In our initial discussions with Steve and his team, we all agreed the new Iplay identity should communicate the company’s mission to offer a broader range of interactive game entertainment to a larger target audience, especially beyond traditional casual gamers. Thermostat focused on the three core attributes of Iplay—content, curation and connectivity—to create the new brand.

As we went through the creative process, a simple brand mark emerged that embodied the new positioning from all angles. The new Iplay logo represents content, curation and connectivity with an orbiting group of letter I’s to express connectivity. We utilized the RGB color spectrum graphically to represent all digital media content and curation by overlapping shapes that form a play button in the center.

We at Thermostat are proud of our partnership with Steve and the Iplay team. In perfect tandem, we captured the true essence of the Iplay brand through our creative interpretation of their business objectives and core strategies. It will be fun watching Iplay continue its evolution as a globally recognized leader in interactive games entertainment—built on a strong new brand foundation created through our work together.

Shawn Rosenberger
Principal & Creative Director
Thermostat

After leading the recent corporate rebranding campaign at Iplay, Steve is primed to deliver a timely presentation on the importance of including employees in all critical corporate initiatives.

Click here for event information.

WHEN: August 7-8, 2012
(Steve’s presentation starts at 11.30a ET on August 8)

WHERE: Executive Conference Center | 1601 Broadway | New York City

Personally, I love the games and right now my national pride is at an all-time high. While I find myself rooting for every US athlete, watching the best in the world compete at the highest level is truly inspiring and the competition and sportsmanship is great to see. We wanted to translate that passion to this page and provide a destination for our customers to be a part of this worldwide event. At Iplay, we want to show our customers that we understand that gaming is a part of their life.

For the full Iplay Summer Games experience, visit www.promo.iplay.com/summergames; or jump right in and start playing via the below widget:

Watch with us, play some games and follow @Iplaydotcom on Twitter to see how we are connecting with our consumers about the Summer Games.

For more information on the Iplay Summer Games, read the latest post on the Iplay Insider Blog.

Doug Glickman
Senior Manager, Acquisition Marketing

Here’s where you will witness the Iplay Buzz during the week:

Tonight (Monday 7.23) – Pre-Funk Party

At each Casual Connect event, event organizers schedule a Pre-Funk Party to help kick-off the week’s events. This is a great opportunity to pick up your Event Badge, and reconnect with friends and colleagues at a casual network event.

But why stop there? As the official sponsor of the Pre-Funk Party, Iplay is adding to the events with the inclusion of a DJ, photo booth, and an all-night gaming contest for which the highest score will net a new iPad for the winner.

While there is no need to RSVP, you can download event details via this blog’s embedded image. We hope you will join us in kicking back before the week becomes a blur.

Tuesday 7.23 – Thursday 7.26 – Iplay Booth

We are pumped for Casual Connect Seattle, as it will be the first opportunity to promote our new Iplay brand at Platinum Booth #9. And judging by the list of meeting requests with partners and game developers already arranged… it looks like the buzz is spreading.

We are also raising our event awareness with daily drawings for prizes. Be sure to stop by each afternoon at 3p PT where we will announce winners of the following prizes:

Tuesday, Wednesday + Thursday: One $100 American Express Gift Card will be given away each day.

Thursday: After we announce the gift card winner, we will announce our Grand Prize Winner, who will receive a new iPad!

To enter, simply visit the Iplay Booth, and either drop off your business card or complete the supplied Iplay postcard. Win-win proposition: meet the Iplay Team, and potentially win an iPad… not too shabby.

Social Media

Iplay is going to be all over Social Media this week, and we invite you to follow all of the Iplay Buzz at the following:

Facebook: facebook.com/Iplaygaming

Twitter: @Iplay_Buzz
Follow the conversations via the searchable hashtag #IplayCCS12

Instagram (for iPhone and Android): Iplay_culture

Let the buzz begin!

Steve Hammer
VP, Marketing

By: Keith Andrew

Oberon Media’s decision to rebrand as Iplay wasn’t without obvious logic.

The games distribution specialist had long pushed out games across mobile platforms under the ‘I-play’ label, with its move to bring together all operations under the Iplay banner naturally boasting administrative advantages.

Keith Andrew of Pocket Gamer caught up with Bob Hayes, President + COO, to find out what moves Iplay is eyeing up next.

Click here to read the entire

By: Dean Takahashi

Oberon Media, which operates a big casual games portal, has rebranded itself as Iplay.

The new brand identity reflects an expansion of the company’s game offerings, products and services. The company has rolled out a new technology platform, has added a new executive team, and expanded its game offerings.

Click here to read more.

I am proud to share with you the exciting news that effective immediately Oberon Media, Inc. will begin operating under the new trade name Iplay.

Why the change? After all, we’ve been a leader in the casual games industry since 2003 and already power the game sites for some of the internet’s biggest brands. However, over the past year and a half, we’ve been very hard at work on making some really fundamental and positive changes within the company and we wanted a strong new brand that could represent them.

These changes include:
• Developing and beginning rollout of a completely new technology platform to our Distribution Partners
• Greatly expanded game content
• Major improvements in our customer support
• New product offerings on our game sites
• An infusion of strong thought leadership through many new employees

Although we’ve clearly made so much positive progress, we’re not stopping here.

