LONDON, March 16, 2010 – Cisco announces its first Cisco Eos® customer outside the United States, U.K.-based Dogwoof, a leading independent film distributor in the United Kingdom specializing in social issue films and documentaries.
Dogwoof, which recently distributed films such as Age of Stupid, and the Academy Award- nominated documentaries Food, Inc. and Burma VJ, is deploying the Eos platform to expand and empower its increasing online community, enabling conversations around the social issues raised by the films beyond the initial viewing.
Individual Eos-powered sites will be developed for each film that Dogwoof distributes and the social issue it addresses. In addition, each of the film sites will tie back to a centralized Dogwoof site called 'Good with Film' that will help audience members interact not only with social films and their content, but also with other people interested in the same topics.
Cisco Eos is a hosted 'software as a service' platform that enables media and entertainment companies to more economically create, manage and monetize social entertainment experiences built around their portfolios of branded content.
Supporting Facts:
- In addition to the new relationship, Dogwoof is announcing two new sites powered by Cisco Eos:
- Good with Film: Dogwoof's central online community that ties together all of the social issues their films raise.
- Dirty Oil: A site built around the documentary exposing the exploitation of the tar sands deposits in Canada.
- Good with Film is aimed at expanding and empowering audience members, enabling conversation around the social issues raised by feature films and documentaries beyond the initial viewing.
- Dogwoof will release more than six additional sites over the next 12 months; these will include sites for films such as No Impact Man, Videocracy, H2Oil and Budrus.
- Unlike traditional film distribution, where every film release means creating a new audience and a Web site that is never revisited once the film has been released, Dogwoof's community sites will grow organically as additional social issues are addressed in new films.
- Fans of Dogwoof's films use the online space as their main hub to share information. It's an incredibly active group of people, vocal and passionate about social and environmental issues. They comprise filmmakers, key influencers, opinion formers, non-governmental organizations, charities, celebrities and students, amongst others.
- Dogwoof is creating a community of content around social issue films, where the audience can interact online both before and after the film.
- With its centralized administrative environment platform and content syndication features, Cisco Eos can serve as a central hub for Dogwoof to push content out to third-party sites, but still draw audiences back to the official Dogwoof Web sites to interact with their content.
Supporting Quotes:
- "The audience is engaging with films in a different way, and we are constantly adopting new technologies to meet their needs," said Andy Whittaker, founder of Dogwoof. "The Cisco Eos platform will enable us to create fully integrated and interactive sites for our audiences and will also enable us to provide filmmakers with the necessary tools to interact with their audiences."
- "Cisco Eos is a game changer for Dogwoof and social issue films. Together with Cisco, we are creating a compelling user experience that is personal and social," said Anna Godas, co-founder of Dogwoof. "Today's film industry requires Dogwoof to play a much more interactive role with both the audience and filmmakers. We've been doing this by developing social media tools, and we believe that Cisco Eos will enable us to take our online communities to the next level."
- "Cisco is committed to helping innovative media companies like Dogwoof produce its next big hit: interactive online experiences that connect audiences with the entertainment content they love," said Dan Scheinman, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Media Solutions Group. "The Eos platform's combination of high-quality content, community and a scalable technology platform will allow Dogwoof to create these new entertainment experiences. We are proud to be able to work with Dogwoof to deepen and broaden its audience relationships through the Cisco Eos platform."
- "Technology is creating new ways to extend the audience experience beyond the theatre and engage consumers in a longer-term relationship with entertainment content," said Neville Wheeler, director of business development, Cisco Media Solutions Group. "Dogwoof's launch of a social issue community on the Cisco Eos platform enables them to continue the conversation they start with audiences through their films."
Dogwoof Films:
- Dogwoof films have a common underlying theme in driving change. Previous successes include:
- Academy Award-nominated documentary Food, Inc., supported by Stella McCartney.
- Academy Award-nominated Burma VJ, the first film to be screened at No. 10 Downing Street.
- Black Gold, widely credited with shifting Starbucks' position on fair trade.
- The Age of Stupid, which led to the 10:10 campaign.
- The End of the Line, which was largely responsible for Marks & Spencer and Prêt-a-Manger changing their tuna policy.
- The successful Mugabe and the White African.
About Dogwoof:
Dogwoof is the leading UK independent film distributor for documentary and social issue films. Previous successes include Black Gold, widely credited with shifting Starbucks' position on fair trade; The Age of Stupid, which led to the 10:10 campaign; The End of the Line, which was largely responsible for Marks & Spencer and Prêt-a-Manger changing their tuna policy; and Burma VJ, which on the eve of the 64th Birthday of detained former leader Aung San Sui Kyi, was the first film ever to be screened at No. 10 Downing Street. Food, Inc is Dogwoof's most recent release which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards. As well as achieving great success with these titles, Dogwoof is unique in that it identifies a double bottom-line and sees the potential of film to bring about social change.
Additional Dogwoof Resources:
- Background information about Dogwoof here.
- Dogwoof Wikipedia entry here.
- Learn more about the Dogwoof team.
- Follow Dogwoof on their:
About Cisco's Consumer Business:
Cisco's consumer business includes home networking products, set-top boxes, media solutions and content delivery systems. Through collaboration with technology partners, service providers, content providers, retailers and consumer electronic device manufacturers, Cisco is expanding the Human Network to create an intelligent, end-to-end media-optimized network that extends from the content source to the consumer.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.
Additional Cisco Resources:
- Read more information about Cisco Eos on CMSG's home page.
- Read the product data sheet and technology overview for Cisco Eos.
- Check out these Web-based vignettes that further explain how Cisco Eos supports media companies and the executives/departments responsible for the delivery of digital and social entertainment experiences.
- Follow Cisco's news and activities on Cisco's DigMediaRev blog, CiscoEos Twitter feed or, or Cisco Eos Facebook page.
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