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SIGMA America Announces Fundraising Campaign to Benefit Humanitarian Efforts in Ukraine

SIGMA CORPORATION OF AMERICA

SIGMA Corporation of America, a leading camera and lens manufacturer for both photography and cinema applications, is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Focused on the Fight Charitable Giving campaign. As in the two years prior, SIGMA, whose focus for the fundraiser is a humanitarian one, is partnering with their dealers to help people suffering hardships of any kind. From April 1 through June 30, 2022, 5% of all sales at participating retail partners will be donated to three charitable organizations, including Save the Children - Ukraine, and World Central Kitchen, each of which is providing immediate humanitarian relief to Ukraine. The first two Focused on the Fight campaigns have raised over $193,000 for charitable organizations across the United States in partnership with twenty-four participating retail partners, and this year, the campaign continues its mission to help provide aid to the communities that need it most right now. Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of SIGMA America states, "Photography, by its creative nature, promotes awareness, compassion, and empathy; it is at the heart of all we do. And I strongly believe that SIGMA America's picture must match our words. As the US subsidiary of a global company, and as fellow human beings, supporting these humanitarian charities that are providing relief to the Ukrainian people at this time of extreme suffering is a concrete way for us to demonstrate that our community's commitment to compassion knows no boundaries." Participating dealers include: B&C Camera B&H Photo Video Bedford Camera & Video Camera Concepts & Telescope Solutions Camera Mall Glazer's Camera Houston Camera Exchange Hunt's Photo & Video Kenmore Camera Murphy's Camera National Camera Exchange OC Camera Pictureline Phototec Pro Photo Supply Roberts Camera Samy's Camera Service Photo The Camera Company Woodward Camera Individual dealer contributions are capped at $20,000 and total donation amount is capped at $150,000. All funds will be split equally between the three charity organizations. For the most up to date information on participating dealers and benefiting charities, please visit: https://www.sigmaphoto.com/focused-on-the-fight #FocusedOnTheFight For more information, please contact: Jack Howard / SIGMA Corporation of America / sigma.pr@sigmaphoto.com About SIGMA Corporation Craftsmanship. Precision. Dedication. Since 1961, SIGMA has been devoted to the pursuit of advancing photographic technology. Unique to the industry, the family-owned business produces its high-quality, award-winning still photo and cinema camera lenses, DSLR and mirrorless cameras, flashes, filters and accessories from its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility located in Aizu, Japan. In 2012, the company introduced SIGMA Global Vision with three distinct lens lines: Art, Contemporary and Sports. Designed for industry camera mount systems including Canon, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Sony and SIGMA, each lens is handcrafted and tested in Japan to ensure a high-performance, premium product that is purpose-built to last. In 2016, the SIGMA Cine lens lineup was launched, further cementing SIGMA as an innovator in imaging engineering. Embodying the core optical DNA that has defined the SIGMA benchmark of excellence, SIGMA Cine lenses meet the needs of advanced 6k and 8k cinema production. Forming the landmark L-Mount alliance alongside Leica and Panasonic in 2018, SIGMA continues its storied tradition of imaging excellence through groundbreaking innovations such as the native L-mount SIGMA fp and fp L full-frame mirrorless digital cameras, announced in July 2019 and March 2021 respectively. These products, along with 30 award-winning SIGMA Global Vision lenses available in native L-Mount format, demonstrate SIGMA's continued commitment to the creative community through expanded product offerings. With the fp, fp L and these lenses, even more users can now leverage SIGMA's renowned optical formula to achieve their creative vision with ease. ### For information about SIGMA America, please visit sigmaphoto.com and SIGMA Blog for helpful information about our products. Follow SIGMA America on social media! SIGMA Photo: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram SIGMA Cine: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Contact Details SIGMA Corporation 631.585.1144 X1015 SIGMA.PR@sigmaphoto.com Company Website https://www.sigmaphoto.com/

April 04, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Murasai is Building a Community-owned NFT Brand

