Press Room
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Kall8 Picks Octopus as New SpokespersonSEATTLE, Wash. - January 4, 2005 - Kall8, the pioneer online company that re-invented Web-hosted telephone services four years ago with its revolutionary toll-free services for the masses, recently announced the selection of Kollin™, a green giant octopus, as its new spokesperson. “Kollin was hands-down the candidate of choice,” Kall8 Marketing Manager Bill Johnson said. “He’s just the man, er, person for the job of helping propel Kall8 into the forefront of hosted telephony solutions. Kall8 has unintentionally been one of the best-kept secrets in telecom. Kollin is going to change that.” The move to bring on Kollin is just one of many recent steps by Kall8, including the redesign of the Kall8 web site to improve service and ease of use for customers, that continue to set Kall8 apart and make it unique in the industry. Kall8 is a hosted telephony service that offers toll-free and local numbers loaded with tools and functions to help you stay in touch with your customers, clients, friends, and family members. At the core of Kall8’s hosted online telephone services is the ability to route phone calls anytime, anywhere in the world, and to change routing and features in real-time with the click of a mouse. Custom routing, along with call conferencing and call detail reporting, are just some of the integrated features of the service, most of which are part of Kall8’s comprehensive “one service, one solution, one rate” offering. For as little as a $2 set-up fee and $2 a month, you can establish a Kall8 number. You can also add additional functions like call recording and an automatic attendant for nominal fees. There’s no equipment to buy, no software to install, no contract to sign. All you need is a dial tone and an Internet connection to manage your account. Kollin’s selection as a spokesperson marks the end of a long and interesting process, Johnson said. A selection committee compiled a long list of prospects and checked some of them out before putting out the casting call. “Several names were proposed,” Johnson said, “including a former spokesperson for Priceline.com who was recently replaced. But the committee chose not to pursue that at the time, since it was rumored the actor was starting work on a new TV series.” Other names came up. “Someone kept talking about a puppet with a dot-com background, but when we brought him in, I found myself staring at a dirty sock and smelling a hint of athlete’s foot,” Johnson said, wrinkling his nose and shaking his head at the memory. Johnson said he was also given the number of another prospect with an online e-commerce technology background. “I called the number,” Johnson recalled, “but promptly hung up when the voice on the other end said, ‘Dude, you’re getting a toll-free number!’ ” Johnson said he and his team ultimately concluded the best approach was to “open the doors and let anyone apply.” The day after the announcement went out, dozens of hopefuls showed up, lining the streets around the Kall8 corporate offices. Sources close to the matter say Kollin immediately distinguished himself from the competition. “After interviewing Kollin, our first impression was that we could tell he was intelligent, witty, and a multi-tasker,” one committee member said. “I think we knew he was a perfect fit,” Johnson added. “It’s not every day you find someone so adept at doing eight different things at once with the kind of efficiency, ease, and even elegance Kollin possesses. He personifies everything we’ve built into our service. No other candidate in the running could match that.” “We also did a little research on octopuses and found that once they learn to solve problems, they remember and are able to solve them and similar ones repeatedly,” Johnson said. “That just seems to us to be the perfect analogy to Kall8. Once you’ve set up Kall8 to handle your communication needs, Kall8 will continue to solve your problems repeatedly.” Details on the plans for Kollin and his public appearance schedule remain shrouded in secrecy. But Johnson assures that in the months to come, Kollin will appear in advertisements and at trade shows, and that he will have an increasing role throughout the Kall8 Web site, giving customers helpful tips on how to make the most of Kall8’s tools and functions. “I am so pleased that Kall8 chose me as their spokesperson,” Kollin said. “The competition was pretty fierce. Especially that green hottie in the candy-coated shell. She was sweet.” Biography of Kollin™, the Kall8 mascot and spokesperson
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