place September 27 - 30.
In return, the iCoke agreement will broaden GGL's existing significant brand presence in China by heavily promoting GGL in more than 8,000 Coke-supported cybercafes around the country and installing a hot button for the "iCoke-GGL Gamezone" on iCoke portal for one year starting with the iCoke gaming tournament.
"China has one of the largest and fastest growing online gaming populations in the world, and as the leading media company dedicated to spreading the culture of video gaming worldwide, China is exactly where we want to be," said Ted Owen, Chairman and co-founder, GGL. "Our agreement with iCoke will give GGL's Chinese operations tremendous brand exposure. At the same time, iCoke will leverage GGL's online gaming content, communities and technologies to keep the iCoke and Coca-Cola brands top of mind among millions of Chinese online gaming fans."
According to Kyong Kon Ko, Director of E-marketing of Coca-Coca China Division, there are around 120,000 registered cybercafes in China - many of which have favorable distribution agreements with Coca-Cola or other beverage companies. By co-promoting GGL and iCoke in these cafes, Chinese online gaming players can immerse themselves in their favorite pastime - videogames, China's 99th official sport - while interacting with the iCoke brand at the same time.
"Of all the online gaming communities with whom iCoke could have partnered, GGL is by far the most recognized in the world and China. Also, it already has the existing expertise and infrastructure in place to promote and support live online gaming tournaments totaling hundreds of thousands of players," said Kyong Kon Ko. "We look forward to working closely with GGL to tie our two strong online communities closer together."
Since 2002, GGL's Chinese operations have being working in close cooperation with China Internet Gaming Organising Committee(CIG), the committee under the Chinese government's Ministry of Information Industry. Under the arrangement, GGL is helping the organization to co-produce major nation wide gaming tournaments like the CIG College League and the CIG National Competition, which attract more than 1,000,000 registered gamers. And, with this wealth of live events and GGL's unique online gaming technology, the iCoke Gaming Tournament will deliver a fantastic gaming experience to gamers in China.
About GGL
GGL is the leading media company dedicated to expanding and delivering the culture of videogaming to a worldwide audience. Formerly known as the Global Gaming League, GGL engages its growing, global community of loyal videogame enthusiasts via its state-of-the-art online gaming network, its year-round live videogame tournaments and events, celebrity leagues such as the Hip-Hop Gaming League and the Professional Baseball Gaming League, and broad array of gaming-oriented content, technologies and services. These offerings put the GGL at the epicenter of the online gaming universe, creating an immersive, 360-degree entertainment experience for a rapidly growing community of connected gamers. For more information, visit www.ggl.com.
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)