Murasai

Starting April 6th, Web3 will witness the drop of 5802 avatars that give collectors exclusive access to a whole set of perks. Murasai sets out to build a passionate community and will reward members with a real-world utility like streetwear merch, NFT drops, live events, and more to-be-released features. The collection will be deployed on the Ethereum blockchain in three stages starting with the Bendo pass on April 6th, a whitelist sale on the 9th, and the public on the 10th of April. The Bendo pass will grant early investors the opportunity to claim exclusive content like a signed art book by the artist. The team is made up of experienced Web natives who collaborated with Swiss artist Christopher Fernandes to create futuristic streetwear-inspired Samurais. Murasai holders can redeem merchandise based on their distinctive NFT avatars features and enter real-life events to forge physical collectives based on the NFTs. Airdrops to customize the collector's avatars will be another exclusive feature for the Murasai holders. The developers are working on the possibility to make Murasai NFTs customizable and will grant one-of-a-kind drops to holders based on the rarity of their avatar. The real-life utility of the Murasai NFT collection is one part of the feature-packed roadmap. Murasai will enter the Metaverse and build an RTKFT inspired Web3 space for community members to come together for exclusive events and to customize their avatars. Customization will play a big role in the Murasai universe, the team is working with one of the most renowned 3D Metaverse to create a lasting impression in the NFT space. The Bendo is backed by the backstory of the Muraverse and will be a place for collectors to fuse community, art, and culture around the NFT collection. Their community consists of more than 20k active followers and their discord anticipates the official launch of the collection. To learn more about Murasai, their official website can be found at murasai.com. Early mint access for the Bendo pass can be found here and click these for links for the official Twitter and Discord. Also, you can check the NFTdroops calendar link. Contact Details Murasai Siranush H +1 702-410-7649 siranush@nftdroops.com Company Website https://www.murasai.com/

April 01, 2022 07:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time

The Smiley Company Illuminates Cities for International Day of Happiness

YourUpdateTV

Timed to International Day of Happiness, The Smiley Company unveiled large-scale projections around the world featuring the iconic smiley logo in the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The projections are in support of the United Nations International Day of Happiness “2022 Happiness for All, Ukraine”* initiative and serve to call attention to and honor the bravery and resilience of the people of Ukraine. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/AyFO6v2Ihbg The Smiley projections appeared on the streets of major cities around the world including London, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney. As part of this announcement, Smiley also donated to various humanitarian organizations supporting Ukraine and has been using its platform, The Smiley Movement, to further raise awareness and share resources for ways to donate to the Ukraine effort. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, International Day of Happiness aims to remind people around the world that actions matter and each person can help build a more compassionate world, wherever they are. Since its inception 50 years ago, Smiley’s mission is to spread good news to demonstrate the immense power in a smile through the spread of positivity, good news and optimism around the world. For more information on how to support Ukraine, visit https://smileymovement.org/ for a list of charities, ways to donate and resources taking positive action. * This initiative is in support of the United Nations official International Day of Happiness campaign and The Smiley Company is not officially affiliated with the UN or their initiatives surrounding International Day of Happiness. About The Smiley Company: For the past 50 years, Smiley has embraced positivity, creativity, and collaboration, inspiring forward-facing optimism around the world. Born as a symbol for good news in the newspaper France Soir in 1972, Smiley is now a universally recognised TOP 100 global licensing company registered in over 100 countries. Working with brand partners and leading retailers, Smiley spreads positivity through fashion, accessories, beauty, homewares, food packaging, stationery, and entertainment products. A lifestyle brand that encourages everyone to express more empathy, compassion, and gratitude, Smiley is determined to build a better future. About The Smiley Movement: Smiley Movement is a nonprofit community interest company sponsored by the original SmileyⓇ brand. Our vision is to inspire positive change in society by creating a happier, more equal and sustainable world, where everyone works hand-in-hand to address urgent societal and environmental problems. In 2017, philanthropist and social entrepreneur Nicolas Loufrani – Smiley’s CEO – identified a gap in the market between the people looking for opportunities to give back and the millions of charitable causes in need of support. Market research at the time showed ‘92% of the UK public want to do good in the world but are unsure how to’ and ‘82% would volunteer more if they were better informed about the charity sector’. Smiley Movement was born in 2018 to address this need by providing the technology and ecosystems that empower communities around the world to act on issues important to them. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

