Digitology - The Digital Marketing Blog

Talk To Joe With Lyons Tea

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000Z

RTÉ Radio 1 announces Lyons Gold Blend Tea as
new sponsor of RTE Radio 1’s Liveline with Joe Duffy

You may have noticed that I have a bit of a soft spot for Lyons Tea - you can find several posts on their recent work here on Digitology. So I'm delighted to announce that Lyons Tea has joined forces with RTÉ Radio 1’s Liveline. The Lyons Gold Blend brand – “the richer tasting tea” – will is now the sponsor of the country’s 2nd most listened to radio show (398,000 listeners) with an exciting 12 month sponsorship deal.

Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea commented: “We are thrilled to be the new show sponsor. Lyons Tea has long been associated with the art of conversation through its ‘Talk’ campaigns and there is no better talker or facilitator of talk than RTE Radio 1 presenter Joe Duffy – it’s the perfect pairing.”

Tara Farrell, Sponsorship Manager, RTÉ Radio said: “The Lyons Tea Liveline sponsorship is a significant one for RTÉ Radio 1. Lyons Tea, of course, is an institution, and so is Liveline. We look forward to a successful year ahead for both partners and, yes, lots of talk!.”

The sponsorship package includes six sponsor credited stings per day, a 12 month presence on the Liveline home page, podcast sponsorship plus sponsorship of all Liveline Funny Friday outside broadcasts.

100 Things To Watch In 2012

2012-01-16T09:00:00.001Z

Great presentation from JWT

LG - Smart Thief

2012-01-10T11:30:00.000Z

LG launched this on Youtube on 28th December to promote their new OLED Ultra Slim LED television, which they claim is the world’s slimmest TV screen.

Check out the number of views already...

Guinness Storehouse Still Ireland's No.1

2012-01-05T09:03:00.002Z

With its visitor numbers increasing by 10% in 2011, it's no surprise that The Guinness Storehouse has announced it attracted over a million (1,025,677) visitors through its doors last year. Not only does this see Guinness Storehouse retain its position as Ireland’s no.1 international visitor attraction but also as the fourth largest brand visitor attraction in the world.

Speaking at the announcement today, Managing Director, Paul Carty said: “We are delighted to announce we are still the no. 1 international visitor attraction in Ireland with over 1 million people passing through the Guinness Storehouse doors last year. Over the past number of years, the Irish tourism industry has been under severe pressure and we are proud to have played a part in enticing overseas visitors to Ireland and encouraging domestic visits too.”

Mr Carty continued “all eyes were on Ireland during the high profile state visits of US President Obama Barack Obama and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II last May and this had a positive impact on our visitor numbers. A very successful St Patrick’s Day festival and the launch of FIVE, an entirely new experience dedicated to Guinness and Food at the Storehouse also contributed to helping us achieve our second highest footfall figures ever recorded.”

Welcoming the Guinness Storehouse figures, Alex Connolly, Head of Communications at Fáilte Ireland emphasised: “Visitor attractions play a vital part in growing both tourism revenue and visitor numbers and these figures today reflect an increase in overseas visitors last year and maybe also a royal bounce from the Queen’s visit. If we can maintain this momentum in 2012, there is every reason to believe that the Storehouse, and all our other key tourism attractions, can further increase visitor numbers this year. That will be good for tourism and great for our economy”.

Visitor Breakdowns:

92% of all visitors to the Guinness Storehouse are from overseas.
Visitors from the USA, Germany, the UK, Ireland and Italy were ranked as the top five visiting nations to Guinness Storehouse.
German visitors were up 17%
US visitors were up 14%
Irish visitors were up 14%
Italian visitors were up 5%
August was ranked as the busiest month in the history of the Storehouse with 116,021 visitors.

