COGNO® EYEBALLS INTERACTIVE GAMES
Ed Dille, CEO of leading interactive firm FOG Studios, signs to represent Cogno for video games.
ST. LOUIS, MO - February 5, 2008 - The award-winning multimedia kid's brand, "Cogno" is making a name for itself among kids, parents and educators with its "Star Wars-Meets-Magic School Bus" approach to fun and learning. Leading agency FOG Studios will now take the Cogno characters, stories and products into the interactive realm.
In the Cogno world, intriguing characters from space - with names like Cogno, Phonica, Volo and Chrona - are the common thread linking games, books, syndicated content and other Cogno-branded products. All are aimed at enabling kids and their families to have a blast, while exploring and learning key concepts of science, math, and language.
"Cogno has great potential in the interactive space, because the brand possesses interesting characters, strong plots and storylines, and award-winning content. These are the earmarks of a winner in this space," says Ed Dille, CEO of FOG.
FOG Studios has held a leading position in business representation of branded properties for nearly three decades, having negotiated more interactive licensing agreements for greater combined value than all other licensing agencies combined. A pioneer in the field of video games, FOG nurtures and represents properties throughout the world and across multiple platforms including console, mobile, and online gaming.
"Interactive gaming is a natural extension of the Cogno brand-one that has been part of our strategic plan since the beginning. Due to the strength of our brand proposition and successes in offline games and content syndication, we were able to attract FOG Studios to represent us in this high-potential category," according to Stuart Montaldo, President & CEO of Cogno Products. "Ed Dille is exactly the seasoned professional that can help us realize Cogno's full potential in interactive gaming."
The agreement with FOG Studios follows Cogno's addition, in 2007, of Greg Hoffmann as its Vice President of Brand Development and Licensing. Formerly the CEO and co-owner of Mary Engelbreit Studios in St. Louis, Hoffman advises regarding Cogno's brand development, and leads its newspaper syndication and merchandise licensing planning. Prior to that, Cogno signed with literary agent Cathy Hemming, the former President of HarperCollins Publishing, to represent the brand in book publishing.
St. Louis-based DoubleStar, LLC, the developer of Cogno, is owned by Montaldo and a group of private investors. Since introducing the first Cogno game nationally in 2004, the product line has grown to four games, a book series and content syndications that are widely distributed in the United States and abroad. Together, Cogno products have garnered 27 national awards.
About FOG Studios
FOG Studios has been responsible for the creation of over $3 Billion dollars of revenue for its clients and customers via the placement of over 5,700 interactive titles into the international marketplace since 1979. The world's first and most successful interactive representation agency, FOG exclusively represents independent videogame development studios, brand and intellectual property owners, and service providers to the interactive entertainment industry from around the world. FOG creates opportunity for its exclusive list of clients on all platforms from cellular phones to next generation console games by packaging intellectual property rights with the developers and resources necessary to bring them to market. FOG helps publishers and other potential distributors of the products to make fully-informed decisions expeditiously and with confidence based on the longstanding proven track record of success we have uniquely achieved. Noteworthy gaming franchises created in FOG's history include, but are not limited to: ESPN, Command & Conquer, Test Drive, Kings Quest, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Castlevania and Warlords. FOG has placed titles with all of the top 10 publishers as well as countless other smaller publishers. FOG's roster of over 550 clients have included, among others: United Media, BMI, Ubisoft, Atari, Sierra, Westwood Studios, Sega, Paramount, Viacom, Robert Maxwell, Koei, FROM Software, Platinum Studios, ESPN, CBS Sportsline, the US Army Rangers, the Foreign Legion, Jenga, Arthur C. Clark, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, The Three Stooges (Estate), Paramount, Warner Brothers, Marvel, America On-Line, Yahoo, Ebay, Ringling Brothers Barnum and Baily Circus, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For more information please visit www.fogstudios.com or call 506-459-5604.
CONTACT:
Stuart Montaldo, CEO
Cogno Products
314-721-9199
montaldo@cogno.com
Ed Dille, CEO
FOG Studios, Inc.
215-704-5796
eddille@fogstudios.com