Canon U.S.A. Announces Fan-Focused Events For Copa America Argentina 2011

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. – As an official sponsor of Copa America Argentina 2011, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, today announced the Company’s fan-focused sponsorship activities highlighting the dynamic image capture technology of Canon products and the diverse Copa America audience. Canon’s sponsorship activities will provide commemorative tournament giveaway items, fan-face painting, viewing parties in Colombia and Peru, the official tournament “Best Photo” contest and more.

“With the start of Copa America 2011 Argentina only days away, Canon is pleased to announce a series of fan-friendly events that we hope will enhance appreciation for this incredible sporting event,” said Taro Maruyama, president, Canon Latin America. “Followed by millions of fans throughout Latin America and the rest of the world, Copa America represents an excellent opportunity for Canon to strengthen our brand and foster growth throughout the region’s consumer and business markets. We hope that everyone enjoys the tournament.”

Beginning with the start of tournament play on July 1, Canon will launch a series of activities in Argentina to enrich the Copa America 2011 experience including:

The Canon Tent at La Plata Stadium at which the first 20,000 visitors on July 1will receive a commemorative tournament scarf, pen or seat cushion. On July 3 (La Plata Stadium) and July 24 (River Plate Stadium), the Canon Tent will feature complimentary face painting allowing fans to demonstrate support for their favorite team and receive a free photo celebrating the occasion.
Canon’s display at the Copa America Argentina 2011 Fan Fest tent located at Av 9 de Julio in the Buenos Aires city center, offering face painting, product displays and exciting giveaways for visitors throughout the tournament.

For soccer fans in Colombia and Peru, Canon is sponsoring “Click and Print” public viewing parties at which Canon will broadcast games, offer T-shirts and give attendees the opportunity to meet retired soccer players and the official tournament mascot.

Colombia’s “Click and Print” events will be held on July 2 and July 10 at the CC Unicentro and CC Plaza Imperial in Bogota.
“Click and Print” events in Peru will be held on July 4 and July 8 at the CC Real Plaza Centro in Lima.

In addition to fan attendance opportunities, Canon will sponsor the Copa America “Best Photo” section (www.ca2011.com) where fans can vote on the best photos from every game of the tournament to help generate a donation to UNICEF Argentina from Canon.

For professional photographers and media, 78 Canon printers, 55 Canon multifunction products and nine PowerShot Digital cameras will be available to support the press booths and accreditation office at each event site of Copa America 2011 Argentina. To help professional Canon users avoid downtime in the event of an issue with their equipment, there will be a Canon Service Depot located near the field-entrance at each stadium provided to photographers with appropriate event credentials for four hours before each soccer match through one hour after the match ends.

The services provided will be as follows:

Clean & Check (No repairs will be performed on equipment)
Camera/Lens/Flash Loaner program
* Available loaner products will only be issued under program terms in exchange for a non-functioning product
General technical support questions

For more information about Canon’s Copa America 2011 Argentina Activities or to download a printable match schedule, please visit Canon’s microsite at www.usa.canon.com/copaamerica.

About Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. Its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ), a top patent holder of technology, ranked fourth overall in the U.S. in 2010†, with global revenues of more than US $45 billion and is listed as number five in the computer industry on Fortune Magazine’s World’s Most Admired Companies 2011 list. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest levels of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. At Canon, we care because caring is essential to living together in harmony. Founded upon a corporate philosophy of Kyosei – “all people, regardless of race, religion or culture, harmoniously living and working together into the future” – Canon U.S.A. supports a number of social, youth, educational and other programs, including environmental and recycling initiatives. Additional information about these programs can be found at www.usa.canon.com/kyosei. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company’s RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss.
About Copa America Argentina 2011™

Copa America, first played in 1916, is the oldest national team championship in the world and features three of the winningest teams in the history of soccer: Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay which amongst them have won 9 of 19 World Cups and 36 of 42 Copas America. The tournament was originally known as the South American National Team Championship and played during a longer period of time with home and away matches throughout the region. Traffic Sports, the commercial rights agency for Copa America, restructured the tournament in 1987 to be consistent with the World Cup and Euro formats in one host country during a several week period. Several of the greatest players in the history of soccer have displayed their talent at Copa America such as Argentines, Maradona and Di Stefano, Brazilians Pelé and Garrincha, Urguguayan, Pedro Rocha, Paraguayan, Romerito, Chilean Figueroa and Colombian Rincon. The last Copa America, hosted by Venezuela in 2007, was broadcast to 188 countries and showcased Argentine Lionel Messi, and Brazilian, Robinho as rising international stars.
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† Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

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