Guinness Storehouse Facts:

The Guinness Storehouse is ranked the fourth largest branded visitor centre in the world after Hersheypark in Pennsylvania; Autostadt, the Audi/Volkswagen Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany; and the Coca-Cola Centre in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Guinness Storehouse has welcomed over 9 million visitors since opening its doors in 2000
92% of all visitors to the GUINNES STOREHOUSE are international. The top 5 nationalities who visit the Storehouse are (1) USA (2) UK (3) ROI (4) Italy (5) Germany.
Approximately 150 people are employed at the Guinness Storehouse
1 in 2 holiday-makers who visit Dublin, visit the Guinness Storehouse
The building is 125 feet high, 170 feet long and 151 feet wide.
It would take 14.3 million pints of Guinness to fill the giant glass atrium in centre of the Guinness Storehouse building
Over 1.6 million visitors have tasted Guinness for their first time
Over 400,000 visitors have learned how to pour a pint of Guinness
Gravity Bar is the highest bar in Dublin located 44 metres off the ground

Ross O’Carroll Kelly Named Ireland's Favourite Book

2011-12-23T09:32:00.000Z

---Press Release---

‘The Oh My God Delusion’, Ross O’Carroll Kelly, tops Eason’s book poll as the nation’s favourite read

Wednesday 21st December: Dublin 4’s best-loved resident Ross O’ Carroll-Kelly has certainly captured the heart of the nation as ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ from the series written by author Paul Howard has been crowned Ireland’s Favourite Book.

As part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, Eason, Ireland’s leading retailer of book stationery, magazines and much more launched a search to find the nation’s favourite read as voted by the people of Ireland. For weeks, thousands have been casting their vote via Eason’s new look website, www.easons.com, from a list of 125 top titles but it was Ross O’Carroll Kelly’s ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ that came out on top, competing with classics as such James Joyce ‘Ulysses’, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and childhood favourites such as Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’.

Speaking about Eason’s search to find Ireland’s favourite book, Maria Dickenson, Head of Book Purchasing at Eason said “What a diverse bunch of readers we are in Ireland! Thanks to everyone who voted, it’s been incredibly interesting to watch the votes coming in and gaining an insight into what makes us tick when it comes to reading – we each take away something unique from each book we read. Ross O’Carroll Kelly was a certainly a strong contender throughout and we’re delighted to have an Irish book come out on top. Congratulations to Paul for a great win and we trust Ross will be occupying our book shelves for years to come!”

Commenting on his prestigious win on Newstalk’s Tom Dunne show, Paul Howard, author of the Ross O’Carroll Kelly series said, “I am thrilled that ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ has topped Eason’s poll to find the nation’s favourite book. I’ve been writing Ross O’Carroll-Kelly books for 13 years now and it’s very gratifying that readers still find the books relevant and funny. ‘The Oh My God Delusion’ is the tenth novel in the series, which I began writing as a way of poking fun at middle class rugby culture but which became a means of satirising Celtic Tiger Ireland.

“This book was the first recession era book, tracing the descent of Ross and his circle of friends from affluence to penury. It’s great that readers have stuck with the story and are still laughing. And God knows we need a laugh in these grim times! I’d like to say a very special thanks to Eason, who have huge supporters of Ross since the very first book, and everyone who voted”, continued Paul.

The top ten books included:
1. Ross O'Carroll-Kelly: THE OH MY GOD DELUSION, author Paul Howard
2. To Kill a Mocking Bird, author Harper Lee
3. Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
4. Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
6. PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
7. Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini
8. Room, author Emma Donoghue
9. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
10. Catch 22, author Joseph Heller

Individual Counties’ Favourite Book:

Carlow (tied first)
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Cavan
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien

Clare (all tied first)
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern
Kite Runner, author Khaled Hosseini

Cork To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee

Donegal (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne
Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Dublin
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Galway (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Kerry (all tied first)
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
PS I Love You, author Cecelia Ahern

Kildare
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Kilkenny
My Sister’s Keeper, author Jodi Picoult

Laois
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Limerick (tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Longford (tied first)
Time Travellers Wife, author Audrey Niffenegger
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, author Susan Clark

Louth (all tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Circle of Friends, author Maeve Binchy
Handmaids Tale, author Margaret Atwood
Life of Pi, author Yann Martel
Twilight, Stephenie Meyer

Mayo (all tied first)
Catch 22, author Joseph Heller
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown
The Notebook, author Nicholas Sparks
We need to Talk About Kevin, author Lionel Shriver

Meath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne

Monaghan
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Offaly
The Alchemist, author Paulo Coelho

Roscommon (tied first)
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee

Tipperary (all tied first)
To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Waterford
Book Thief, author Markus Zusak

Westmeath
Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, author John Boyne Boyne

Wexford (tied first)
Lord of the Rings, author J.R.R. Tolkien
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Wicklow
Ross O’Carroll Kelly: The Oh my God Delusion, author Paul Howard

Axe Wishes You A 'Merry Hot Christmas'

2011-12-19T21:24:00.005Z

Axe's latest campaign comes in the form of a Facebook application Christmas e-card. I'm not going to say anything, just clickthrough and take a look.