March 31, 2022 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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HowToBet NCAAM Final Four 2022

HowToBet.com

We always ask if you have learned about How To Bet yet. Judging by the views for the How To Bet podcast during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, that may no longer be apropos: now, it is just about how big the first-year sports betting podcast can get. Show co-hosts Daryl Fein and Sean “The Genius” Miller have been joined by show director Nery Rodriguez, and the innovations to the program continue, as the programming expands. During the National Football League season, viewership was steady from Week 1 until the Super Bowl, with linear growth throughout the run. But for the NCAA Tournament, the viewership has jumped: one of the first round shows, about the South Region, did better than the record for views set way back in August 2021 for the debut show of the podcast. On top of that, the live shows, which started for the Round of 32, continued for the Elite Eight, and will end with the National Championship preview this Sunday at 9 a.m. EDT, have seen a new type of format that we haven’t previously experimented with, and it’s turning out to be quite successful. “What can I say about this show, other than it has been a lot of fun to keep it rolling,” Miller said. “I want to say I can’t believe that we are posting these viewership numbers, but I will be honest: I think after our NFL run, which saw us make so much money for bettors around the country and the world, I thought this NCAA Tournament show could have been huge. “The numbers show that we were correct. This is such a massive three weeks for sports betting, and with all the new states and people looking for guidance, I figured we would do some numbers for these shows. You never know for sure when you change formats, adding another person and going live for example, but the people have come out in droves and watched it. “The live shows are really cool, because you can get more up-to-date information to the bettors out there. I think we can utilize it for other sports as well. For me, of course, the World Cup is coming up, so that could be good. For football season, though, we can go live on Thursday in the lead up to the NCAA and NFL games that night.” The success of the three-week run has given Fein and Miller a lot of ideas for the future, which is great news for the How To Bet family. But that is down the road: right now, How To Bet will focus on one of the most intriguing Final Fours in history. If you have been watching, you know who “The Genius” is taking; and if you have been going with his North Carolina picks this whole tournament, you might be way up heading into Saturday. “Yeah, you know where I am going here,” Miller said. “I am a Tarheel born and Tarheel bred. I had them to win the East Region, and I won big with that. No one had them to win the bracket, except me, and I have the ticket to prove it: you can see it on the latest show. Now, UNC gets a chance to spoil another Coach Knight? “Sign me up. And then hopefully, we can get Villanova for a little revenge from 2016. But look, I am excited for this weekend. I have been to the Final Four in 2008 in San Antonio and 2009 in Detroit–where, by the way, I saw UNC win the title–and this is always a cool few days. But it is also the end of the season until November, which is always sad for basketball fans. “For us, though, it is time to end strongly, and then start to figure out what is up next. There is always a next season, and a next sport, for bettors; it never ends, and we want to be there to help the bettors beat the books.” About HowToBet.com HowToBet.com offers one of the world’s most comprehensive betting guides that can be accessed via a user-friendly web app. Its mission is to help make online betting safe, fun and as easy as performing a search on the web. There are already more than 400+ how-to guides freely available, all written by seasoned betting professionals. More guides are being added on a weekly basis in a continued effort to educate anyone interested in what is now a $199 billion betting industry. For more details, visit: https://www.howtobet.com/about-us/. Contact Details Cristian Campan +45 50 30 42 66 cristian.campan@raketech.com Company Website https://www.howtobet.com

March 31, 2022 08:47 AM Eastern Daylight Time

San Jose, Washington, D.C., and Austin named host cities for Premier Rugby Sevens in 2022

