TMX group

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 13 /CNW/ - VRX Studios Inc., the wholly owned
subsidiary of VRX Worldwide Inc. (TSX-V:VRW), announced today the launch of
its "Always Fresh" campaign that date stamps all hotel photos, virtual tours
and interactive maps. This is the first time that consumers can see when these
images were certified by the hotels.
"This information is critical to the hospitality and online travel
industries as there is currently no way for consumers to know if photos are
stale or 'fresh,'" said VRX Studios President & CEO, David MacLaren. "Date
stamping of hotel images has never been done in large scale before, but it is
the logical next step in the development of the industry."
Starting today at 5:00pm (Pacific Standard Time), each image in VRX's
archive of hotel content will be stamped with a "freshness date" indicating
when each image was certified by each hotel as being accurate and up-to-date.
Knowing that the content being viewed is "Always Fresh" helps eliminate the
uncertainty experienced by consumers when booking accommodations online.
VRX has launched its "Always Fresh" campaign in collaboration with its
hotel partners to address consumers' concerns and in turn establish a new
standard for online hotel content. Trust builds purchasing confidence; VRX's
"Always Fresh" campaign is just one of many initiatives to ensure consumers
can rely on the images of hotels they see online.
"The ability to control the presentation of our hotel properties across
all our online distribution channels through VRX's Hotel Program has always
made VRX our content provider of choice," stated Joan Lowell, Vice President,
Electronic Distribution of Hyatt. "The introduction of date stamping to online
hotel content is the evolution of an already great concept that creates
unrivaled confidence and trust when booking hotels online."
"In recent weeks several consumer surveys have highlighted the
effectiveness of rich visual content in the online booking decision,"
commented MacLaren. "The certification and date stamping inherent in our
'Always Fresh' campaign takes the strength of rich media one step further by
guaranteeing viewers that any given VRX image is a certified 'fresh'
representation of a hotel at a clearly stated point in time. This is very
different from competing products where there is no information about the age
of the photos or videos."
MacLaren is on-hand in Los Angeles today to make the launch announcement
at the 2006 PhoCusWright Travel Conference. To arrange a meeting with David
MacLaren call Lucy Cook at 604.889.5458. To find out more about VRX's "Always
Fresh" campaign, call 1.800.605.0059, visit our website, www.vrxstudios.com,
or visit us at booth No.6 at the conference.