Can you “Be The Voice” of New Ziillund?

PRESS RELEASE EMBARGOED UNTIL 28 SEPTEMBER

Can you “Be The Voice” of New Ziillund?

~ TomTom launches nation-wide search for the new TomTom GPS voice of New Zealand ~

Auckland, 28 September 2010 – TomTom announced today that it is on a nation-wide search for the new voice of New Zealand. The winner of the Be the Voice of New Zealand campaign will not only have their dulcet tones as the new Kiwi voice on TomTom GPS units, but will also win a brand new Suzuki Swift RS equipped with a TomTom GPS.

TomTom is well known for its comical and celebrity voices available for download on all of its GPS units, and today opens up the opportunity for a local Kiwi to Be The Voice of New Zealand for TomTom GPS and join the ranks of Snoop Dogg, Homer Simpson, John Cleese and Mr T.

If you’re a classic Fred Dagg, have an iconic and gruff Graham Henry voice, or an accent with refined Westie inflections, then TomTom wants to hear from you. And with the promotion running in conjunction with The EDGE radio station, there will be plenty of opportunities to get your voice recorded at the EDGE road trip recording booths nationwide or enter online (www.bethevoice.co.nz).

Nick Saisanas, Marketing Communications Manager, TomTom New Zealand & Australia, says they are on the hunt for a true blue Kiwi accent, with all the quirks and sayings New Zealand is famous for.

“New Zealanders have a unique accent with an original vernacular that is hard to replicate or imitate. New Zealand’s TomTom GPS users have previously said that the New Zealand voices don’t currently sound as ‘Kiwi’ as they should. So we want to change that. We want to hear an authentic and iconic Kiwi accent come out of the woodwork and be the new voice of New Zealand for all TomTom GPS users,” says Saisanas.

Carl Fletcher and Vaughan Smith, hosts of The EDGE Fletch & Vaughan show, have already put their hands up to potentially become voices and are excited to find the person to be the new TomTom GPS voice of New Zealand.

“I mean imagine being THE voice that is chosen as most iconically Kiwi, how much of an ego boost is that? Your voice could be the voice that represents all Kiwis and is used worldwide by anyone with a TomTom GPS. We have so many unique sayings that we can throw in there as well to really Kiwi it up, I mean there’s ‘sweet as bro,’ ‘choice eh’...and then the classics like ‘yeah yeah...nah’. It’s going to be an epic campaign, with an epic prize to boot,” says Fletch.

Vaughan adds, “If you love telling people what to do and how to do it, or if women quiver at your low husky voice like they do mine, then clear your throat and get practicing because come November 2010 YOU could be the Kiwi voice telling drivers all over the world where to turn, when to stop and what to do when they arrive at their destination! Let’s take back seat driving to a new level and get a prize for doing it.”

How to Enter:
There will be two ways for Kiwis to enter their voice into the competition; the dedicated website where voice entries can be made online and viewed until October 15, and the nation-wide Edge road trip’s voice booths. Five quality finalists will be selected and online public voting will help choose the winner. Voting for the top five finalists begins 18 October 2010. The winner, announced on Monday 1 November 2010, will be the new TomTom GPS Voice of New Zealand as well as take home a brand new Suzuki Swift RS.

To enter your voice and also vote online go to www.bethevoice.co.nz. Throughout the entry phase, the best entry of each day will also win a TomTom XL 250 GPS.

The competition details and full road trip itinerary can be found at www.theedge.co.nz.

Where:
The Edge and TomTom cross-country road trip will see a Suzuki Swift as a recording booth travelling to 17 of New Zealand’s main centres. Listen to the Edge daily, visit the website (www.theedge.co.nz) or see below, to find out where the recording set up is in your city.

The Winner:
The eventual winner’s voice recording will be available for download at Christmas for TomTom users worldwide.

ENDS –

Digital press materials:

For digital press materials, photos and videos, visit the Press Extranet:

URL: http://extranet.tomtom.com

Username: press-tt, password: TomTom

About TomTom N.V.

TomTom N.V. (AEX: TOM2) is the world’s leading provider of location and navigation solutions. Headquartered in the Netherlands it has over 3,000 employees worldwide. Approximately 45 million people use its solutions every day, in the form of dedicated portable navigation devices (PNDs), in-dash car systems or tracking and tracing solutions for fleet management. In addition, hundreds of millions of people use TomTom’s digital maps on the internet or mobile phones.

In 2009, TomTom reported €1.5 billion in revenues and a €340 million net cash flow from operating activities. More information about TomTom can be found at www.TomTom.com.

TomTom in New Zealand

TomTom GPS units were first introduced to the New Zealand market in 2007. TomTom's award-winning products are developed with an emphasis on innovation, quality, ease of use, safety and value. They include all-in-one navigation devices TomTom GO 950 and GO 750, TomTom XXL 550, TomTom XL 250, TomTom Start and the TomTom app for iPhone for mobile navigation. TomTom guarantee the latest and most up-to-date map of New Zealand on any new TomTom purchased. Other smart TomTom features include IQ Routes™ for the fastest, any time of day and Map Share™, for daily map changes from the TomTom driving community. TomTom is also well-known for its wide-selection of celebrity voices available for download; this includes the original voices of Darth Vader, Yoda, John Cleese, Billy Connolly, Mr T, SpongeBob Square Pants, Snoop Dogg and many more.

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