Premier Rugby Sevens

Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) announced its nationwide expansion into new cities in 2022. The league’s tournaments will bring the famous rugby sevens festival experience to Major League Soccer (MLS) stadiums in San Jose at PayPal Park (Saturday, July 9), Washington, D.C. at Audi Field (Saturday, July 16), and Austin at Q2 Stadium (Saturday, July 30). As the first league of its kind with men’s and women’s teams competing under one umbrella with equal pay, each PR7s event will boast a party-like atmosphere with bands, DJs, games, contests, partner integration, and special appearances. Tickets for each event are available at PRSevens.com/tickets. PR7s also unveiled a revolutionary new prize that unites the men’s and women’s competitions, with combined points throughout the season determining the winner of the United Championship. Eight teams compete within four franchises: Experts, Headliners, Loggerheads, and Loonies. A men’s team and a women’s team represent each franchise. “We are extremely excited to scale PR7s across America, bringing rugby sevens to major venues that will act as regional hubs for the rugby community,” said Owen Scannell, CEO of Premier Rugby Sevens. “We believe the Bay Area, Central Texas, and the DMV will give our league a footprint for fans to easily witness the spectacle that is a PR7s live event. Each city brings entertainment options that will complement the festival and party environment that is synonymous with the sport of sevens around the world.” Known as the first professional rugby league for women in North America, PR7s is organizing its first multi-city schedule. The league debuted in October 2021 on national television for a cumulative audience of 472,000 viewers. In 2022, the eight teams will compete in three tournaments consisting of a series of fast 14-minute games in each city, culminating in a 2022 Championship Weekend in Austin. Each stop on tour will crown a men’s and women’s winner. Points will accumulate throughout the season to determine seeding for the Championship Weekend. Austin’s Q2 Stadium will host the championship, the first non-soccer sports event at the facility which opened in 2021. Fifteen Olympians from the Tokyo Games competed in the Inaugural Championship on Fox Sports and TSN. Led by rugby legend Perry Baker, the Experts won the first PR7s men’s championship in 2021. And as one of the most dominant players in the world, Alev Kelter led the Loonies to the first women’s championship last year. “A sincere congratulation to everyone at PR7s as they exponentially build on an impressive debut in 2021 during the Inaugural Championship,” said USA Rugby CEO, Ross Young. “The line of events in 2022 truly amplifies the sevens season this summer, and in three of the best rugby cities the United States has to offer. With three-times the opportunity for current and aspiring Olympians to compete at a professional level, PR7s continues to present an invaluable platform for USA Rugby High Performance development and scouting.” PR7s is sanctioned by USA Rugby, which recognizes PR7s as the highest level of domestic seven-a-side rugby. The new league offers pathways for players to have other opportunities to play internationally. Following their success within PR7s, Logan Tago, Sarah Levy, and Aaron Cummings each took the field for the USA Eagles Sevens for the first time in international competition since last fall. About Premier Rugby Sevens Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) is a groundbreaking professional sports league in North America that debuted in 2021. With a focus on accessibility and entertaining content for fans, the league showcases the electrifying sport of rugby sevens through a touring format in cities across the United States and Canada. PR7s is the first sports organization of its kind, with four women’s teams and four men’s teams under one umbrella with equal pay. To learn more about Premier Rugby Sevens, go to PRSevens.com and follow the league on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. # # # Contact Details Eric Nemeth eric.nemeth@prsevens.com Company Website https://prsevens.com/

March 31, 2022 08:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Mirriad Study Reveals In-Content Ad Placement Combined with Traditional TV Campaigns Can Increase Brand Reach by 44 Percent, Driving Business Growth

