Why the Canadian Online Publishing Awards is Good for Canada.

The Canadian Online Publishing Awards aka COPAs has become the tip of the spear for the digital publishing industry in Canada by showcasing and helping Canadian content creators move the needle forward for their brands on the global stage. The COPAs was started in 2009 as an industry showcase of the Best Digital Content creators in the magazine and newspaper industries. In 13 years it has become the largest Digital Publishing Awards Program in Canada with 4 divisions - Academic, B2B, B2C and News/Sports with a mandate  to reflect Canada’s multi-cultural diversity whenever possible. 

The COPAs is supporting News Media Canada in their efforts in the Digital Reset of the Media Industry - “The Government recognizes the need for revenue sharing; understands that there is a negotiating imbalance between digital platforms and news outlets; and acknowledges the need for tools that allow press publishers to negotiate commercial deals on a level playing field,” said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada.

The entries are reviewed by a Who’s Who’s of the digital publishing in Canada. The panel has over 90 judges and is a collection content, creative, digital, web, tech marketing, media and publishing experts. 

FREE to ENTER

There are two categories that anybody can enter for for FREE - the Best Feel Good Story and Best Multicultural Story. This is part of the COPA’s inclusiveness policy to ensure that anybody can win a COPA. There are 4 divisions Academic, B2B, B2C and News/Sports. The COPA’s has become a badge of honour for the winners. Winners are announced at a COPA Awards Party in Toronto. 

The 2021 COPA Judging Panel
The Who’s Who’s of Canada in Digital Publishing

The COPA’s have become the tip of the spear for the Canadian digital publishing industry to help promote Canadian talent to the world and the COPA’s is now the largest Digital Publishing Awards program in Canada.

The 2021 COPA Judging has now been released on the COPA website and there are over 90+ judges this year along with 30 new ones to help determine who is the best in Canada. The COPA Judges is a volunteer panel and has participation of all geographic regions in Canada. Some of the new judges this year are shown below and they offer a blend of expertise that includes digital publishing, podcaster, art director, photographer, marketer, publisher, editor, journalist and academia. Industry participation from all sectors is growing each year. You can see the full Judging Panel at this link.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Messagepoint announced today that it has entered into a global OEM partnership with Sefas. Messagepoint will leverage Sefas Designer’s communications composition capabilities in Messagepoint Composer, a new add-on module to the Messagepoint platform. In addition, the enterprise communications processing (ECP) capabilities available in the Sefas Harmonie Communications Suite and the digital archive product will be offered through an add-on module called Messagepoint ECP to provide communications processing, delivery, tracking and archiving capabilities.

Messagepoint is an AI-powered content hub that enables non-technical business users to author and manage complex customer communications, eliminating their reliance on IT teams to program layouts, content and data feeds in legacy customer communications management (CCM) solutions. With the introduction of Messagepoint Composer, Messagepoint seamlessly adds powerful composition capabilities to its platform and empowers those non-technical business users with control over the composition template. Messagepoint Composer not only simplifies and accelerates the process of bringing critical customer communications to market, it also reduces the cost and complexity of managing these powerful systems.

“Through the OEM partnership with Sefas, Messagepoint now offers best of breed capabilities to support the entire customer communications lifecycle from content migration, optimization, authoring and management to communications composition, production and post-production,” said Steve Biancaniello, CEO of Messagepoint. “The combination of Sefas’ high performance, enterprise-class solutions with Messagepoint’s market-leading content hub is a game-changer for the CCM market. Now organizations needing a CCM system can turn to one powerful solution and, in doing so, increase their agility and responsiveness to customers while reducing cost and complexity.”

Bruno Henry, president of Sefas North America, said, “We are excited about offering the market a totally integrated solution through this partnership with Messagepoint. Together we offer the most complete solution in the CCM market.”

Messagepoint is used by leading brands in financial services, insurance and healthcare sectors to manage personalized, and often regulated, customer communications. Messagepoint ECP leverages Sefas’ high-performance production, orchestration and post-composition solutions. These capabilities give customers control and visibility across the process of generating communications and into what is being delivered to whom, via which channels and when, while also keeping an archive to meet regulatory requirements.

Messagepoint also offers connectors to leading CCM and digital delivery solutions, including Quadient Inspire, OpenText Exstream, Doxee and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. In providing these connectors, Messagepoint helps its customers leverage existing investments in legacy CCM software and communications management tools while still taking advantage of Messagepoint’s powerful content hub and enterprise communications processing capabilities.

Messagepoint Composer and Messagepoint ECP are now generally available. For more information, contact Messagepoint at sales@messagepoint.com.

About Messagepoint

Messagepoint is a leading provider of customer communications management software. Only Messagepoint harnesses AI-powered Content Intelligence to automate and simplify the process of migrating, optimizing, authoring and managing complex customer communications for non-technical (business) users. Customers rely on its award-winning platform to consistently deliver exceptional, highly personalized customer communications across all platforms and channels. For more information, visit www.messagepoint.com.

Patricia Kilgore
Sterling Kilgore
630-964-8500
pkilgore@sterlingkilgore.com

Vidyard recognized in Salesforce Partner Innovation Awards

KITCHENER, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vidyard, a leading video platform for businesses, today announced that it has helped Corporate Traveler transform its business by pioneering a new approach to video selling that resulted in $42 million of new business in six months.

For this innovative work, Vidyard has been named a recipient of the Salesforce Partner Innovation Award in the Travel, Transportation and Hospitality category. Using the Salesforce integration, Vidyard helped Corporate Traveler reduce sales turnaround time and the number of interactions needed to secure meetings with new prospects by more than 60%.

Comments on the News

• “Business travel came to a halt last year, but we were able to help Corporate Traveler quickly adjust their sales tactics through engaging, relevant video,” said Tyler Lessard, Chief Video Strategist and VP of Marketing, Vidyard. “Our continued innovation with Salesforce enables us to help users engage with prospective customers virtually. We’re grateful to Salesforce for recognizing our work and ingenuity with this award.”
• “Salesforce Partner Innovation Award winners such as Vidyard work relentlessly to enable their customers’ success,” said Tyler Prince, Executive Vice President, Alliances & Channels, Salesforce. “Vidyard’s initiative and ability to deliver results illustrates how Salesforce partners are integral to creating value and enabling digital transformation in our new work-from-anywhere world.”

Salesforce partners such as Vidyard are part of the growing Salesforce economy, which according to a new study by IDC*, is projected to produce more than 9 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion in new business revenue by 2026. The study finds that Salesforce is driving massive gains for its partner ecosystem, which will see $6.19 in gains for every $1 Salesforce makes by 2026.

Salesforce, and others are among the trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

*​​IDC White Paper, sponsored by Salesforce, “The Salesforce Economic Impact,” doc #US48214821, September 20, 2021

About Vidyard

Vidyard helps businesses and professionals connect with their audiences in a whole new way through engaging, personalized, and measurable video experiences. Through its global video hosting and analytics platform, Vidyard empowers companies like LinkedIn, Zycus, League, Stanley Black & Decker, and others to transform their approach to marketing, sales, and corporate communications. Vidyard helps any business professional create and share custom videos to deliver their message in a more personal and impactful way through its free and pro tools. Thousands of businesses and millions of people around the world rely on Vidyard for their video needs. Sign up for Vidyard for free: https://www.vidyard.com/free.

Media:
Josh Swarz, Big Valley Marketing for Vidyard - press@vidyard.com
Sarah Duckett, Public Relations & Communications, Vidyard - sarah.duckett@vidyard.com

Whitley to lead branding, strategic partnerships, and digital growth

ADA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PPLSI, the parent company of LegalShield and IDShield, and a champion of equal access to justice and security, names Cara Whitley as the company’s new Chief Marketing Officer. In her role, Whitley will oversee marketing and advertising creative, media planning and buying, and will work across departments to develop new product benefits and features for members and customers. Whitley will also oversee LegalShield’s first brand marketing campaign, expected to launch the first half of 2022.

Whitley comes to the company with more than two decades of professional experience across a variety of industries with a focus on marketing, branding, strategic partnerships, and business development. Most recently, Whitley was the Global Chief Marketing Officer for Century 21 Real Estate, where she led a global and award-winning rebranding campaign across 85 countries.

“Cara brings a tremendous digital, loyalty, and retention acumen and her brand work in revitalizing Century21 is proof of her extraordinary capabilities,” said Jeff Bell, CEO of PPLSI. “We are proud to have her join our leadership team and lead us through a continued marketing and brand transformation.”

Aside from her most recent role at Century 21, Whitley has held executive positions at several major corporations including Hilton Hotels, Epsilon and American Express. She is a graduate of the University of Miami where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Communication with a concentrated focus in advertising and graphic design.

“I’m very excited to join the PPLSI brand and be a part of a growing company that is expanding products and services to serve a great mission. I look forward to collaborating with the highly talented team to strengthen the brand and have a positive impact for all stakeholders,” said Whitley.

About PPLSI

A champion of equal access to justice and security, PPLSI has provided individuals, families, businesses, and employers with the tools and services needed to live a just and secure life for 49 years. Under PPLSI, our consumer brand, LegalShield, is disrupting the legal services industry by giving everyone the resources and tools to affordably find their justice. We are transforming the traditional way of receiving legal guidance and services and providing qualified, trusted attorneys and law firms in the palm of your hands. Our security brand, IDShield, specializes in privacy and reputation management and protects your online data and information. To learn more about PPLSI and our brands and products that currently improve and empower 4.5 million individuals and 140,000 businesses across North America, visit PPLSI.com, LegalShield.com and IDShield.com.

Hollon Kohtz, Director of Publicity, LegalShield
hollonkohtz@legalshieldcorp.com
317.847.5658 (Cell)

Not for Distribution to United States Newswire Services or for Dissemination in United States

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#browserbased--Legible Inc., formerly Twenty20 Investments Inc. (the “Company” or “Legible”), is pleased to announce that it has completed its previously announced transaction (the “Transaction”) with Legible Media Inc. (“Legible Media”), whereby the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding securities of Legible Media.