Beer enthusiasts quench their thirst for knowledge

2011-12-14T09:26:00.001Z

---Press Release---

ThisIsBeer.ie has arrived. Thisisbeer.ie is Ireland’s newest online beer hub built to celebrate the natural goodness of beer. Some of the best beer brands in the world have come together to create a platform where enthusiasts and novices can discuss, learn about and experience beer to its fullest.

Over 40,000 beers worldwide are made of just three natural ingredients; water, hops, and barley, making beer a natural match to food. ThisIsBeer.ie offers up a wide range of beers with delicious recipes, in keeping with the fast growing global trend of matching food.

With regular blog contributions from a wide range of experts in beer, nutrition and food, Thisisbeer.ie is the perfect place for budding beer aficionados to keep up to date on news and facts about beer. Thisisbeer.ie delivers video blogs, true or false beer quizzes and tips on how to pour, store and cool beer for the discerning beer drinker.

David Forde, Managing Director at Heineken Ireland said “This website is a great opportunity for both beer enthusiasts and those who enjoy an occasional beer to get the best out of the most refreshing drink out there; beer. With its natural ingredients, a beer is the perfect accompaniment for food and ThisIsBeer.ie offers the perfect combination of creating a meal to complement your favourite beer, while also showing how beer enhances your food.”

The website is a Heineken Ireland initiative and features the wide range of beers available from Ireland’s number one lager company. Heineken Ireland’s portfolio includes beers from around the world such as Ireland’s number one lager; Heineken, Tiger, Coors Light and a full range of specialty beers which includes Paulaner, Moretti, Affligem and Zwyiec.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

2011-12-12T09:00:00.004Z

Last Thursday and Friday saw Twitter abuzz with the ESB Electric Ireland Tweet ‘Em Home for Christmas campaign. The campaign, which was a huge success, saw over 47,000 tweets generated and a total of €80,000 donated to charity!

Concern Worldwide (Team A supported by RTE 2FM's Hector and www.culch.ie) ultimately won with the greatest number of tweets for their hashtag #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA. The team generated over 18,000 tweets and secured an additional donation of €20,000 for the charity.

Following a phenomenal initial response from the general public and Twittesphere ESB Electric Ireland set a new challenge on the second day of the campaign: to reach a target of 25,000 tweets. This target was achieved and an additional €10,000 was donated to each of the three charities involved bringing the total to €20,000 for each charity and an additional €20,000 for the winning charity.

The teams were as follows:
Team A: Musician Mundy and Comedian Joe Rooney, with support from 2FM’s Hector and www.culch.ie
Charity: Concern Worldwide
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA

Team B: Comedian Andrew Stanley and RTE Presenter Katie Van Buren, with support from 2FM’s Rick O’Shea and www.joe.ie
Charity: Irish Cancer Society
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamB hashtag

Team C: Magician Keith Barry and Rugby Commentator Brent Pope, with support from 2FM’s Will Leahy and www.entertainment.ie
Charity: ISPCCwill
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamC

For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net.

Irish Language Social Media Site

2011-12-08T09:05:00.000Z

---Press Release---

Abair Leat!, the world’s first social network exclusively dedicated to a minority language – Irish – will be launched on to the Irish market in the New Year.

In the run up to the launch, Abair Leat! is calling on anyone with an interest in the Irish language or interested in learning Irish to become beta testers and try out the new social media site. This will provide the company with useful feedback on the workings of the site. Those interested are asked to log on to www.abairleat.com and create an account with Abair Leat! - to be one of the first people to use the new social network outside the company.

AbairLeat! will be the world’s first social network / user generated content application exclusively dedicated to Gaeilge. The online network has the immediate effect of transforming learners into users. Abair Leat! uses custom made software that checks the percentage of Irish language content in all updates and posts. The network will be extremely useful for student with built in translation and spell check support. The site is also a great way for students to interact with each other in Irish in preparation for their Leaving Cert or college examinations.