Mirriad

Mirriad, the leading in-content advertising company powered by Academy Award Winning technology, today announces its latest whitepaper: The Lost Audiences - Regaining Control. The paper highlights in-content advertising as a continually growing avenue for brands and advertisers to engage with audiences in an impactful and non-disruptive way, and explores how companies can recuperate lost GRPs and expand reach via the use of in-content advertising. Consumers’ viewing habits are continuing to shift within the TV advertising space. In the US, linear impressions for the 18-49 age group declined by 49 percent in just five years and are forecasted to decline an additional 22 percent over the next two years. In order to effectively communicate with audiences, brands must embrace in-content placements in addition to more traditional ad formats. In fact, Mirriad found that brand reach can increase up to 44 percent in the 18-49 age group when contextual, in-content ads are present. Stephan Beringer, CEO of Mirriad, said: “Leading into the 2022 Newfronts and Upfronts season, brands and advertisers must prioritize diversification to ensure campaign success and relevancy with their customers, and drive business growth. And this is only the beginning – with the rise of connected TV and streaming services, we can expect further digital growth across new platforms.” Per the whitepapers findings, consumers prefer in-content advertising seven times more than traditional TV spots, and 70 percent of those polled agreed that traditional advertising frequency is excessive. The combination of traditional TV advertising and in-content placement is a solution to not only address the shifts in the market, but also enable brands to combat ad fatigue and apathy by creating non-disruptive experiences for viewers. Beringer continued: “The clear gains in reach and impact that Mirriad can deliver are hugely significant at a time of change in the advertising industry. The power of the in-content format is further underlined by repeated third-party research that shows clear viewer preference for it. Across all measured Mirriad campaigns, we found average consumption rose 16ppt, ad awareness increased by 27ppt, and spend increased by 15ppt. This shows that in-content advertising is not only a very effective way to reach and engage consumers, it also prompts purchases.'' “The television landscape has changed immensely over the last five+ years. New platforms and content formats, the rise of binge watching, and a global pandemic have all had their own effects on how viewers watch and respond to content,” said Chris Ward, SVP of Midwest Ad Sales at Crown Media. “The challenge for us as a network, and for the brands we partner with, has been how to incorporate relevant advertising in a new way that optimizes impact while not disrupting the viewing experience. Mirriad provides a strategic and scalable solution for brands to effectively amplify their TV ad spend.” To view the full whitepaper, please visit https://info.mirriad.com/the-lost-audiences-regaining-control-whitepaper About Mirriad Mirriad's award-winning solution unleashes new revenue for content producers and distributors by creating new advertising inventory in content. Our patented, AI and computer vision technology dynamically inserts products and innovative signage formats after content is produced. Mirriad's market-first solution seamlessly integrates with existing subscription and advertising models, and dramatically improves the viewer experience by limiting commercial interruptions. Mirriad currently operates in the US, Europe and China. Contact Details Liana Zamora +1 551-225-4942 liana@kitehillpr.com Company Website https://www.mirriad.com/

March 31, 2022 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Entertainment Industry Leader Lou D’Angeli joins Logitix as Senior Director of Las Vegas Events

Logitix

Logitix, the leader in live event ticketing technology and analytics, announced they have named Lou D’Angeli as their Senior Director of Las Vegas Events. D’Angeli brings over 25 years of experience as a marketing executive for renowned entertainment brands like Cirque du Soleil and World Wrestling Entertainment. Through this newly created position, D’Angeli will lead the Las Vegas division of Logitix to optimize live event ticket sales for Vegas area shows through real-time data, dynamic pricing, and distribution. “Adding Lou to Logitix represents our commitment to the Las Vegas market as the world’s entertainment capital,” said Logitix President Greg Nortman. “Lou is very well respected in the live events industry through his impressive work with companies like Cirque and WWE. He will play an integral role in helping the live events community in Las Vegas navigate their ticketing strategy.” Before joining Logitix, D’Angeli spent over 11 years with Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, where he was Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Public Relations. He managed key relationships with MGM Resorts International, Apple Records (The Beatles), Disney, Treasure Island, and the Estate of Michael Jackson. In Las Vegas and Orlando, he was responsible for upwards of 5 million tickets sold and $500 million in yearly revenue. Before joining Cirque du Soleil, D’Angeli spent four years with WWE as Director of Marketing, where he implemented $2 million in national advertising focused on increasing pay-per-view numbers. Earlier in his career, D’Angeli worked on the venue side of the live events industry as an executive with Comcast-Spectacor. In the fourth quarter of 2021, Logitix managed 2.4 million tickets that sold for over $300 million through teams across the NFL, NBA, and NHL, plus NCAA events and live event properties. Logitix optimizes ticket sale outcomes for all of its partners through proprietary dynamic pricing and distribution. Its unique platform analyzes millions of real-time data points, providing up-to-the-minute insights within the live event marketplace. About Logitix Logitix is the preeminent monetization engine and ticketing platform for the live event industry, combining optimized pricing, distribution, and inventory management with real-time insights to help sellers and buyers respond to a rapidly changing market environment. The Logitix vision is to automate the entire ticket life cycle and provide data-driven insights to serve the diverse needs of its clients. The company is backed by ZMC and is privately held. For more information about Logitix, visit Logitix.com or find them on LinkedIn. # # # Contact Details Eric Nemeth +1 602-502-2793 nemeth@ericpr.com Company Website https://logitix.com/