Pursuant to the Transaction, the Company changed its name to “Legible Inc.”, and Legible Media became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Upon completion of the Transaction, the Company has 62,800,000 Common Shares outstanding, approximately 7.3% that are held by the former shareholders of Twenty20 and approximately 92.7% that are held by the former shareholders of Legible Media.

Full details for the Company, including the Transaction, will be set out in the Company’s listing statement ‎dated on or around November 26, 2021 (the “Listing Statement”). A copy of the Listing Statement will be available under the Company’s ‎profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.‎

Kaleeg Hainsworth, CEO of the newly combined entity Legible Inc., stated, “On behalf of Legible Media shareholders I’d like to say how thankful and excited we are in closing this Transaction with Twenty20. I would also like to thank all Legible Media and Twenty20 employees and shareholders, especially all those who worked tirelessly on completing this Transaction, as well as legal counsel of Legible Media, DLA Piper (Canada) LLP., financial advisor of Legible Media, Merchant Equities Capital Corp. and legal counsel of Twenty20, EnerNext Counsel, for their guidance and support in ensuring the successful closing of this Transaction.”

Pursuant to the Transaction, Kaleeg Hainsworth, the CEO and a director of Legible acquired 17,000,700 Common Shares (representing 27.07% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares). Prior to the ‎closing of the Transaction, Mr. Hainsworth did not hold any securities of the Company. Mr. Hainsworth may increase or ‎decrease his investment in Legible depending on market conditions or any other relevant factors. The ‎head office address for Legible is 2230 Ontario Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 2X2. The address for Mr. Hainsworth is 2230 Ontario Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 2X2.‎

The CSE (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has in no way passed upon the merits of the Transaction and has neither ‎approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of any of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”), or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to an exemption from such registration requirements.‎

About Legible Inc.:

Legible is a new browser-based eBook reading platform that is revolutionizing how readers, publishers, and authors connect by presenting books the way they were meant to be enjoyed. Founded by a team of authors, digital eBook publishers, designers, and book publishing industry insiders, Legible’s strategy is to offer readers around the globe open access to millions of books on any internet-connected device. Legible’s core values—accessibility, sustainability, beauty, and integrity—inform its ongoing commitment to, and active engagement in, promoting literacy, justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and a climate-conscious future worldwide.

Investors are invited to visit Legible’s curated Staff-Picks Bookshelf: https://legible.com/bookshelf?bookshelfId=26b31d56-e75d-414e-99ae-8852d1990010.

Visit Legible.com and discover the place where eBooks come to life!

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements and are prospective in nature. Forward-looking ‎statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events, many ‎of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company’s control and are therefore subject to risks ‎and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the ‎forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “may”, “should”, “will”, “could”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “believe” or “continue”, or the negative ‎thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, expectations for the effects of the Transaction or the ability of the combined company to ‎successfully achieve business objectives, and expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. ‎Those assumptions and factors are based on information currently available to the Company. Although management of the ‎Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained ‎in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as ‎anticipated, estimated or intended. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those ‎projected in the forward-looking information and statements are the following the potential impact of the ‎announcement of the consummation of the Transaction on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, ‎employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, ‎including changes in the financial markets; changes in applicable laws; ‎and the diversion of management time on the Transaction. Should one or more of these risks, uncertainties or ‎other factors materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information or statements prove incorrect, ‎actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or ‎expected. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events ‎could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-‎looking statements and forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of ‎the date hereof and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-‎looking information that are incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or ‎otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The foregoing statements expressly qualify any forward-looking ‎information contained herein. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking information and statements attributable to the ‎Company or persons acting on its behalf is expressly qualified in its entirety by this notice.‎

Legible Inc.
Daniela Trnka
Head of Investor Relations
1.672.514.2665
invest@legible.com
www.legible.com

Szafron’s The Green Scene Podcast rebrands as Investor Scene, joins GloBull media network

VANCOUVER, B.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Investor Scene, a financial insights and media company, today announced their emergence from stealth mode with 221,000 unique visitors in the last 120 days and an email and text subscriber base of 64,754.

Investor Scene was previously operating as The Green Scene Podcast, which was acquired in 2021 by GloBull, a media holding company. The podcast was run and hosted by former on-air business journalist Jeremy Szafron, who launched The Green Scene in 2018 and grew it to more than 350,000 subscribers with 400,000 weekly downloads.

The newly launched Investor Scene covers announcements and trends from cannabis, clean and renewable technology, food technology, life sciences, and cryptocurrency companies listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), as well as conducts one-on-one interviews with executives at a variety of publicly traded companies.

“Investor Scene is frankly for retail investors like me who get tired of hearing about companies by the time they are close to being household names,” said Jeremy Szafron, CEO of Investor Scene. “My years spent as a business and entertainment journalist made me curious about household names — people and companies — and the fascinating stories behind them. This essentially led me to the idea for Investor Scene where people could read and learn about smaller size, yet promising, North American companies that could very well be the household names of tomorrow. We have a great audience so far, and we continue to grow our editorial capacity and offerings.”

Jeremy Szafron has been in the public eye since 2005, starting his career as the on-air Entertainment Reporter for CTV, in Montreal. He remained in broadcast journalism for more than a decade, eventually becoming a regular live TV reporter, commentator, and personality for Bell Media, Canada’s leading content creation company across television, radio, and digital. Jeremy reported on and interviewed celebrities such as Justin Bieber, the Kardashians, and Madonna, as well as political figures such as Al Gore and Justin Trudeau.

In 2007, Szafron became an on-air Business Reporter and Analyst for Bell Media, where he made regular appearances on BBN Bloomberg as well as on multiple Canadian television and radio stations. After his time at Bell Media, where he was featured as a business reporter on regular National CTV News programs, Jeremy became the Host and Producer of Spotlight, an online current affairs show from PressReader. The show reached more than 30 million individual subscribers across multiple global markets.

Jeremy has since advised small-cap companies on public financing and corporate governance, investor relations, and marketing, and he has hosted multiple TedX events throughout Canada.

Investor Scene’s editorial coverage is being led by editorial director Jeff Brokaw, an award-winning expert in innovative design, marketing, and launching successful business ventures and startups through technological media. He is a co-founder and board member at several rapid-growth startups, including those in the e-sports, fintech, and coworking industries, as well as an advisor, consultant, and more for companies across the globe. He currently sits on the Digital Marketing Advisory Council at The George Washington University School of Business.

Jeff and his editorial team focus on telling stories about the most promising small-cap companies in North America. Using Investor Scene’s proprietary 40-point analysis, Jeff provides Investor Scene readers with premium access to industry-specific news and trending insights that help retail investors stay informed and ahead of the investing curve.

All company press releases may be sent to jeremy@investorscene.com for editorial consideration, and sponsorship and advertising inquiries may be sent to jeff@investorscene.com.

About Investor Scene
Investor Scene is a financial media company that tells stories about small-cap companies listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). It is led by former business journalist and on-air personality Jeremy Szafron. Learn more at: www.investorscene.com

Jon Amar
jon@onwordstrategic.com

WEBTOON hits Tower of God by SIU and True Beauty by Yaongyi will be among the first graphic novels published by WEBTOON Unscrolled

WEBTOON Unscrolled marks one of the first major publishing ventures from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios since launching in June 2021, and joins a growing roster of imprints from the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group

TORONTO & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the fan-driven global entertainment and publishing arm for WEBTOON and Wattpad, today announced WEBTOON Unscrolled, a new graphic novel imprint to bring WEBTOON hits to bookshelves. Dedicated to publishing high-quality graphic novels from WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, WEBTOON Unscrolled will debut under the Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group alongside the Wattpad Books, W by Wattpad Books, and Frayed Pages x Wattpad Books imprints. WEBTOON Unscrolled’s debut list will hit shelves in Fall of 2022, including international WEBTOON sensations like Tower of God by SIU and True Beauty by Yaongyi.

Bobbie Chase will join WEBTOON Unscrolled as Executive Editor. Chase was previously Vice President of Global Publishing Initiatives & Digital Strategy at DC Entertainment, where she launched the company’s graphic novel imprint aimed at middle grade and YA readers. Chase has also worked with industry giants Marvel and Disney.

With 72 million passionate readers around the world on the WEBTOON platform, WEBTOON-originated TV and film adaptations on screens, and a growing international fandom for digital comics, WEBTOON Unscrolled will bring works from WEBTOON creators to bookshelves everywhere.

WEBTOON Unscrolled continues to build on the Wattpad WEBTOON Studios verticalization model, creating monetization opportunities for creators across a variety of adaptation formats. With Wattpad WEBTOON Studios’ unmatched expertise in digital comics and fandoms, along with a roster of leading comics creators, WEBTOON Unscrolled will create a best-in-class experience for artists and a product fans will love.

The WEBTOON Unscrolled editorial teams will select titles from some of the most successful and promising digital comics on WEBTOON, with built-in audiences and established fandoms.

Ken Kim, Chief Executive Officer, WEBTOON Entertainment said, “WEBTOON has transformed the comics landscape, helping creators find new fans all over the world. As the global leader in digital comics and IP, WEBTOON’s storytelling technology and creators are fueling a Literary Creator Economy, ushering in a new era of publishing and entertainment. With WEBTOON Unscrolled, we’ll bring some of the biggest names and undiscovered talent from WEBTOON to bookshelves.”

Ashleigh Gardner, SVP, Publishing at Wattpad WEBTOON Studios said, “The Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group is building the future of publishing, with diverse new voices and genres that have established fandoms all over the world. At WEBTOON Unscrolled, we have the best WEBTOON artists on the planet and a world-class team dedicated to creator success. With WEBTOON Unscrolled we’re going to bring more WEBTOON artists to bookshelves faster than ever. Our creators are already famous around the world and I can’t wait to see them thrive on bookshelves.”

Readers can look forward to novels in both the adult and children's categories across a wide range of genres, from action adventure to romance and everything in between. WEBTOON Unscrolled plans to release 12 titles per year.

The Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group will continue to partner with Macmillan in the U.S and Canada for sales distribution.

The first full slate of graphic novels from WEBTOON Unscrolled is as follows:

Tower of God by SIU - 2.9 million subscribers on WEBTOON
What do you desire? Money and wealth? Honor and pride? Authority and power? Revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire—you can find it here, at the Tower. When Bam’s best friend Rachel declares she’s going to climb the mysterious Tower, he is devastated, and decides to try and make the climb after her in order to see her again, risking death and much, much worse.

Tower of God is a global phenomenon on WEBTOON, where it has more than 4.5 billion reads from fans around the world. WEBTOON and Crunchyroll recently co-produced a hit anime adaptation, available on Crunchyroll and HBO Max.

True Beauty by Yaongyi - 6.5 million subscribers on WEBTOON
True Beauty, a smash hit webcomic from Korea, follows the story of a high schooler named Im Ju Yeong who sees her social standing skyrocket when she masters the art of makeup from YouTube. But will her elite status be short-lived? How long can she keep her real self a secret? And what about that cute boy, Lee Su Ho who knows her secret?

True Beauty is a global sensation, with 5.1 billion reads on WEBTOON. The digital comic has been adapted into a hit series, and a feature film based on the story is also in development.

Doom Breaker by Blue-Deep - 441k subscribers on WEBTOON
Zephyr is the last human fighting evil in a world abandoned by the gods. When he is killed in battle by Tartarus, the god of destruction, all hope for humanity seems lost. But Zephyr’s fate is not sealed -- the gods who find his battles entertaining have gifted him a second chance at life, as he is sent ten years into the past, back to when he was a slave instead of the most powerful human alive. Can Zephyr get his revenge against Tartarus and save the woman he loves, or is he doomed to repeat the past?

Doom Breaker is a growing hit around the world online. The digital comic entered the top of the daily originals within a month of opening on WEBTOON in Korea.

Cursed Princess Club by LambCat - 2 million subscribers on WEBTOON
Meet Gwendolyn – living proof that princesses don’t always have it all. See, although she lives in a castle and her father is the King, Gwendolyn isn’t like a movie princess, or even a fairy-tale princess. She’s got a big heart, but isn’t particularly attractive and doesn’t have a Disney-quality singing voice. But one night, she accidentally stumbles upon the twisted world of the Cursed Princess Club, and her life will never be the same. Hexed and cast out, the ladies of the club are just the people Gwendolyn needs to show her that just because she doesn’t “fit the mold” does not mean she’s any less of a princess.

Boyfriends. by Refrainbow - 1.5 million subscribers on WEBTOON
A graphic novel about getting yourself a boyfriend... or multiple boyfriends! Four college students begin a polyamorous relationship and navigate the adventure that is their dating life!

Everything Is Fine by Mike Birchall - 790.9k subscribers on WEBTOON
Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.

WEBTOON Unscrolled is one of the first major publishing ventures from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios. WEBTOON Unscrolled arrives as digital and print comics, along with graphic novels, continue to grow in prominence among consumers, publishers, and entertainment companies. WEBTOON-originated digital comics and IP have become a global force in publishing and entertainment: Rachel Smythe’s Harvey-award winning WEBTOON phenomenon Lore Olympus was recently published by Penguin Random House. The digital comic was previously nominated for an Eisner Award and is in development as an animated series from Wattpad WEBTOON Studios and The Jim Henson Company. Miriam Bonastre Tur’s WEBTOON Hooky was published by HMH in September 2021 and has since become a New York Times Bestseller. Other popular WEBTOON adaptations include the Netflix hit Sweet Home, and Noblesse, an anime co-production between WEBTOON and Crunchyroll.

About WEBTOON Unscrolled
WEBTOON Unscrolled publishes graphic novels from some of the biggest names and undiscovered talent on WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform. WEBTOON Unscrolled leverages the growing international fandom for digital comics and WEBTOON’s 72 million passionate readers online to bring the most exciting new voices in comics to bookshelves everywhere.

WEBTOON Unscrolled – scrolling not required.

About Wattpad WEBTOON Studios

Wattpad WEBTOON Studios brings together technology, a diverse new generation of creators, and passionate global fandoms to create data-backed, audience-driven TV shows, films, and books. Leveraging incredible stories and insights from WEBTOON and Wattpad’s combined audience of more than 166 million people, Wattpad WEBTOON Studios has pioneered a bold, global, fan-first approach to entertainment. Wattpad WEBTOON Studios has worked with Netflix, Sony Pictures Television, Crunchyroll, The Jim Henson Company, Vertigo Entertainment, Constantin Film, Penguin Random House, and many other leaders in entertainment and publishing.

Crystal McCoy, Publicity Manager, Wattpad WEBTOON Book Group
crystal@wattpad.com

Six new original webcomics and web novels developed in collaboration with HYBE will be available worldwide in January 2022

LOS ANGELES & TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WEBTOON, the world’s largest digital comics platform, and Wattpad, the global multi-platform entertainment company for original stories and leading social storytelling platform, announced today a new line-up of original webcomics and web novels in collaboration with HYBE artists including BTS, TXT and ENHYPEN. Starting January 14, six original webcomics and web novels will be released on each platform globally.

The new slate of content is part of WEBTOON’s previously announced Super Casting project, a new group of partnerships with global entertainment companies to create webcomics or web novels for each platform. Super Casting allows major entertainment brands to work with WEBTOON and maximize the IP value chain across platforms and formats. In September, WEBTOON released a new original series Batman: Wayne Family Adventures with DC, its first collaboration partner, surpassing 500,000 subscribers within a week of its launch. Working with HYBE, WEBTOON continues its global leadership in building and nurturing global fandoms online.

The first HYBE original story will be 7Fates: CHAKHO. A collaboration with BTS, the dynamic story follows seven young men bound by fate. After growing up together through a series of trials and tribulations, they must become a unified group of seven to unlock their destiny. 7Fates: CHAKHO is an urban fantasy story set in the near future, inspired by the "Chakhogapsa" tiger hunters of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. Filtered through HYBE’s imagination, the story re-imagines traditional Korean tiger tales and a mythological world of wild beasts. 7Fates: CHAKHO will be released on WEBTOON and Wattpad starting January 14.

WEBTOON and Wattpad will also introduce DARK MOON with ENHYPEN globally. Mixing urban fantasy and teen romance, the story follows the confrontation, confusion, and chemistry between a group of vampires, a pack of werewolves, and a mysterious girl with a secret. DARK MOON will be part of a series of stories, starting with DARK MOON: the Blood Altar on January 15. Combining a heroine with incredible abilities, youthful friendships, and a powerful secret, DARK MOON: the Blood Altar brings new levity and energy to teen romance.

Finally, THE STAR SEEKERS will be a collaboration with TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), released on January 16. THE STAR SEEKERS follows a group of young men in a pop band who live in a world where magic is part of everyday reality. The group awakens one day to discover they possess dormant magical abilities. This fantastic tale features imaginary creatures, magic, and a fun look at the world of entertainment.

“Webcomics and web novels are some of the most exciting categories in global entertainment, with a growing Creator Economy of superstar Creators, massive fandoms around the world, and diverse IP fueling a new era of adaptations in TV and film,” said JunKoo Kim, founder and global CEO of WEBTOON Entertainment. “We’re thrilled to work with HYBE to bring these incredible stories to fans all over the world in formats they know and love on WEBTOON and Wattpad.”

The three original webcomics in collaboration with HYBE artists will be available on the WEBTOON global platform, with three web novel versions available on Wattpad.

Note for media and analysts:

About WEBTOON
WEBTOON® is the world's leading digital platform for visual storytelling. As the first modern digital publishing and self-publishing platform for digital comics, WEBTOON has revolutionized the way visual stories are created and consumed, allowing anyone to become a creator.

WEBTOON also has become a cultural and global phenomenon, pioneering the distribution and consumption of web-based comics. With an average of 72+ million monthly active users, more people consume WEBTOON series than watch most television shows. WEBTOON features a broad and diverse catalog of content from all over the world -- including romance, thriller, fantasy, comedy and more. WEBTOON is No.1 app among 16-24 year olds in Korea and also is in the top tier among the same group in the other countries.

Launched stateside in 2014, WEBTOON has thousands of creator-owned series with episodes updating daily. Also boasting partnerships with Legendary, POW!, Top Cow/Image, and more, WEBTOON takes storytelling to the next level. Creators have been nominated for multiple Eisner Awards, as well as winning a multitude of Ringo Awards. The WEBTOON app is free to download on Android and iOS devices.

About HYBE
HYBE, formerly known as Big Hit Entertainment, is an entertainment lifestyle platform company that innovates the music industry under the mission "We believe in music". The company was listed on the KOSPI Market of Korea Exchange (KRX) in October 2020. HYBE has established its business ventures in entertainment lifestyle upon three pillars. The label division brings creatives centered around music and artists such as BTS, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, SEVENTEEN, ENHYPEN and ZICO. Solution operates specialized business units for video content, IP, learning and games. The platform division connects and expands all of HYBE's contents and services. Based on organic operations and synergies created in each field, HYBE aims to create top-notch content, expand fan experience, and make a difference for anyone who enjoys music-based entertainment lifestyle.

About WATTPAD
Wattpad’s vision is to entertain and connect the world through stories. A leading social storytelling platform and home to a community of more than 94 million people who spend over 23 billion minutes a month engaged in original stories, Wattpad has democratized storytelling for a new generation of diverse Gen Z writers and their fans. Alongside Wattpad WEBTOON Studios, the company’s TV, film, and publishing counterparts, Wattpad combines art and science to unearth incredible stories and cultivate the fandoms driving the future of entertainment. The company is proudly based in Toronto, Canada. Learn more at company.wattpad.com, or explore current openings to Work at Wattpad.