Abair Leat! came about when staff of Irish college Coláiste Lurgan in Galway wished to work with new developments in IT to enable students to prepare for a cúrsa Gaeilge on their home PCs. The Abair Leat! project was then undertaken by web designers Block 5 Design to develop a series of online Irish games. Since then, Abair Leat! has gone from strength to strength with a new partnership emerging in 2011 with world renowned US-based online business Fantasy Interactive (FI) to create a unique social media site for the Irish Language.

FI is one of the world’s leading interactive agencies based in New York. Fantasy Interactive specialise in interactive design, mobile and application development and social media for some of the biggest brands in the world such as Google, Red Bull, CNN, and Fox. With such an extensive resume behind them, the team is happy to say they have created something completely unique to the social media world.

Abair Leat! aims to have up to 50,000 users by the end of 2012. Be one of the first to sample this unique IT experience by logging on to www.abairleat.com , create an account and get corresponding ‘as Gaeilge’.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

2011-12-06T09:47:00.002Z

Yesterday ESB Electric Ireland announced that Mike Carey, Liz Cotter and Ian O’Flynn were selected as the lucky drivers who will help Tweet ‘em Home for Christmas. Each of the drivers and their “star navigator” will receive €10,000 from ESB Electric Ireland for their chosen charity and will also have the chance to win an additional €20,000 for the winning charity by competing to generate Tweets using the three team hashtags.

Team A: Musician Mundy and Comedian Joe Rooney
Charity: Concern Worldwide
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamA

Team B: Comedian Andrew Stanley and RTE Presenter Katie Van Buren
Charity: Irish Cancer Society
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamB hashtag

Team C: Magician Keith Barry and Rugby Commentator Brent Pope
Charity: ISPCCwill
Hashtag: #ESBElectricIrelandTeamC

The teams will travel from Dublin to Galway and back again this Thursday and Friday, December 8th and 9th in a Renault Trophy, a DeLorean and a New York yellow taxi cab. The teams will compete in a number of challenges in various towns along the way to earn additional Tweet energy for their cars.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, “ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Em Home for Christmas is just around the corner now. It gives people the chance to give something to charity this year in a fun and engaging way by simply using social media like Twitter and Facebook. We want to urge everyone to help our three teams by tweeting or by liking on Facebook using the relevant hashtags to power the cars as they drive across the country on Thursday and Friday!”

People can follow the progress of each of the teams in real time using the Facebook App on the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook Page

For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net

The Saba Cookbook

2011-12-01T07:46:00.001Z

If you're a regular reader of Digitology you'll know that I love Thai food, and in particular I love Saba here in Dublin. So you can imagine how incredibly delighted I was to hear that Saba have just launched a cook book, The Saba Cookbook. To tell you the truth, this isn't a new idea and has very much been on the cards for Tweesak Trakoolwattana (known as Tao), Saba Executive Chef, and Saba’s owner Paul Cadden for some time. The two have always wanted to create a cook book that would showcase their restaurant's authentic Thai food.

What makes this a particularly noteworthy endeavour, beyond the absolute deliciousness of the offerings therein, is that all proceeds are to be split between an Irish charity, Our Lady’s Hospital for sick children in Crumlin, and a Thai charity, the Thai Red Cross (who help with the recent floods in Tao’s hometown, Bangkok).

The book will offer us budding Thai cooks nearly different authentic 100 recipes and will cover everything from Tao's tasty Thai soups and salads to his now famous curries and stir fries. You'll also find some desserts in there to create the perfect, complete Thai meal.

I definitely recommend this as the perfect gift this Christmas for anyone you know who loves Thai food!

Ireland's Favourite Book

2011-11-25T21:39:00.001Z

This Tuesday, Eason launched the search to find Ireland’s Favourite Book. As part of their 125th anniversary celebrations, Eason has compiled a list of the top 125 books over the years and has invited the public to cast their vote to crown the nation’s favourite book of all time.

Speaking about Eason’s search to crown Ireland’s favourite book, Maria Dickenson, Head of Book Purchasing at Eason said “As part of our 125th celebrations we have carefully compiled a list of the top 125 books over the years which includes a wide range of favourites from the childhood classic Roald Dahl’s ‘BFG’, William Goulding’s modern classic ‘Lord of The Flies’, much loved Irish fiction Patrick McCabe’s ‘Butcher’s Boy’, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’ and Cecelia Ahern with’ PS. I Love You’ and many more.”

