Press room
MEMBERS OF SIMPLE PLAN BECOME CITIZENS OF WOOZWORLD
Montreal (Quebec), May 21, 2013 – Woozworld, a virtual world with over 20 million tween citizens from across the planet, is proud to announce that members of the famed Montreal band Simple Plan officially became citizens or “Woozens” today.
Through their five avatars, the Simple Plan band members treated Woozens to a hangout that included a listening party. The event was held at Simple Plan's Wooz residence, or Unitz, a branded virtual environment created just for the band, where many activities are slated to take place over the next six months.
Since its launch in 2010, Woozworld has grown to become one of the world’s most popular virtual world. Its millions of active users spend on average some 845 minutes per month playing and socializing.
Building and maintaining close ties with fans
With its branded “Unitz” and realistic avatars, Woozworld makes it possible for music artists to promote existing and exclusive musical content, host live shows, parties and other events, organize contests, and stimulate the sale of promotional merchandise. Simple Plan used the launch of their Unitz to publicize their new book “Simple Plan: the Official Story.”
“Creating meaningful connections with our fans has always been one of the most important trademarks of our band. Whether it is spending time with our fans after the shows or having conversations with them online, we take a lot of pride in trying to be the ‘world's most accessible band’. Joining the Woozworld community will give us the opportunity to create even more cool and fun interactions with our fan base and will give new people the chance to discover our music. We always love trying new platforms and ways to share our songs with the world and it's been awesome working with the Woozworld team launching this new partnership together,” said Simple Plan drummer Chuck Comeau, who is currently participating in a panel at C2MTL (www.c2tml.com), a conference on creativity and commerce that explores new business models in the music industry.
“Woozworld represents an excellent promotional platform for music artists to build ties with a key demographic: pre-teens. We are very proud to partner with Simple Plan and thrilled to see how enthusiastically our Woozens welcomed them to their world. Simple Plan’s music and brand are an excellent fit with Woozworld’s market positioning as a safe, ethical, fun and responsible internet destination that fosters creativity and empowerment in young people,” said Woozworld CEO Éric Brassard.
Taking storytelling to the next level
Digital media platforms such as virtual worlds have opened the door to new means of content creation, promotion and distribution. They give music artists an unprecedented ability to create immersive experiences and stories that enhance their brand narrative in ways that delight audiences across geographical and cultural boundaries.
During a concert or any other type of activity in Woozworld, artists themselves control what their avatars do and say and they interact directly with their fans, just as they would in real life. By blending virtual world and reality in an authentic and meaningful way, Woozworld represents a one-of-a-kind opportunity for artists and performers of all kinds to engage with audiences.
In addition, this platform makes it possible to gather valuable data about consumer behaviour based on young people’s preferences and emerging trends. In this respect it serves as a tool for research and business intelligence.
About Simple Plan
With the recent release of their fourth studio album, Get Your Heart On!, Simple Plan (www.simpleplan.com) continues to gain worldwide recognition. The multi-platinum Montreal-based band boasts global sales topping $8 million, in addition to several sold-out tours. Simple Plan's fourth album went gold in Canada, generating radio hits like Jet Lag, Can’t Keep My Hands Off You, Astronaut, Summer Paradise, and This Song Saved My Life. Attesting to their extraordinary popularity, the band has been voted Favourite Canadian Band an unprecedented five times by viewers of the MuchMusic Video Awards. Simple Plan has earned honours including the 2012 NRJ award for Francophone Group/Duo of the Year, the 2006 JUNO Fan Choice Award, and the 2005 Teen Choice Award.
The members of Simple Plan have used their global popularity to support worthy causes with the creation of the Simple Plan Foundation (www.simpleplanfoundation.org), which raises money for a variety of charities. In 2009 proceeds from the sale of the band's single, Save You, were donated to various cancer charities. Most recently, the Foundation made financial contributions to the Canadian Haiti Relief Fund and the Japanese Red Cross. In 2012, the band received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award, followed in 2013 by the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award. Through the Simple Plan Foundation, the JUNO Award-winning band donated to more than 50 youth-focused charities from December 2005 to August 2012, helping both young people in need and children facing life-threatening illnesses in Canada and abroad. Thanks to the incredible success of the group's benefit concert with the Montréal Symphony Orchestra last fall, the Foundation reached the remarkable milestone of $1 million in donations.
About Woozworld
Since 2010, Woozworld (www.woozworld.com) has marketed and operated Woozworld.com, an innovative 2.0 virtual world built and run by pre-teens. This unique ever-changing environment allows users, via their avatars, to create virtual spaces (“Unitz”), stage events, set-up and manage commercial activities, among other possibilities. Woozworld is supported by an outstanding team specializing in the production of online multi-player games and virtual worlds for children.
Backed by Telesystem (www.telesystem.ca) and iNovia Capital, Woozworld is part of Telesystem Media (www.telesystem-media.com) a subsidiary of Telesystem.
For images of Simple Plan’s avatars and Unitz in Woozworld, please contact Patricia Dubois.
Interview Request for Woozworld
- Patricia Dubois
- Advisor, Communications and Marketing
- Phone: 514.397-8441
- Email: pdubois@telesystem.ca