Kiel Hume, Director of PR & Communications, Wattpad
kiel@wattpad.com
1-416-908-3604

Platform acquisition provides Playmaker with significant exposure to the Canadian sports market; Immediately adds more than 27 million annual users to the Playmaker audience ecosystem; Establishes Playmaker’s presence in Canada in advance of the opening of full sports betting in Ontario in Q1 2022.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#Canada--Playmaker Capital Inc. (TSX-V: PMKR) (“Playmaker”), the digital sports media company that delivers authentic content experiences through its portfolio of sports media and technology brands, has significantly strengthened its presence in Canada with the acquisition of The Nation Network (“TNN”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Daily Faceoff (“DFO”). TNN is an Edmonton-based, hockey-first digital media group that attracts millions of sports fans annually to its network of fan community sites, podcasts, and rapidly growing hockey reference property, DFO.

Co-founded in 2007 by CEO Jay Downton, TNN and DFO have generated over one billion pageviews since their inception and have become one of the largest online destinations for independent sports coverage in North America, with a combined annual audience of over 27 million users. TNN’s differentiated channels of distribution deliver breaking news, analysis, and fantasy projections to their highly engaged group of users, including through a subscription model, a net-new revenue stream within the Playmaker ecosystem. TNN also delivers market-leading analysis through the platforms of several key influencers, including North American hockey authority, Frank Seravalli, who joins the Playmaker family in his role as DFO’s President of Hockey Content. Mr. Seravalli also serves as the President of the Hockey Writers Association and is one of the NHL’s most respected sources for breaking news and league developments.

TNN and DFO generate more than 5.2 million monthly sessions and engage with 5.4 million social media followers across multiple platforms including Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and TikTok. The TNN brand family includes more than ten web properties, including Oilersnation.com, Canucksarmy.com, Hockeyfights.com and Daily Faceoff, the popular source of breaking news, analysis, and fantasy data that generates more than 83 million annual page views. TNN also produces a host of podcasts, including DFO Rundown and a partnership with Dropping the Gloves hosted by John Scott, that combine for 4.6 million annual downloads.

“We are beyond excited to be joining the Playmaker family. It’s refreshing to work with a group that understands and shares the same fan-first culture as we do, because like us, they are sports fans,” commented Jay Downton, co-founder and CEO of TNN. “This is a huge momentum builder for The Nation Network as it will allow us to invest more in content creation, talent recruitment, partnerships, and strategic acquisitions, all of which will better serve and expand our amazing online community. We are excited to get to work!”

In September 2021, TNN and top-tier online gaming operator PointsBet entered into a multi-year deal positioning PointsBet Canada as the exclusive sports betting partner to both TNN and DFO. Through this partnership, PointsBet Canada is expected to deliver odds integrations, analysis from PointsBet experts, and access to enhanced tools to drive deeper engagement across TNN platforms.

“The acquisition of TNN and DFO is further proof that Playmaker is continuing to execute against its plan to acquire and roll up valuable, profitable digital media assets that cover major sports in important markets,” said Jordan Gnat, Playmaker CEO. “TNN is Playmaker’s first acquisition in our home market of Canada, giving Playmaker true audience reach from the top of Canada to the bottom of Argentina. This is particularly important in Canada as we look towards Q1 2022 when third party sports betting operators will be permitted to operate in Ontario.”

“The TNN acquisition helps diversify Playmaker’s revenue streams through a subscription-based premium content model and with a significant sportsbook partnership already in place. I am delighted to welcome Jay and Frank and the whole Nation team into the Playmaker family,” added Jordan Gnat.

"I could not be more excited to join the Playmaker family. There is no doubt combining forces with Playmaker will unlock additional resources and the creative juice that will power our team, turbocharging our vision to make it a reality more quickly than we originally planned,” commented Frank Seravalli, President of Hockey Content at Daily Faceoff. “Partnering with Playmaker better enables us to continue on our trajectory in becoming the premier destination for refreshingly independent hockey coverage in the digital space."

TRANSACTION DETAILS

Pursuant to the terms of a purchase agreement dated November 2, 2021, Playmaker acquired 100% of TNN for aggregate consideration of up to CAD$15 million. The purchase price consideration consisted of (i) a closing cash payment of CAD$6.0 million, (ii) the issuance of CAD$6.0 million of Playmaker common shares (the “Playmaker Shares”) on closing, priced at CAD$0.68 per Playmaker Share and (iii) up to a maximum of CAD$3.0 million in the form of an earn-out, payable to the sellers upon TNN achieving certain EBITDA and revenue targets over the twelve-month period following closing. On closing, Playmaker established a management bonus plan, pursuant to which certain employees of TNN can receive a bonus payment of up to $3.0 million upon TNN achieving certain EBITDA and revenue targets over the two-year period beginning on the 12-month anniversary of the closing date.

TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE DISCLAIMER

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Satisfaction of any portion of the earn-out amount or management bonus plan payments in Playmaker common shares will be subject to the prior approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, which reflects Playmaker’s current expectations regarding future events. The words “will”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “plans”, “intends” and similar expressions are often intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking information contains these identifying words. Specific forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements relating to (i) the benefits expected to result from the acquisition of TNN and DFO by Playmaker, (ii) the future performance of TNN and DFO, including the achievement of certain earn-out targets and its continued expansion and growth and (iii) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Playmaker’s control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes in general economic, business and political conditions. Playmaker undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.

ABOUT PLAYMAKER

Playmaker (TSX-V: PMKR) is a digital sports media company that lives at the intersection of sports, betting, media and technology. Playmaker is building a collection of premier sports media brands, curated to deliver highly engaged audiences of sports fans to sports betting companies, leagues, teams and advertisers.

For more information, visit: playmaker.fans or contact Playmaker Chief Executive Officer Jordan Gnat via email jgnat@playmaker.fans. To sign up for Playmaker’s Investor Alerts, visit: playmaker.fans/investors.

ABOUT THE NATION NETWORK

The Nation Network is one of the largest North American online destinations for independent NHL, MLB, and NBA coverage, including breaking news, analysis, fantasy projections, and betting info. The Nation Network’s content speaks for sports fans in the pub, the locker room, and the office.

Tom Webb - E: tom@redknotcomms.com | T: (+1) 512 952 9369
Mauricio Villarreal - E : mauricio@redknotcomms.com | T: (+1) 808 8848
Romilly Evans - E: rom@redknotcomms.com | T: (+44) 7766 752 274

Continued Recovery and Strong Execution Drives 4% Higher Net Sales with Organic Growth of 7% and Increased Profitability Year-Over-Year; Company Reaffirms Full-Year Outlook

SUSSEX, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: QUAD) (“Quad” or the “Company”), today reported results for the third quarter of 2021.

Recent Highlights

• Increased net sales by 4%, with 7% organic growth (excluding the divestiture of the Company’s third-party logistics business), from third quarter 2020 driven by higher print volumes, including print segment share gains from new clients, as well as a continued positive trend in Agency Solutions net sales.
• Increased net earnings from continuing operations by $12 million to $14 million during the third quarter of 2021 as compared to 2020.
• Achieved a 6% increase in Adjusted EBITDA to $64 million during the third quarter of 2021 as compared to 2020.
• Reduced net debt by $140 million or 15% over the past 12 months.
• Reaffirms full-year financial outlook for 2021 Net Sales, Adjusted EBITDA and Debt Leverage.
• Amends and extends $1 billion bank debt agreement to November 2026.

Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO of Quad, said: “Our third quarter results were strong with higher print volumes, including print segment share gains from new clients, as well as a continued positive trend in Agency Solutions, all of which contributed to year-over-year organic growth of 7% in net sales. Our integrated marketing offering continues to be a competitive differentiator and a key driver behind our company’s overall organic growth. We are proud that some of the world’s most recognizable brands have chosen to partner with us for strategic marketing solutions, reflecting the strength of our offering and ability to deliver more value through reduced complexity, increased efficiencies and enhanced marketing spend effectiveness across all media channels. We continue to build out and invest in the talent, technology, products and services that will further advance our value as a marketing solutions partner.”

Quadracci continued: “Right now, businesses everywhere around the globe are experiencing disruption from unprecedented supply chain issues and mounting inflationary pressures. At Quad, we are working thoughtfully and diligently to mitigate these impacts on our business while successfully maintaining the high-quality, responsive service on which our clients have come to depend. As always, we will remain nimble and adapt to changes and challenges while continuing our disciplined approach to managing all aspects of our business to enhance our financial strength and create shareholder value.”

Summary Results

Results for the three months ended September 30, 2021, include:

• Net Sales — Net sales were $706 million in the third quarter of 2021, up 4% from the same period in 2020. Excluding the divestiture of QuadExpress, a third-party logistics (3PL) business, organic net sales increased 7% from 2020. The net sales increase during the third quarter was due to a 10% increase in year-over-year print net sales and an 8% increase in year-over-year Agency Solutions net sales. Net sales increased in print and Agency Solutions primarily driven by net sales growth from existing clients as well as print segment share gains from new clients.

• Net Earnings From Continuing Operations — Net earnings from continuing operations were $14 million or $0.27 diluted earnings per share in the third quarter of 2021, an increase of $12 million compared to the third quarter of 2020. Net earnings increased due to higher profit from increased net sales, an $11 million gain from the sale and leaseback of the West Allis, Wis. production facility in the third quarter of 2021, and a $9 million net gain from property insurance claims, partially offset by the negative impact of cost inflation and $9 million of non-recurring temporary cost savings in 2020 primarily related to salary reductions and furloughs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Adjusted EBITDA — Adjusted EBITDA was $64 million in the third quarter of 2021, as compared to $61 million in the same period in 2020, while Adjusted EBITDA margin improved to 9.1% in 2021 compared to 8.9% in 2020. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin was driven by higher profit from increased net sales and a $9 million net gain from property insurance claims, partially offset by the negative impact of cost inflation and $9 million of temporary COVID-19 pandemic related cost savings in 2020.

Results for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, include:

• Net Sales — Net sales were $2.1 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2021, up 1% from the same period in 2020. Excluding recent divestitures, organic net sales increased 2% compared to 2020. The net sales increase during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 was due to a 13% increase in year-over-year logistics net sales and a 9% increase in year-over-year Agency Solutions net sales, while print net sales were flat between years (which includes a 14% decrease in first quarter net sales due to year-over-year impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic). Over the past six months, after annualizing the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our business, organic net sales have increased 13% over 2020 primarily from net sales growth from existing clients and print segment share gains from new clients.