We’re committed to continually improving the experience for our customers on our global network of sites, and we are focused on using technology and analytics to do so. Our goal is to deliver truly targeted and personalized gaming experiences that are unique for each user and his or her game playing habits. Discovering great new games should be fun and easy for every customer.

These are truly exciting times and there’s definitely more to come. You will be able to follow our announcements on this new corporate website… be sure to bookmark us for frequent returns.

And of course, for the latest in interactive game entertainment… check out our updated Iplay.com game site.

Finally, we are looking forward to our 1st public event as Iplay – next week’s Casual Connect Seattle (Monday July 23 through Thursday July 26). If you are planning to attend, let’s meet up and kick back at the Iplay-sponsored Pre-Funk Party on Monday night – the official kickoff of the week-long event. Then visit us at Platinum Table #9 during Casual Connect in order to qualify for one of our daily booth prizes.

Thanks for checking us out today and as always… thank you for your continued support.

Steve Hammer
VP, Marketing

Just a new logo and colors? Not even close. Iplay.com has been totally redesigned to help you easily discover even more games from your favorite categories and themes, personalize your experience, and help you share what you love with others.

Our new homepage features personalized recommendations based on your activity viewing, downloading and playing games. If you’re not logged in, you’ll see recommendations based on games you’ve viewed, but when you log in it becomes even more personalized. You’ll see the most common games played by other Iplay visitors who also played the games you most recently downloaded or played online.

Click here to read the complete blog from our colleague Dana Lancaster.

NEW YORK – July 17, 2012 – Oberon Media, Inc., a globally recognized leader in the distribution of interactive games and digital content, today announced that effective immediately, it will begin operating under the new trade name Iplay. The name change is part of a larger rebranding initiative that includes a new brand, logo, tagline and corporate website, reflecting the positive changes recently made within the company including the rollout of a new technology platform, expanded game content and product offerings, and a new executive leadership team.

Since 2003, the company has been providing gaming experiences to millions of game players worldwide, powering the game centers for some of the largest brands online including Microsoft, Yahoo! and AT&T. To further expand and evolve the company’s offerings, Bob Hayes was brought on as Chief Operating Officer at the end of 2010 and later appointed President. In the time since, the leadership team has continued to evolve to include strategic thought leaders and innovators from some leading brands such as ABC News, Aol, CNN, HBO, McGraw Hill, Pearson Education, and Sony Computer Entertainment of America.

“Oberon Media has been a recognized leader in the distribution of interactive games since its inception. Through this rebranding, we want to send a message to the marketplace that signals the fundamental and positive changes that have taken place in our company, further improving on the already exceptional services,” said Hayes. “The new leadership team has taken the company to the next level by improving on our technology and expanding both our game content and product offerings in order to deliver the most robust, highly targeted interactive game entertainment experience to consumers.”

The entire organization has been charged with fulfilling Iplay’s mission of delivering the industry’s most relevant interactive game entertainment – anytime, anywhere – to consumers around the globe. As a part of that mission, Iplay is currently migrating its partners to a new technology platform that enables all of its partners and end users to have the most robust experience possible. Technological improvements include faster set-up of new game center sites, as well as major improvements in customer service.

In addition to these improvements, Iplay is also using technology to create a better customer experience by delivering a truly targeted, personalized experience for the end user. The company has thousands of games in its catalog, but to take the customer’s experience one step further, it has introduced a data analytics engine to maximize consumer engagement. Using this engine, Iplay is better able to present the right game content, to the right user, at the right time.

Further, Iplay has significantly broadened its game catalog far beyond traditional casual games by offering games that appeal to men, women and all types of gamers. Growing its online game catalog by 50 percent, Iplay has also added genres that include Card and Casino, Sports, Action/Arcade, Sim and Indie games.

Other new product offerings are in development that are focused on creating a market-leading experience for partners and end users. As an example, Iplay recently launched a games widget that will give its distribution partners a new way to harness the engagement power of games across all target audiences.

In conjunction with today’s rebranding announcement, Iplay’s new corporate website went live along with an updated version of its consumer site. The company will be making its first formal public appearance as Iplay at Casual Connect in Seattle next week (July 24-26). As a platinum sponsor of the event, Iplay is sponsoring the Pre-Funk Party on the night of Monday, July 23 and will be available for meetings throughout the show.

Meet the Iplay Team during Casual Connect Seattle at Platinum Table #9. In order to make an appointment and/or schedule a media interview, please contact Stephanie Thoensen at
Stephanie_thoensen@bhimpact.com.

For more information on Iplay, please visit its new website at Iplay.com/company.

About Iplay
Iplay is a globally recognized leader in the distribution of interactive game entertainment. Since 2003, the company has successfully delivered personalized gaming experiences that engage, excite, and entertain millions of game players worldwide. In addition to its own Iplay-branded game sites, Iplay powers game centers for some of the world’s most recognized brands including Microsoft, Yahoo!, AT&T, Orange (France Telecom), on the strength of its broad content portfolio and innovative data analytics engine. Iplay is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Europe, and is backed by Goldman Sachs, Infinity Equity, and Oak Investment Partners. For more information, please visit us at Iplay.com/company.

Contacts:

Iplay
James Norberto
646.674.1414
James.Norberto@Iplay.com

Bender/Helper Impact
Stephanie Thoensen
212.689.6360
Stephanie_Thoensen@bhimpact.com

Come back tomorrow morning for an exciting message!