Maria continued “We are a nation of book lovers and our team at Eason’s are really excited about hearing from the people all around Ireland as to what their most loved book is. Books often evoke very vivid memories or milestones in our lives. The fun is thinking about all the books that we have read and why it made such an impact on us – it can often tell a lot about a person when they reveal their favourite book so we are really interested to see what comes out top as the nation’s choice.”

Some of the much loved authors who feature on the list of 125 books have shared their personal favourites with Eason;

“I will say that I could die happy if I'd written ‘His Dark Materials’ by Philip Pullman” - Emma Donoghue author of Room

“I’m a sucker for doomed romance – ‘Great Gatsby’ by F. Scott Fitzgerald-” - Patrick McCabe, author of Butcher Boy

“I feel honoured and so incredibly proud to be included in this list of 125 favourite books. Every day I appreciate how people have welcomed PS I Love You into their hearts. My favourite book of all time is ‘The Time Traveller's Wife’ by Audrey Niffenegger - it's a modern classic, a quirky love story which is so beautifully written” – Cecelia Ahern, author of PS I Love You .

“One of my favourite books is John McGahern's masterpiece ‘Amongst Women’. I love its quiet faith, its insistence on its own terms. It conjures a world that is absolutely specific to itself, down to the most minuscule, seemingly inconsequential detail, but in so doing manages the alchemy of saying something about every life. The family it depicts is somehow every Irish family of a certain era, held together by its secrets, bound by its evasions, by a web of loyalties, only one of which is love.” - Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of The Sea

Eason’s is now calling on people throughout the Island of Ireland to have their say and vote for their favourite book by logging onto their new look website www.easons.com/bookpoll. Each voter will automatically be entered into a draw where one lucky winner will walk away with the entire collection of 125 books! Entry is open until Sunday 18th December 2011.

‘S’Up Santa?’

2011-11-21T09:25:00.001Z

Back in August I posted about Three Ireland's latest campaign, 'S'Up'. The advertising campaign featured Jedward and saw the two pop stars become advertising foremen for the mobile brand.

Now as Christmas quickly approaches Three have launched their seasonal campaign, which also features the duo and promotes their limited edition Jedward handset. The handset, a limited edition Samsung Galaxy Europa I5500, will be the brands Christmas hero handset and feature prominently on all advertising. The above the line campaign of which commenced last Monday (14th November) and runs for six weeks until 22nd December 2011. This consists of 20 second TV advertisements on RTE, TV3, 3E, Sky packages, Comedy Central, MTV E!, Living and E4, and on Video on Demand on 4OD.

The TV ad was directed by Damien O’Donnell, who has directed the films; ‘East is East’, ‘Heartlands’, and ‘Inside I’m Dancing’, and produced by Russ Russell of Russell Curran Productions. The campaign was developed by McCann Erickson.

The Samsung Galaxy Europa I5500 handset is available from all 3Stores and stockists and online at Three.ie from now. The handset comes in a giftbox with some additional Jedtastic goodies including; a signed Jedward postcard, a Jedward phone sock and a limited edition ‘S’Up’ badge!

Commenting on the launch, Sales and Marketing Director, Elaine Carey at Three, said: “We at Three are very excited to be launching an exclusive ‘Jedward’ Samsung Galaxy Europa Christmas gift pack, for just €69. This Christmas we have something for everyone, from handset offers to broadband and bundle offers. Given the popularity of the Jedward ‘S’Up’ phrase in the last instalment of the campaign, we expect lots of people to be asking ‘S’Up Santa?’ in the run up to Christmas.”

Andrea Galligan, Senior Account Manager at McCann Erickson commented ‘All of us at McCann Erickson are very excited to bring Jedward back for Christmas. Jedward and Santa on the same couch, you know it’s going to be magic! We really think this campaign captures the festive mood and we have a feeling that the limited edition Jedward Samsung Europa will be on quite a few wish lists this Christmas.’

Via the 2.8” Capacitive touch screen and Android Froyo 2.2 on board, the Samsung Galaxy Europa is ideal for social networking with direct photo upload to Facebook, Twitter and Picasa Web Albums and direct video upload to Youtube for instant sharing on the move. The handset features a 2MP camera with 4X digital zoom, an MP4 video player, GPS, WiFi, and a music player and comes with a 3.5mm stereo headset.