• Net Earnings (Loss) From Continuing Operations — Net earnings from continuing operations were $59 million or $1.12 diluted earnings per share in the nine months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of $80 million compared to the same period in 2020, which recorded a net loss of $21 million or $0.41 diluted loss per share from continuing operations. Net earnings increased due to higher profit from increased net sales, a $52 million decrease in restructuring, impairment, and transaction-related charges (including a $24 million net gain from the sale of businesses) and a $25 million gain from the sale and leaseback of the Chalfont, Penn. and West Allis, Wis. production facilities. These increases were partially offset by $39 million of non-recurring temporary cost savings in 2020 primarily related to salary reductions and furloughs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a $12 million benefit in 2020 from a change in the vacation policy, and the negative impact of cost inflation.

• Adjusted EBITDA — Adjusted EBITDA was $190 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to $196 million in the same period in 2020. The $6 million decrease was due to $39 million of temporary COVID-19 pandemic related cost savings in 2020, a $12 million benefit in 2020 from a change in the vacation policy, and the negative impact of cost inflation, partially offset by higher profit from increased net sales and a $9 million net gain from property insurance claims.

• Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities — Net cash provided by operating activities decreased by $85 million to $22 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to $107 million in the same period in 2020, primarily due to higher working capital to support the seasonal net sales growth and strategically increasing paper and materials inventory levels to serve our clients during this period of worldwide supply chain disruption, and $40 million of income tax refunds received during the third quarter of 2020 due to the CARES Tax Act.

• Free Cash Flow — Free Cash Flow decreased by $76 million to negative $20 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, as compared to the same period in 2020, primarily due to the decrease in Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities described above, partially offset by a $9 million decrease in capital expenditures. As a reminder, the Company historically generates the majority of its Free Cash Flow in the fourth quarter of the year as seasonal working capital build in the third quarter is realized in the fourth quarter.

• Net Debt — Debt less cash and cash equivalents decreased by $74 million to $799 million as of September 30, 2021, as compared to $873 million at December 31, 2020. The reduction was primarily due to cash generated from asset sales, including the divestiture of QuadExpress, a third-party logistics (3PL) business, and the sale and leaseback of the Chalfont, Penn. and West Allis, Wis. facilities. Over the past 12 months, Net Debt decreased $140 million, representing a 15% reduction in Net Debt. The Debt Leverage Ratio improved 21 basis points to 3.14x at September 30, 2021, from 3.35x at December 31, 2020.

2021 Outlook

The Company reaffirms the following full-year 2021 financial outlook:

Dave Honan, Executive Vice President and CFO, concluded: “We achieved strong operational and financial performance in the third quarter as we grew Net Sales, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin despite significant challenges from inflationary costs and supply chain disruptions. As we look to the fourth quarter, our strong sales momentum and continued drive for operational excellence provides us with the confidence to reaffirm our full-year 2021 outlook. Additionally, we are pleased with the continued long-term partnership and support of our bank group as evidenced in the extension of our $1 billion bank debt agreement to November 2026.”

Quarterly Conference Call

Quad will hold a conference call at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 3, to discuss third quarter and year-to-date 2021 results. As part of the conference call, Quad will conduct a question and answer session. Investors are invited to email their questions in advance to IR@quad.com.

Participants can pre-register for the webcast by navigating to https://dpregister.com/sreg/10161221/eec196c88e. Participants will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call on November 3, bypassing the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Alternatively, participants without internet access may dial in on the day of the call as follows:

• U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-328-5508
• International Toll: 1-412-317-5424

An audio replay of the call will be posted on the Investors section of Quad’s website shortly after the conference call ends. In addition, telephone playback will also be available until December 3, 2021, accessible as follows:

• U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-344-7529
• International Toll: 1-412-317-0088
• Replay Access Code: 10158830

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, our current expectations about the Company’s future results, financial condition, sales, earnings, free cash flow, margins, objectives, goals, strategies, beliefs, intentions, plans, estimates, prospects, projections and outlook of the Company and can generally be identified by the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “foresee,” “project,” “believe,” “continue” or the negatives of these terms, variations on them and other similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based largely on the Company’s expectations and judgments and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control.

The factors that could cause actual results to materially differ include, among others: the negative impacts the coronavirus (COVID-19) has had and will continue to have on the Company’s business, financial condition, cash flows, results of operations and supply chain, as well as the global economy in general (including future uncertain impacts); the impact of decreasing demand for printed materials and significant overcapacity in a highly competitive environment creates downward pricing pressures and potential underutilization of assets; the impact of digital media and similar technological changes, including digital substitution by consumers; the impact of increases in costs (including labor and labor-related costs, energy costs, freight rates and raw materials, including paper and the materials to manufacture ink) and the impact of fluctuations in the availability of raw materials, including paper and the materials to manufacture ink; the impact of inflationary cost pressures and supply chain shortages; the inability of the Company to reduce costs and improve operating efficiency rapidly enough to meet market conditions; the impact of the various restrictive covenants in the Company’s debt facilities on the Company’s ability to operate its business, as well as the uncertain negative impacts COVID-19 may have on the Company’s ability to continue to be in compliance with these restrictive covenants; the impact of increased business complexity as a result of the Company’s transformation to a marketing solutions partner; the impact negative publicity could have on our business; the failure to successfully identify, manage, complete and integrate acquisitions, investment opportunities or other significant transactions, as well as the successful identification and execution of strategic divestitures; the failure of clients to perform under contracts or to renew contracts with clients on favorable terms or at all; the impact of changing future economic conditions; the fragility and decline in overall distribution channels; the impact of changes in postal rates, service levels or regulations, including delivery delays due to ongoing COVID-19 impacts on daily operational staffing at the United States Postal Service; the failure to attract and retain qualified talent across the enterprise; the impact of regulatory matters and legislative developments or changes in laws, including changes in cyber-security, privacy and environmental laws; significant capital expenditures may be needed to maintain the Company’s platforms and processes and to remain technologically and economically competitive; the impact of risks associated with the operations outside of the United States, including costs incurred or reputational damage suffered due to improper conduct of its employees, contractors or agents; the impact of an other than temporary decline in operating results and enterprise value that could lead to non-cash impairment charges due to the impairment of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets; the impact on the holders of Quad’s class A common stock of a limited active market for such shares and the inability to independently elect directors or control decisions due to the voting power of the class B common stock; and the other risk factors identified in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which may be amended or supplemented by subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Except to the extent required by the federal securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (referred to as Non-GAAP), specifically Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA Margin, Free Cash Flow, Net Debt, Debt Leverage Ratio and Adjusted Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share From Continuing Operations. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net earnings (loss) attributable to Quad common shareholders excluding interest expense, income tax expense (benefit), depreciation and amortization, restructuring, impairment and transaction-related charges, gain from sale and leaseback, loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, net pension income, loss on debt extinguishment, equity in (earnings) loss of unconsolidated entity, the Adjusted EBITDA for unconsolidated equity method investments (calculated in a consistent manner with the calculation for Quad) and net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA divided by net sales. Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. Debt Leverage Ratio is defined as total debt and finance lease obligations less cash and cash equivalents (Net Debt) divided by the last twelve months of Adjusted EBITDA. Adjusted Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share From Continuing Operations is defined as earnings (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes and equity in (earnings) loss of unconsolidated entity excluding restructuring, impairment and transaction-related charges, gain from sale and leaseback, loss on debt extinguishment, and adjusted for income tax expense at a normalized tax rate, divided by diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding.

The Company believes that these Non-GAAP measures, when presented in conjunction with comparable GAAP measures, provide additional information for evaluating Quad’s performance and are important measures by which Quad’s management assesses the profitability and liquidity of its business. These Non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or superior to, net earnings (loss) as a measure of operating performance or to cash flows provided by operating activities as a measure of liquidity. These Non-GAAP measures may be different than Non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies. Reconciliation to the GAAP equivalent of these Non-GAAP measures are contained in tabular form on the attached unaudited financial statements.

About Quad

Quad (NYSE: QUAD) is a worldwide marketing solutions partner that leverages its 50-year heritage of platform excellence, innovation, strong culture and social purpose to create a better way for its clients, employees and communities. The Company’s integrated marketing platform helps brands and marketers reduce complexity, increase efficiency and enhance marketing spend effectiveness. Quad provides its clients with unmatched scale for client on-site services and expanded subject expertise in marketing strategy, creative solutions, media deployment (which includes a strong foundation in print) and marketing management services. With a client-centric approach that drives the Company to continuously evolve its offering, combined with leading-edge technology and single-source simplicity, the Company has the resources and knowledge to help a wide variety of clients in multiple vertical industries, including retail, publishing, consumer technology, consumer packaged goods, financial services, insurance, healthcare and direct-to-consumer. Quad has multiple locations throughout North America, South America and Europe, and strategic partnerships in Asia and other parts of the world. For additional information visit www.QUAD.com.

Investor Relations Contact
Katie Krebsbach
Investor Relations Manager, Quad
414-566-4247
kkrebsbach@quad.com

Media Contact
Claire Ho
Director of Corporate Communications, Quad
414-566-2955
cho@quad.com

As part of the partnership, Playmaker has acquired @VarskySports and Juan Pablo Varsky will become an ongoing contributor to Bolavip on all platforms and channels

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#LatinAmerica--Playmaker Capital Inc. (TSX-V: PMKR) (“Playmaker”), the digital sports media company that delivers authentic content experiences through its portfolio of sports media and technology brands, has announced the acquisition of Varsky Sports and the associated partnership with renowned Argentinian sports journalist Juan Pablo Varsky.

Varsky, now a global “Playmaker Ambassador”, has an unrivaled professional track record in Latin American sports media with more than 30 years of experience working with some of the most recognized print, television, radio, and digital outlets across the region, as well as with CNN Español in the U.S. His resumé includes coverage of thousands of soccer matches, seven FIFA Football World Cups, Olympic Games, European Cup/UEFA Champions League finals, as well as multiple South American tournaments.

