GoAmerica Becomes Purple(TM) Communications(TM)
February 12 2009 - 6:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Name Change Marks An Important Step In a 25-Year Effort to Enhance
Communication for People Who are Deaf or Hard Of Hearing NOVATO,
Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GoAmerica(R), Inc., one
of the nation's leading providers of text and video relay and
on-site interpreting services today announced that it has changed
its name to Purple(TM) Communications(TM), Inc. The Company's stock
ticker has changed from Nasdaq: GOAM to Nasdaq: PRPL. In 2008, the
Company completed five transactions, blending a portfolio of
services that is tailored for people who are deaf or hard hearing.
With those acquisitions came multiple brands and a need for a
unified identity. "When I founded Hands On, we adopted the color
purple in our early logos. As we began educating consumers about
our service, purple took on a life of its own, and customers
started calling us the 'purple company'," said Ronald Obray,
founder of Hands On Video Relay Service(R). "The link to the color
purple stuck with us over the years, and came to represent not just
the quality of our services, but the values behind these services.
Adopting Purple as a part of the company name is a testament to the
community, the employees, and all the people who are working to
make Purple Communications what it is today." "The desire and
passion to serve the deaf community that existed when we founded
Sign Language Associates (SLA) in 1982 hasn't changed," said Janet
Bailey, senior vice president of community interpreting for Purple
Communications, and SLA's founder and its former CEO. "Now, this
passion is captured as part of the Purple brand and the spirit of
service behind the new company name." "Creating an integrated
company with a single purpose and clear branding direction was an
important goal for us after last year's transactions," said Dan
Luis, Purple Communications' CEO. "As a name, 'Purple' accomplishes
this while connecting all of the company's services to the shared
set of core values that already existed in each of the companies we
brought together." The Company name change is part of a
comprehensive branding roll out that will align all of the service
brands of Purple Communications, including Hands On Video Relay
Service, i711(R), and IP-Relay.com(TM). These service brands, which
now carry the "Powered by Purple(TM)" tagline, will soon be updated
to visually reflect a stronger connection to the Purple(TM) brand.
The Company's community interpreting services, Sign Language
Associates (SLA), Visual Language Interpreting (VLI), and Hands On
Services will also soon be unified under one name, Purple(TM)
Language Services, now the nation's leading provider of on-site
interpreting services. Enhancing Communication For More Than 25
Years Through its services, Purple Communications has been
continuously serving people with hearing or speech disabilities
since 1982, and has assembled a long list of innovations. These
include the nation's first wireless TTY service, the first IP-relay
service, the first wireless relay service, the first relay service
on AOL(R) Instant Messenger (AIM), the first 10-digit numbers for
deaf consumers, and the first interpreting agency. Together, these
Purple(TM) services have enriched the lives of millions of people
through more accessible, clearer communication. "We're very proud
of and grateful to the employees and customers who poured the
'foundation' that defines why we exist as a company. As we begin
this next chapter under the Purple name, that foundation will
anchor our values and serve as a continual reminder of our
commitment to the customers we serve," added Luis. New Purple(TM)
Corporate Web Site Purple Communications also launched its new
corporate website this week, http://www.purple.us/, offering a
variety of content in both English and American Sign Language,
providing new educational information about recent FCC rulings that
impact deaf consumers (http://www.purple.us/localnumber) and
information about all of the services offered by Purple
Communications. About Purple(TM) Purple Communications is a leading
provider of onsite interpreting services, video relay and text
relay services, and video remote interpreting, offering a wide
array of options designed to meet the varied communication needs of
its customers. The Company's vision is to enable free-flowing
communication between people, inclusive of differences in
abilities, languages, or locations. For more information on the
Company or its services, visit http://www.purple.us/ or contact
Purple Communications directly by voice at 415-408-2300, by
Internet relay by visiting http://www.i711.com/ or
http://www.ip-relay.com/, or by video phone by connecting to
hovrs.tv. Safe Harbor The statements contained in this news release
that are not based on historical fact -- including statements
regarding the anticipated results of the transactions described in
this press release -- constitute "forward-looking statements" that
are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking
terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "estimate",
"anticipate", "continue", or similar terms, variations of such
terms or the negative of those terms. Such forward-looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to: (i) our ability to integrate the businesses and
technologies we have acquired; (ii) our ability to respond to the
rapid technological change of the wireless data industry and offer
new services; (iii) our dependence on wireless carrier networks;
(iv) our ability to respond to increased competition in the
wireless data industry; (v) our ability to generate revenue growth;
(vi) our ability to increase or maintain gross margins,
profitability, liquidity and capital resources; and (vii)
difficulties inherent in predicting the outcome of regulatory
processes. Such risks and others are more fully described in the
Risk Factors set forth in our filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Our actual results could differ materially
from the results expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking
statements. Purple Communications(TM) is not obligated to update
and does not undertake to update any of its forward looking
statements made in this press release. Each reference in this news
release to "Purple(TM)", the "Company" or "We", or any variation
thereof, is a reference to Purple Communications(TM), Inc. and its
subsidiaries. "GoAmerica", "i711", the "i711.com" logo, "Relay and
Beyond", and "Hands On Video Relay Service" are registered
trademarks of Purple Communications, Inc. "Purple", "Powered by
Purple", "IP-Relay.com", "hovrs" are trademarks and service marks
of Purple Communications, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of
their respective owners. CONTACT: Purple Communications Laura
Kowalcyk CJP Communications 212-279-3115 x209 DATASOURCE:
GoAmerica, Inc. CONTACT: Laura Kowalcyk of CJP Communications,
+1-212-279-3115 x209, , for Purple Communications Web Site:
http://www.purple.us/
Copyright