For further information on Three visit www.three.ie.

ESB Electric Ireland - Tweet 'em Home For Christmas

2011-11-19T09:46:00.000Z

Last Thursday, 17th November, ESB Electric Ireland announced the launch of their latest campaign, ‘Tweet Em Home for Christmas’. The campaign sees three teams, each representing a different charity (the Irish Cancer Society, Concern Worldwide and the ISPCC), taking part in a two day drive across Ireland on the 8th and 9th December in cars powered by tweets and likes.

As part of this campaign, ESB Electric Ireland are running a competition on Facebook to give three people the chance to drive one of three teams of ‘star navigators’. The teams will include broadcaster Brent Pope, musician Mundy, comedians Andrew Stanley and Joe Rooney, magician Keith Barry and ‘Juice’ presenter, Katie Van Buren.

Team 1: Concern – Mundy and Katie Van Buren in the DeLorean
Team 2: Irish Cancer Society – Andrew Stanley and Joe Rooney in the New York Taxi
Team 3: ISPCC – Brent Pope and Keith Barry in the Ecar

Full details are on the Facebook Page with a closing date for entries of the 1st December 2011.

Each of the charities will receive €10,000 from ESB Electric Ireland and then the three teams will compete to receive an additional €20,000. The celebrity teams will compete to generate Tweets using a hashtag, with the tweets powering their cars as they cross the country. People can show their support for one of the charities by tweeting or posting on Facebook to top up their “tweet tank”.

The teams will be assigned one of three fantastic vehicles for the drive; an Ecar, a DeLorean and a New York yellow taxi cab. The vehicles will travel from Dublin to Galway and back again over two days with ‘star navigators’ taking it in turns to help the drivers cross the country and to generate power using their own social media channels. The teams will compete in a number of challenges along the way to earn additional Tweet energy for their cars and additional details will be announced in the coming weeks. People can follow the progress of each of the teams in real time using the Facebook App on the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook page.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, "ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Em Home for Christmas gives people the chance to have some fun while also supporting charities - particularly important at this time of year - simply by using social media like Twitter and Facebook. The use of Tweets to power the cars makes this extremely innovative, and we’re delighted to have so many personalities on board for the drive as well as three incredible cars, which will be a sight to behold along the three routes from Dublin to Galway and back."

For further details on ISPCC visit www.ispcc.ie, on Irish Cancer Society visit www.cancer.ie, and on Concern Worldwide visit www.concern.net.

TV Guide Ireland iPhone App

2011-11-16T09:03:00.001Z

"What's small and smart and sits open on 40,000 sofas every evening? Yep, the new and improved TV Guide Ireland Version 1.1 from entertainment.ie which now includes programme reminders and is iOS5 compatible."

TV Guide Ireland, which launched two months ago and has over 40,000 users, has undergone an upgrade and released a new version. The latest iteration of the popular app now features integrated programme reminders. This is an awesome new feature and completes the app in my opinion - not only can you check TV listings for over 60 channels but with the new reminders feature you won't miss them!

The app includes a 7 Day TV listings guide with full programme details and descriptions. It also allows you to create a personalised channel list. The app's most popular section, "Now & Next", is still there and tells viewers what's on each channel 'now' and what's coming up 'next'. For those of you that are on Twitter the app is also fully integrated.

Managing Director of entertainment.ie Julian Douglas said, "It's fascinating to see how this app has become an indispensable companion to TV watching in the evenings. It's a really useful app, has strong usage and traffic and is a powerful tool for both users and advertisers."

Download the latest version of the app here.

Lyons Tea Calls On All ‘Mugs’

2011-11-14T06:38:00.000Z

Trade in your old mug for Lyons Tea special edition Gold Blend mug as part of Christmas mug giveaway

Lyons Tea last week announced the details of their first ever 'Mug Scrappage Scheme' taking place this Thursday, 17th November, at 11am on Dublin’s South King Street (top of Grafton Street). The Scheme offers tea drinkers the chance to trade in their most unwanted mug and walk away with the much-coveted Lyons Gold Blend mug.