Playmaker has acquired the rights to the social accounts @VarskySports on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, which have a cumulative global audience of more than two million followers. @VarskySports is one of the most influential digital sports content accounts in South America, followed by hundreds of athletes, head coaches, national federations, and journalists. A key element of the agreement will see Varsky publish a weekly opinion column on Bolavip.com, accessible to more than 20 million unique Spanish-speaking soccer fans who visit the site each month.

"I am very happy and proud to join the Playmaker family. We are at the right time to work together and I am sure that we will be making many more exciting announcements in the months and years to come," commented Juan Pablo Varsky. "In my role as a Playmaker Ambassador, we will help take Bolavip.com to even greater heights, and solidify ourselves as the number one resource for soccer information in Latin America and with the US Hispanic market. This is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship."

"We warmly welcome Juan Pablo to Playmaker and Futbol Sites," commented Nahuel Pan, COO of Futbol Sites. "Juan Pablo is a highly respected and well-recognized professional in the Latin American sports media market. Being able to add him to our group, and the audiences he has access to through @VarskySports, is a major milestone in the history of our company.”

TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE DISCLAIMER
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

ABOUT PLAYMAKER
Playmaker (TSX-V: PMKR) is a digital sports media company that lives at the intersection of sports, betting, media and technology. Playmaker is building a collection of premier sports media brands, curated to deliver highly engaged audiences of sports fans to sports betting companies, leagues, teams and advertisers.

For more information, visit: playmaker.fans or contact Playmaker Chief Executive Officer Jordan Gnat via email jgnat@playmaker.fans. Signup for Playmaker’s Investor Alerts at playmaker.fans/investors

ABOUT FUTBOL SITES
Futbol Sites is the number one regional digital sports media group in Latin America, reaching more than 50 million unique users each month. With its headquarters in Miami, Futbol Sites focuses primarily on the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Central America.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Tom Webb - E: tom@redknotcomms.com | T: (+1) 512 952 9369
Mauricio Villarreal – E: mauricio@redknotcomms.com | T: (+1) 919 808 8848
Romilly Evans - E: rom@redknotcomms.com | T: (+44) 7766 752 274

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--News Media Canada, representing hundreds of trusted print and digital titles in every province and territory, welcomed the appointment of the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez as Minister of Canadian Heritage.

“The economic realities and existential threat that publishers — both large and small — are facing are getting more dire by the day,” said Jamie Irving, chair of News Media Canada. “Google and Facebook's take of those diminishing online ad revenues keeps on growing and now stands at roughly 90 per cent.”

“We welcome the re-appointment of Minister Rodriguez, who we expect will move swiftly to introduce legislation within 100 days that would require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets,” said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada. “With all parties in agreement on the overall direction of the Australian model, we also hope that passage can be accomplished in early 2022 via budget implementation to put the industry on an urgently needed sustainable footing.”

About News Media Canada

News Media Canada is the voice of the print and digital news media industry in Canada and represents hundreds of trusted titles in every province and territory. News Media Canada is an advocate in public policy for daily and community media outlets and contributes to the ongoing evolution of the news media industry by raising awareness and promoting the benefits of news media across all platforms. For more information, visit our website at www.newsmediacanada.ca or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Paul Deegan
President and CEO
News Media Canada
pdeegan@newsmediacanada.ca

An engaging content vertical aimed at new wealth, existing wealth and the businesses that support them – the Family Office

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Postmedia Network Inc. (“Postmedia”) and Narrowcontent Inc. (“Narrowcontent”) are proud to announce the official launch of CanadianFamilyOffices.com and the Canadian Family Offices newsletter – offering an in-depth, unbiased look at wealth management and Canada's family office industry.

An explosion of wealth in Canada has many newly wealthy families and entrepreneurs looking for help to manage their holdings. Family offices are a way for ultra-high-net-worth individuals or families to manage a number of finance, investment and personal business matters all in one place. From investing to philanthropy and other administrative matters, a family office brings the management of clients’ personal and family wealth into one place with access to a number of advisors and services.

“We are pleased to bring together the high-quality journalism of the Financial Post, Postmedia’s product innovation and Narrowcontent’s expertise to launch a new resource for high net worth individuals,” said Lucinda Chodan, senior vice-president, editorial, for Postmedia.

Exceptional Content

CanadianFamilyOffices.com and the Canadian Family Offices newsletter are powered by best-in-class journalism from the Financial Post as well as a network of experienced financial writers from across Canada.

“Our goal is to demystify family offices and provide a source of credible information and expertise for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth Canadians,” said David Michaels, co-editor of CanadianFamilyOffices.com. Michaels is a former business editor at The Globe and Mail. He managed the Wealth hub for three years and produced content focused on high-net-worth investing, RRSPs and entrepreneurship.

“We aim to produce unique content for the Canadian context, by experienced writers with a depth of knowledge,” said Christina Varga, Financial Post’s editor for Canadian Family Offices. Christina Varga is a veteran editor who has covered business, personal finance and lifestyle content.

Among the topics explored on CanadianFamilyOffices.com are investing, portfolio construction, estate planning, taxes, philanthropy and business management. Also tackled are family relationships and how they impact the building of wealth and the operation of family businesses. The site also features Q&A interviews with the most highly regarded minds in Canada's wealth management and family offices sectors.

CanadianFamilyOffices.com is designed to be a conduit for Canadian thought leadership. The commentary section features regular contributions from more than 25 highly respected experts in areas from family offices to family enterprises, from stock markets to succession.

Members Only

The site is driven by memberships. Carefully vetted industry partners can sign up for a membership that allows them to increase exposure to and engagement with a premium audience vertical. Industry memberships align complementary brands through member pages, story sponsorships and social brand exposure. This bespoke membership model allows for awareness building, consideration and lead generation.

Launch members include: Lysander Funds, Canso Investment Counsel and PBY Capital.

About Narrowcontent Inc.:

Narrowcontent is a content marketing company narrowly focused on serving the right content to the right people at the right time. A small but mighty group of creators who mix data with creativity to craft relevant and engaging messages, which are then amplified in the places that will have the greatest impact. Narrowcontent thrives on finding non-traditional solutions to its customers’ unique challenges.

About Postmedia Network Inc.:

Postmedia Network Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (TSX:PNC.A, PNC.B), is a news media company representing more than 120 brands across multiple print, online, and mobile platforms. Award-winning journalists and innovative product development teams bring engaging content to millions of people every week whenever and wherever they want it. This exceptional content, reach and scope offer advertisers and marketers compelling solutions to effectively reach target audiences.

CanadianFamilyOffices.com – Industry Membership Inquiries

CanadianFamilyOffices.com Editorial contacts:
David Michaels at Dave.Michaels@Narrowcontent.com
Christina Varga at CVarga@Postmedia.com

Narrowcontent Inc.
Erica Chau
Director of Marketing
(647) 204-3288
erica.chau@narrowcontent.com

Postmedia
Phyllise Gelfand
Vice President, Communications
(647) 273-9287
pgelfand@postmedia.com

New media network brings original content across channels for entertaining takes and professional insights on modern sales

KITCHENER, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vidyard, the leading video platform for businesses, today announced the launch of Sales Feed, a digital media network dedicated to serving a new generation of sellers with the latest sales tips, news, and entertainment. Sales Feed is producing a wide range of original online shows, podcasts, video series, music, comedy, and entertainment along with daily sales tips and a weekly newsletter – all created with one person in mind: the B2B sales professional.

Powered by a community of sales professionals and enthusiasts, Sales Feed is committed to helping sellers sharpen their skills, stay ahead of the competition, and enjoy a well-deserved laugh after a long day of cold calling and hot rejection.

“While there’s a great deal of content available for sales leaders, there’s very little being created for frontline B2B sellers who are hustling every day to hit their quotas,” said Tyler Lessard, head of the Sales Feed network. “We’ve founded Sales Feed to help B2B sellers lead a better life in sales through content and media they can better relate to. From our original shows and sales shorts to music and other ‘sellertainment,’ we’re delivering content in fresh new formats that better align with how the new generation of sellers wants to engage.”

The Sales Feed media network launches today with a variety of new original shows, including:

• Full Funnel: A weekly sales news show featuring The Startup Hypeman, Rajiv Nathan, covering three topical areas in under 10 minutes. Episodes 1-6 are now available.
• Sales People: Vidyard’s Tyler Lessard explores how B2B sellers can put the ‘people’ back in sales in a digital-first business world. Episode 1 is available now.
• Sales Stuff Explained: Answers to everything you’ve wondered about sales, from how teams are structured to deep dives on complex topics like revenue intelligence. Coming this November.
• That’s How it All Began: A podcast and video series from Andrew Davis, exploring the biggest names in business and how they got their start. Episode 1 is now available.
• Sales Tech Talks: Sales Feed’s Will Aitken tests and reviews some of the hottest sales tools to show how they really work, and if they’re worth your time. Episode 1 is available now.
• Tales from the Field Podcast: Amy Volas, one of the top voices in sales, discusses real-world experiences from B2B sellers with a focus on what they learned while overcoming their greatest sales fails. The weekly podcast launches this November.
• Beats to Sell To - Lofi Hip Hop Radio: An always-live lofi hip hop radio channel featuring curated music to make common sales tasks more enjoyable. Now live on the Sales Feed YouTube channel.
• The Sales Feed Newsletter: Bringing the best-of-the-best from across the Sales Feed network, along with tips and insights from the broader sales community, direct to your inbox every week. Sign up for the Sales Feed newsletter today.

Sales Feed has no subscriptions fees, is free of any advertising to distract from the experience, and is available on LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and SalesFeedMedia.com.

To learn more about Vidyard, visit vidyard.com.

