Canoe: Press Room

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New York, September 23, 2009
CANOE VENTURES AND VCU BRANDCENTER PARTNER TO ENCOURAGE NEXT GENERATION OF TV ADVERTISING

Canoe Announces Scholarship Fund for VCU Brandcenter Students

Canoe Ventures and the VCU Brandcenter announced today the creation of their Partnership for Innovation in Television Advertising. The partnership was created to support VCU�s educational activities designed to foster innovation by teaching graduate students how to apply new technologies that are turning television into a more compelling and competitive marketing medium. Interactive TV advertising will become a bigger part of the school�s curriculum, culminating in a project next year that will challenge students to explore innovative applications of cable�s newest advanced ad technologies. To kick-off the partnership, Canoe Ventures has established a scholarship fund.

�Canoe Ventures is working with the industry to advance the medium in ways that should be interesting to all advertisers,� said Rick Boyko, Director of VCU Brandcenter. �We are pleased to be able to tap into their knowledge and we�re grateful to the commitment they�re making to tomorrow�s advertising leadership through their scholarship. This announcement comes at an opportune time as we celebrate another Advertising Week in New York City and the beginning of another school year.�

�As a founding board member of the VCU Brandcenter, I�ve seen it grow to become one of the most influential graduate schools in the industry,� said David Verklin, CEO of Canoe Ventures. �The Brandcenter�s multi-disciplined approach � integrating creativity, technology, strategy and brand management � reflects the convergence of factors that is shaping our world. Our scholarship commemorates Canoe�s commitment to fostering the next generation of not only the technologies, but also the talent, that will shape the future of advertising. We are leading the industry to evolve with the medium.�

Interactive TV advertising is being deployed across the country by cable operators who are introducing new products and services that enable marketers to reach and engage audiences in innovative ways and empower millions of cable customers to interact with their TVs like never before.

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About the VCU Brandcenter
Started in 1996 as the VCU Adcenter, the VCU Brandcenter is the first graduate program in advertising to combine business-oriented communications strategy and brand management tracks with a creative program for art directors, copywriters and creative technologists in a business setting. It was formed to develop the skills of talented postgraduates, enabling them to enter the business world with a highly competitive portfolio of collaborative thinking. The VCU Brandcenter is the graduate advertising and branding program for the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University. The program offers five tracks: art direction, copywriting, creative brand management, creative technology and communication strategy. VCU Brandcenter students earn a Master of Science degree in mass communications with a concentration in advertising. It is a two-year, full-time program that begins each fall. For more information, visit www.brandcenter.vcu.edu.

About Canoe Ventures, LLC
Canoe Ventures, LLC, is a company founded by the nation�s leading cable operators including Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems Corporation, Charter Communications, Inc., Comcast Corporation, Cox Communications Inc., and Time Warner Cable. Based in New York City, the company is focused on using the power of cable to redefine television and make it the preeminent digital marketing channel.

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Media contacts:

Tom Gresham
VCU Communications and Public Relations
Harrison House
816 West Franklin Street
P.O. Box 842036
Richmond, VA 23284-2036
Tel: 804-828-6051
www.news.vcu.edu

Dana Runnells
Sr. Director, Marketing Communications
Canoe Ventures
666 Third Ave, 26th floor
New York, NY 10017
Tel: (212) 364 3627
Dana.runnells@canoe-ventures.com