Every tea drinker has their favourite mug. It's the right shape, the right weight and it always makes the perfect cuppa. However, since the airing of Lyons Tea Gold Blend television advertisement, tea drinkers all over Ireland have been itching to get their hands on the now famous red Gold Blend mug featured in the ads. On top of that everyone has an unwanted mug that they would love to get rid off. Perhaps it harbours unhappy memories from a past love, is too thick-rimmed, too big or too small - the reasons are endless. So, between these two situations the 'Mug Scrappage Scheme' was born.

Don't worry though, if you can't make it into the city centre this Thursday, you will be able to get your own red mug with every purchase of Lyons Gold Blend 160 pack this Christmas.

For those that can pop in, the Lyons Tea Team will be on hand to accept all unwanted mugs and of course hand out the popular Gold Blend mugs in return, with lots of Gold Blend tea sampling for everyone who comes along.

What happens to all these unwanted mugs you may ask. Well, as part of its Mug Scrappage Scheme, Lyons Tea has teamed up with Age Action Ireland to put all tea drinkers’ unwanted mugs to good use by selling them in their charity shops.

Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea comments, “Tea drinkers place almost as much importance on their mug as they do on the actual tea within. There has been so much demand for our red Gold Blend mugs that we thought a mug scrappage scheme would be a fun way to distribute the sought-after mugs. We hope to see everyone on Thursday 17th trading in their unwanted mugs and in doing so helping to support Age Action.”

Tea drinkers can also add to their mug collection through Facebook where there's a chance to win Lyons Gold Blend red mugs in the lead up to Christmas.

About Lyons Tea
· Lyons Tea employs expert master blenders and tasters to select the best blends and combination of some of the finest teas from Kenya, Assam from India and Ceylon from Sri Lanka to produce the highest quality tea. Lyons Tea is available from leading supermarkets and retailers nationwide.
· Lyons is Ireland’s number one tea brand with 43.9% market share***; Lyons is an iconic Irish brand with more than 100 years of tradition in Ireland, having started business in Dublin in 1902 near Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland.
· Lyons Tea is Ireland’s favourite tea. The Lyons Tea range includes Lyons Gold Blend, Lyons Original Blend, Lyons Gold Blend Reserve, Lyons Kenya Blend, and Lyons Decaffeinated Tea. Lyons Green Tea is available in original, with Lemon and with Mint. For further information on Lyons Tea visit www.lyonstea.ie
· Lyons tea is currently working with the Rainforest Alliance - independent experts in sustainability and by 2012 all our tea will only come from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.

***AC Nielsen October 2011

A taste of Thailand with the Smirnoff 'Bangkok Collins'

2011-11-03T01:03:00.000Z

In preparation of Smirnoff's upcoming Night Life Exchange Project and to honour the brands long standing history of drinks inspired by different cultures, Smirnoff have decided to share with us a delightful new cocktail: The Smirnoff Bangkok Collins.

The drink, inspired by the tastes of South East Asia, will remind anyone who has visited Thailand of some of your favourite Thai places. It includes traditional Thai ingredients that will make you want to experience the Thai culture for yourself.

Create this delicious drink at home using the following method:
Ingredients:
Smirnoff No. 21 - 35.5ml
Lemon juice - 15ml
Ginger syrup - 5ml
Soda - 100ml
Lemongrass stick - 1

Method:
Pour lemon juice, syrup and vodka into the base of a highball glass with crushed ice
Fill the glass with cubed ice
Top with soda and stir
Bash the thick end of lemongrass as it helps to release the flavour
Garnish with lemongrass, lemon wheel and a straw

For the chance to have one of these delicious drinks made for you by a Smirnoff Mixologist, make sure to grab your ticket for the Nightlife Exchange Project, which are now on sale exclusively through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page.

Carlsberg Wants To Upgrde Your Visit To The O2

2011-10-27T00:49:00.002+01:00

Carlsberg offers their Irish Facebook fans the chance
to upgrade their night to a VIP experience at The O2

Carlsberg are all about great night out. Of course then it's not surprising that they teamed up with The O2 to become the concert venues to be their official beer. What might surprise you though is that Carlsberg want to offer you the chance to upgrade* your night to The Premium Club at The O2 for selected gigs through the Carlsberg Ireland Facebook page.

If you're a Carlsberg Ireland Facebook fan with tickets to the Red Hot Chili Peppers on Novemeber 4th, Kasabian on November 26th, Duran Duran on December 20th, Primal Scream on December 29th, Snow Patrol on January 20th and 21st or Noel Gallgher on February 17th, you have the chance to upgrade your night and enjoy a Carlsberg VIP after party in The Premium Club @ The O2.