About Vidyard

Vidyard helps businesses and professionals connect with their audiences in a whole new way through engaging, personalized, and measurable video experiences. Through its global video hosting and analytics platform, Vidyard empowers companies like LinkedIn, Zycus, League, Stanley Black & Decker, and others to transform their approach to marketing, sales, and corporate communications. Vidyard helps any business professional create and share custom videos to deliver their message in a more personal and impactful way through its free and pro tools. Thousands of businesses and millions of people around the world rely on Vidyard for their video needs. Sign up for Vidyard for free: https://www.vidyard.com/free.

Media:
Josh Swarz, Big Valley Marketing for Vidyard - press@vidyard.com
Sarah Duckett, Public Relations & Communications, Vidyard - sarah.duckett@vidyard.com

VIQ’s cloud-based transcription workflow automation solutions, powered by Artificial Intelligence, enable efficiency and productivity gains globally

PHOENIX, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VIQ Solutions Inc. (“VIQ”, “VIQ Solutions” or the “Company”) (TSX and Nasdaq: VQS), a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, today announced NetScribe, powered by aiAssist™, is now available in the United Kingdom and Canada significantly improving the execution and management of transcription workflows for transcription companies.

Increasing demand for digital content by global organizations empowered the need for transcription technology and automation. According to Grandview Research, the transcription market in the United States alone was valued at $21 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to expand by 6.1% each year from 2020 to 2027. To keep pace with high demand and market pressures for faster turnaround and enhanced security, transcription companies need NetScribe’s powerful cloud-based transcription workflow management technology to improve productivity and streamline business operations.

The NetScribe platform simplifies and secures verbatim transcripts using AI-powered workflows to accelerate transcription by over 30 percent. With NetScribe, transcription companies have secure and reliable access to progressive, single and multi-channel audio recordings for quick rendering into comprehensive, formatted documents for professional editors to promptly review and edit. The addition of NetScribe technology in Canada and the United Kingdom creates a highly secure environment that is nationalized to support local data sovereignty requirements.

“NetScribe is a secure workflow management tool that allows our business to leverage speech recognition technology within our transcription workflow,” said Maria French, CEO, Nova Transcribe, a current NetScribe client. “Simple interfaces made it easy for us to set up our customers and deliver quality transcripts on time.”

To enable digital transformation for Transcription Service Providers globally, VIQ announced the appointment of Joel Turry as VP Sales, Transcription Providers, to drive the channel sales strategy and enablement programs to meet aggressive growth objectives. An experienced leader in the Transcription Services Provider space, Mr. Turry has more than 25 years experience in transcription services and workflow transformation.

"I can think of no better leader to build our Transcription Provider business to deliver nextgen software solutions that provide immediate value for our clients," said Susan Sumner, President and Chief Operating Officer, VIQ Solutions. “NetScribe technology enables our clients to realize the benefits of fast, accurate transcript creation. It also enables global transcription companies to expand their workflows by offering a secure method to create comprehensive documentation in the most efficient way possible. AI technology, augmented by human expertise, improves speed, accessibility and quality of highly complex documentation.”

VIQ Solutions leads digital transformation with cutting-edge technologies delivering faster and more accurate transcripts while securely protecting confidential information. VIQ reduces costs, decreases turnaround times, and increases transcript accuracy providing innovative digitization to the industry.

About VIQ Solutions

VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a seamless, comprehensive solution suite that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in the way content is captured, secured, and repurposed into actionable information. The cyber-secure, AI technology and services platform are implemented in the most rigid security environments including criminal justice, legal, insurance, government, corporate finance, media, and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve the quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and to achieve digital transformation faster and at a lower cost.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "project" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release include, but are not limited to, the anticipated expansion of the transcription market in the United States and the benefits of NetScribe technology.

Forward-looking statements or information is based on several factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although VIQ believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because VIQ can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified in this news release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company’s recent initiatives, and that sales and prospects may provide incremental value for shareholders. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that have been used.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s base shelf prospectus dated June 10, 2021 and in the Company’s other materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Media Contact:
Laura Haggard
Chief Marketing Officer
VIQ Solutions
Email: marketing@viqsolutions.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Laura Kiernan
High Touch Investor Relations
Ph. 1-914-598-7733
Email: viq@htir.net

For more information about VIQ, please visit viqsolutions.com.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoftwareReviews, a leading source for insights on the software vendor landscape, has published its 2021 Emotional Footprint Awards for Digital Experience Platforms (DXP). Six DXP software vendors in the enterprise and mid-market spaces have been identified as champions for 2021.

DXPs are keystone applications for powering and optimizing next-generation web experiences. The DXPs recognized by SoftwareReviews for 2021 have received high scores on the Emotional Footprint Diamond, which is informed by meticulously verified survey data collected from real end-users.

The Net Emotional Footprint (NEF) of a software vendor is a result of aggregated emotional response ratings across the areas of service, negotiation, product impact, conflict resolution, strategy and innovation. The NEF is a powerful indicator of overall user sentiment toward the vendor and its product from the software user’s point of view.

Software vendors with top user scores receive the Emotional Footprint Award.

The Enterprise Digital Experience Platform champions for 2021 are as follows:

• Kentico Xperience, +92 NEF, ranked high in many categories, including showing respect to its users and providing an exceptional service experience.
• Progress Sitefinity, +90 NEF, gave users peace of mind with fair and honest conflict resolution.
• Bloomreach, +85 NEF, exceeded user expectations in including product enhancement.

The Mid-Market Digital Experience Platform champions for 2021 are as follows:

• Concrete CMS, +91 NEF, ranked strongly for inspiring strategy and innovation by keeping pace with market direction and trends.
• Enonic, +90 NEF, exceeded user expectations by continually improving users’ digital experience.
• Weebly, +90 NEF, ranked highly for being generous during contract negotiation and saving time for the best service experience.

“Today’s consumers expect an increasing breadth of capabilities on a modern website, from customer portals for self-service to chatbots that steer them to the right resources quickly and effectively,” explains Ben Dickie, research analyst at Info-Tech Research Group. “The champions of the 2021 Emotional Footprint Awards for the DXP enterprise and mid-market spaces have proven that they support consistent and compelling web experiences for users, a strategic priority for marketers in every organization.”

Congratulations to the vendors selected as the top DXPs for 2021 by users.

To learn more about SoftwareReviews and the Net Emotional Footprint surveys, visit www.softwarereviews.com and connect via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

Supporting Resources

• SoftwareReviews Digital Experience Platforms – Enterprise
• SoftwareReviews Digital Experience Platforms – Mid-Market
• DXP: How Compelling Is Your Online Presence

About SoftwareReviews

SoftwareReviews, a division of Info-Tech Research Group, is backed by two decades of IT research and advisory experience. By collecting real data from verified IT and business professionals, the SoftwareReviews methodology produces detailed and authentic insight into the experience of evaluating and purchasing software.

Sufyan Al-Hassan
Senior PR Coordinator
salhassan@infotech.com
+1 (888) 670-8889 x2418

VIQ’s AI-powered solutions create highly accurate, verbatim transcripts of broadcast programming in minutes using seamless workflows

PHOENIX, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VIQ Solutions Inc. (“VIQ” or the “Company”) (TSX and Nasdaq: VQS), a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, today announced its subsidiary, VIQ Media, has entered into two new contracts, valued at approximately $580,000, to provide rush verbatim transcripts and global newswire distribution to top global news agencies. The Company also announced the five-year renewal of its largest media client, representing an average annual revenue of approximately $1.9 million, beginning April 2022. All amounts in this news release are expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated.

VIQ Media traces its roots back to the transcript division of the Reuters News Service and continues at the forefront of what is next in the industry. VIQ is committed to developing and swiftly applying technological advancements to aid broadcasters as they navigate the transformation of the media segment.

“We are proud that such esteemed organizations that deliver Political, Financial and General Interest news daily, continue to trust us with the critically important role of accurately rendering and distributing their news content quickly and efficiently,” said Elizabeth Pennell, President of VIQ Media. “These contractual relationships attest to our ability to exceed expectations and aid in the transformation of the media segment.”

The contracts encompass transcription services, video logging, program monitoring, and newswire and database distribution of text transcripts produced by VIQ to provide greater exposure and revenue generation, which help offset transcription cost. FirstDraft services are key to fulfilling the contractual obligations and further enhance access to text-based documentation in near real-time. The addition of video logging, a new service offering, resulted from the consolidation of multiple vendor contracts.

VIQ leads the digital transformation with innovative technologies that deliver faster and accurate transcripts while securely protecting confidential information. VIQ services reduce costs, decrease turnaround times, increase transcript accuracy, and provide digitized innovation to the industry.

“In a year dominated by major news events, the need for secure, AI-powered transcription services have increased exponentially,” said Susan Sumner, President and Chief Operating Officer of VIQ. “VIQ uses sophisticated technology to enable the fast, accurate, and affordable production of text effectively supporting the real-time demands of expanded streaming, social media, and 24-hour news cycles.”

For more information about VIQ, please visit viqsolutions.com.

About VIQ

VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a seamless, comprehensive solution suite that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in the way content is captured, secured, and repurposed into actionable information. The cyber-secure, AI technology and services platform are implemented in the most rigid security environments including criminal justice, legal, insurance, government, corporate finance, media, and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve the quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and to achieve digital transformation faster and at a lower cost.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information under applicable securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements or information typically contain statements with words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "propose", "project" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements or information in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expected average annual revenue of the renewal contact and VIQ’s commitment to developing and swiftly applying technological advancements to aid broadcasters.

Forward-looking statements or information is based on several factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although VIQ believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because VIQ can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions which may be identified in this news release, assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company’s recent initiatives, and that sales and prospects may provide incremental value for shareholders. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that have been used.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in greater detail in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s base shelf prospectus dated June 10, 2021 and in the Company’s other materials filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Media Contact:
Laura Haggard
Chief Marketing Officer
VIQ Solutions
Email: marketing@viqsolutions.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Laura Kiernan
High Touch Investor Relations
Ph. 1-914-598-7733
Email: viq@htir.net

SUSSEX, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Quad (NYSE: QUAD) will hold a conference call at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, November 3, to discuss third quarter and year-to-date 2021 results. The call will be hosted by Joel Quadracci, Quad Chairman, President & CEO, and Dave Honan, Quad Executive Vice President & CFO.