March 29, 2022 11:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Odds On Australian Tennis Star Barty To Return To The Sport

Intelligiants

bwin and other leading betting brands aren’t yet ruling out a return to the sport for Australian Tennis Star Ashleigh Barty following the 25-year old’s shock retirement last week as they offer strong odds for her gracing the courts once more. Barty retired from professional tennis on Tuesday (March 23), saying she was physically ‘absolutely spent’. And with odds on for her return, the Queenslander, who has been world number one for 121 weeks, is far from the first sports star to retire and then make a comeback. Just this month, Tom Brady – revered as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time – announced his return to the gridiron after a ‘retirement’ that lasted 40 days. The 44-year old, who has won six Superbowls and holds almost every major quarterback record, retired on February 1 but will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this coming season for his 23 rd NFL year after tweeting ‘I’ve realized my place is on the field and not in the stands’. There are a host of other sporting legends who found the lure of the game too much to resist after retiring. Among them are boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, who retired no fewer then five times, tennis ace Martina Hingis who quit three times and basketball legend Michael Jordan, who left the court twice before finally calling it a day in 2003. For more on the top 10 multiple sports retirements, visit: Sporting comebacks: 10 famous multiple retirees Contact Details Intelligiants J Cain +44 7889 314155 press@intelligiants.com

March 29, 2022 10:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Why Nyoki Club is Here to Shake the World of NFTs

Nyoki Club

Nyoki club is one of the most sought-after NFT projects since the surge of NFTs in the last year. One might wonder what this project offers to stand out from the masses of NFT projects that are released daily. First of all, Nyoki Cub consists of 8888 individual 3D characters all of which are unique and randomly generated. Each Nyoki is one-of-a-kind artwork and will be available to be minted on the Ethereum Blockchain from April 10th. What makes the project truly unique is that these NFTs will not only exist in digital form but also be available as 3D printed models that will be accessible worldwide. This combination of Web3 technology and real-life collectibles is one of the reasons for Nyoki club to have more than 74 thousand followers way ahead of its release date. The team behind Nyoki club knows how to manage a community from the start and lets people enter their whitelist by exclusive and rare raffles and by being active and helpful in their community discord. Their following is not only measured in numbers but can also be actively witnessed in the brimming discord channel where more than 50000 people actively vote on governance questions. Nyoki Club gained fame in the NFT space quickly by partnering up with well-known projects like Hapebeast, Llamaverse, and Rarity Sniper just to name a few. The roadmap of Nyoki Club will start with the creation of the first-ever fully 3D printed model and will set out to create more after the minting phase has ended and the collection is available to trade. Partnerships with more artists to create Nyokis in the future are only one of the many stations planned for the future. There is a lot of trust in the community towards the founders and the partnerships and positive publicity they have made until now speak for themselves. The team behind Nyoki Club will use these partnerships to release an NFT collection that will reach new heights in terms of value and ingenuity. To learn more about Nyoki club, you can check out their official website here or follow them on Twitter or join their community Discord. Contact Details Nyoki Club Siranush H +1 702-410-7649 siranush@nftdroops.com Company Website https://nyokiclub.com/

March 29, 2022 08:56 AM Central Daylight Time

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