The full earnings release and slide presentation will be concurrently available on the Investors section of Quad’s website at www.quad.com/investors. As part of the conference call, Quad will conduct a question and answer session. Investors are invited to email their questions in advance to IR@quad.com.

Participants may pre-register for the webcast by navigating to https://dpregister.com/sreg/10161221/eec196c88e. Participants will be given a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the call on November 3, bypassing the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Alternatively, participants without internet access may dial in on the day of the call as follows:

• U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-328-5508
• International Toll: 1-412-317-5424

An audio replay of the call will be posted on the Investors section of Quad’s website shortly after the conference call ends. In addition, telephone playback will also be available until December 3, 2021, accessible as follows:

• U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-344-7529
• International Toll: 1-412-317-0088
• Replay Access Code: 10161221

About Quad

Quad (NYSE: QUAD) is a worldwide marketing solutions partner that leverages its 50-year heritage of platform excellence, innovation and strong culture and social purpose to create a better way for its clients, employees and communities. The Company’s integrated marketing platform helps brands and marketers reduce complexity, increase efficiency and enhance marketing spend effectiveness. Quad provides its clients with unmatched scale for client on-site services and expanded subject expertise in marketing strategy, creative solutions, media deployment (which includes a strong foundation in print) and marketing management services. With a client-centric approach that drives the Company to continuously evolve its offering, combined with leading-edge technology and single-source simplicity, the Company has the resources and knowledge to help a wide variety of clients in multiple vertical industries, including retail, publishing, consumer packaged goods, financial services, insurance, healthcare and direct-to-consumer. Quad has multiple locations throughout North America, South America and Europe, and strategic partnerships in Asia and other parts of the world. For additional information visit www.QUAD.com.

Investor Relations Contact
Katie Krebsbach
Investor Relations Manager, Quad
414-566-4247 / kkrebsbach@quad.com

Media Contact
Claire Ho
Director of Corporate Communications, Quad
414-566-2955 / cho@quad.com

Ingredient transparency platform empowers clean beauty index beyond affiliate links to fill gap in path to purchase

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#Bonsai--The Good Face Project, the world's largest data-driven index of cosmetic ingredients, today announces new native checkout capabilities powered by Bonsai, the premier native commerce technology connecting publishers and merchants with online consumers. Visitors to The Good Face Project’s catalogue of safe, high quality brands will now have the ability to purchase products directly through the site, closing the gap of sales lost to the frustration of being redirected to complete a purchase.

“The Good Face Project’s commitment to providing honest and useful information has engendered the trust of both brands and consumers, and with the help of Bonsai we will be able to seamlessly connect these communities,” said Iva Teixeira, co-founder and CEO of The Good Face Project. “This integration allows us to elevate the brands we value, satisfy our Clean Beauty community, and continue our mission to make clean beauty accessible.”

The Good Face Project works with clean and effective brands including 100% Pure, Furtuna Skin, Herbivore Botanicals, Province Apothecary and Ursa Major. With Bonsai’s Commerce API embedded throughout The Good Face Project’s site, these brands can experience a boost in sales compared to what they have previously received from affiliate traffic through the site.

“So often we’re discovering a rift between the great intentions of a publisher like The Good Face and its potential patrons due to an inconsistent path to purchase,” said Saad Siddiqui, founder and CEO of Bonsai. “Bonsai is able to streamline the ecommerce experience for both publishers and merchants by closing the gap between them and their potential consumers at that critical point of inspiration.”

To experience The Good Face Project, visit www.thegoodfaceproject.com. To learn more about how Bonsai powers truly native commerce for publishers and merchants, visit www.getbonsai.com.

About Bonsai
Founded in 2016, Bonsai is an e-commerce platform trusted by elite publishers and retailers across North America and Europe. Bonsai’s discovery commerce technology allows users to purchase a product within the content they love. For publishers, Bonsai provides a better revenue alternative to intrusive ads and the chance to own the customer from inspiration to gratification. For 200+ merchants, ranging from Direct-to-Consumer brands to enterprise partners, Bonsai puts their natively shoppable products in front of an audience at the moment purchasing intent is being formed, achieving more sales with less friction. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Visit https://getbonsai.com/.

About The Good Face Project
With a commitment to clean, and transparent beauty, The Good Face Project's powerful algorithms analyze beauty products and skincare ingredients across 15 dimensions of safety, effectiveness, and cosmetic benefit to provide consumers with individualized skincare recommendations. Powered by a comprehensive ingredient ontology, The Good Face Project analyzes product labels and screens every ingredient for efficacy and toxicity, presenting users with a Safety Grade to ensure ingredients of the highest caliber. Through data-driven analysis of skincare needs, The Good Face Project provides users with clean and shoppable products tailored to specific consumer goals. The Good Face Project believes that clean beauty is the new standard and is on a mission to empower consumers, brands, and manufacturers to be successful in the new paradigm. For more, follow The Good Face Project on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Media Contact
Pal Hollywood, Sterling Communications for Bonsai
phollywood@sterlingpr.com
(408) 355-9880

UiPath, Automate from HelpSystems, and Automation Anywhere are the 2021 Robotic Process Automation Data Quadrant Gold Medalists.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoftwareReviews, a division of IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group, has published its 2021 Robotic Process Automation Data Quadrant Awards, naming three vendors as gold medalists. The following vendors are winners according to the feedback provided by their end-users via SoftwareReviews’ comprehensive online survey:

• UiPath
• Automate from HelpSystems
• Automation Anywhere

Vendors are rated on product features, vendor capabilities, and the relationship with their software partner.

What makes the SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant different?

The study involves gathering intelligence on user satisfaction with both product features and the experience with the vendor. Aggregated emotional response ratings are included in the areas of service, negotiation, product impact, conflict resolution, and strategy and innovation to create a powerful indicator of overall user feeling toward the vendor and its product – all from the software users’ point of view. SoftwareReviews calls this insight the Net Emotional Footprint.

With a Net Emotional Footprint of +97, UiPath ranked strongly for role-based access. Automate from HelpSystems received a Net Emotional Footprint of +85 and exceeded user expectations in providing quality implementation strategy and delivery. Automation Anywhere received a Net Emotional Footprint of +93 with a high score for in-action logging.

Robotic Process Automation users were most satisfied with vendors’ central deployment capabilities. However, users would be happy to see changes and improvements in the vendors real-time debugging solutions.

In-depth product evaluation reports are available at www.softwarereviews.com

About SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant Awards and Software Reports:

SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant Awards recognize outstanding vendors in the technology marketplace as evaluated by their users annually. Top vendors in a software category are eligible to receive Data Quadrant Gold Medals, provided their net-promoter scores meet the threshold for sufficiently high user satisfaction across four areas of evaluation: vendor capabilities, product features, likeliness to recommend, and vendor experience.

About SoftwareReviews:

SoftwareReviews is a division of Info-Tech Research Group, an IT research and advisory firm established in 1997. Backed by two decades of IT research and advisory experience, SoftwareReviews is a leading source of expertise and insight into the enterprise software landscape and client-vendor relationships. By collecting real data from IT and business professionals, the SoftwareReviews methodology produces detailed and authentic insights into the experience of evaluating and purchasing enterprise software.

For more information, please contact:
Sufyan Al-Hassan
Senior PR Coordinator
salhassan@infotech.com
1 (888) 670-8889 x2418

Epicor ECM, FileBound from Upland, and Box ECM  are the 2021 Enterprise Content Management – Enterprise Data Quadrant Gold Medalists.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SoftwareReviews, a division of IT research and advisory firm Info-Tech Research Group, has published its 2021 Enterprise Content Management - Enterprise Data Quadrant Awards, naming three vendors as gold medalists. The following vendors are winners according to the feedback provided by their end-users via SoftwareReviews’ comprehensive online survey:

• Epicor ECM
• FileBound from Upland
• Box ECM

Vendors are rated on product features, vendor capabilities, and the relationship with their software partner.

What makes the SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant different?

The study involves gathering intelligence on user satisfaction with both product features and the experience with the vendor. Aggregated emotional response ratings are included in the areas of service, negotiation, product impact, conflict resolution, and strategy and innovation to create a powerful indicator of overall user feeling toward the vendor and its product – all from the software users’ point of view. SoftwareReviews calls this insight the Net Emotional Footprint.

With a Net Emotional Footprint of +95, Epicor ECM ranked strongly for ECM document management. FileBound from Upland received a Net Emotional Footprint of +89 and exceeded user expectations by including a search engine that can search an entire body of documents for keywords or phrases. Box ECM received a Net Emotional Footprint of +90 with a high score for e-discovery audit trail, the extent to which files and file histories are tracked & the ability to manage files for legal proceedings.

Enterprise Content Management users were most satisfied with vendors’ high-quality workflow process automation, which allows them to configure their actions within the system to be performed automatically. However, users would be happy to see changes and improvements in the vendor’s ease of customization capabilities.

In-depth product evaluation reports are available at www.softwarereviews.com

About SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant Awards and Software Reports:

SoftwareReviews Data Quadrant Awards recognize outstanding vendors in the technology marketplace as evaluated by their users annually. Top vendors in a software category are eligible to receive Data Quadrant Gold Medals, provided their net-promoter scores meet the threshold for sufficiently high user satisfaction across four areas of evaluation: vendor capabilities, product features, likeliness to recommend, and vendor experience.

About SoftwareReviews:

SoftwareReviews is a division of Info-Tech Research Group, an IT research and advisory firm established in 1997. Backed by two decades of IT research and advisory experience, SoftwareReviews is a leading source of expertise and insight into the enterprise software landscape and client-vendor relationships. By collecting real data from IT and business professionals, the SoftwareReviews methodology produces detailed and authentic insights into the experience of evaluating and purchasing enterprise software.

For more information, please contact:
Sufyan Al-Hassan
Senior PR Coordinator
salhassan@infotech.com
1 (888) 670-8889 x2418