From November 4th, you and up to five of your friends** will be greeted at The Premium Club @ The O2 entrance by Carlsberg hostesses. You will have access to the club pre-gig where you can hang out with your friends and enjoy party beats and the luxury surroundings of The Premium Club.

Then after the gig you can pop back to The Premium Club for a Carlsberg after-party and live set by Irish DJ Mo Kelly. Finally, to make the whole night truly unforgettable, you will also be picked up by a complimentary taxi and brought back to the City Centre* at the end of the night.

Dawn Allison, Brand Manager Carlsberg, Diageo Ireland, said “We are delighted to be bringing a brand new and exclusive experience to our Irish Facebook fans through the Carlsberg Upgrade Your Night campaign. Starting from the first gig on November 4th, we plan to bring a series of exclusive experiences to Carlsberg fans across Ireland and give concert ticket holders the chance to enjoy true VIP treatment.”

Carlsberg Ireland Facebook fans will be able to upgrade their night on a first come first serve basis through the Upgrade Your Night’ Tab on Facebook.com/CarlsbergIreland.

* Upgrades do not include tickets to selected gigs.
** Friends must also have tickets to the selected gigs to gain access to The Premium Club.
** O2 gigs included in the upgrade are Red Hot Chili Peppers on November 4th - Kasabian on November 26th - Duran Duran on December 20th - Primal Scream on December 29th - Snow Patrol on January 20th and 21st
Upgraded guests are allowed to bring up to five friends with tickets for the gig to the Carlsberg experience in the O2 Premium Club.

Counting Down to Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

2011-10-22T09:52:00.000+01:00

The count down is well and truly on. There's now just three weeks until the 2011 Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project. In preparation for the event I was lucky enough to be invited to a special Smirnoff experience last Thursday night at in The Grafton Lounge. The event saw Kenji Jesse, Smirnoff Global Ambassador, dropping into town to create and demonstrate an array of impressive Smirnoff cocktails. Ahead of the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project, Kenji wanted to give a taste of what was in store for guests. His creations on the night included the Smirnoff Thai Collins, Smirnoff Big Apple and Smirnoff Lemon Lime Bitters, as well as a few Smirnoff favourites like the Moscow Mule.

The real fun on the evening came, however, when the guests got to try our hands at creating our own Thai cocktail. I'm fairly proud to say that Jules and I were joint winners with our Lychee-nee-tini. First we crushed Lychees and Kaffir Lime leaves, and blended them with a dash of Lime juice and Lime and Ginger syrup. Then pack the glass with ice cubes and pour over a measure of Smirnoff. Finally, top it all off with soda and a sprig of mint.

This year's Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project will be held in Dublin's CHQ Building on Saturday 12th November. Tickets can be bought exclusively through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page for just €10 each.

Not only will there be delicious cocktails such as we enjoyed on Thursday but also a assortment of exotic Thai food to nibble on. Beyond the delightful food and drink there will also be some seriously cool music to dance to. Dublin born and Australian tamed dance sensation The Potbelleez will headline the evening with support from Fourplay DJ’s Ray Shah, Killian O’Sullivan, Steven Cooper and Rory Lynam, and DJ Gordo.

For more information check out the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page and stay tuned!

Johnnie Walker

2011-10-15T23:39:00.000+01:00

Some time ago I wrote about the brilliant Johnnie Walker ad, 'The Man Who Walked Around The World'. The spot, starring Robert Carlyle, is perhaps one of my favourite ads ever. The concept is clean and fresh. The copy and dialogue is succinct and to the point. The overall effect, though expensive and less than easy to create, is one of utter ease. Carlyle is effortless and the ad feels like it could have been shot by him alone one Sunday in the Highlands.

This is the ad...

Last week Johnnie Walker released a new ad for the Brazilian market. This is the ad...

This ad is contrived, filled with poor acting and lacking any sort of connection with the brand, in my honest opinion. I don't understand how a brand could have come so far, in the completely wrong direction. There is nothing about this ad that I like. It does not make me think of the brand heritage, it does not make me think about the natural ingredients and processes that go into its making, and it does not make me even slightly want to drink Johnnie Walker.

I don't know what you did but it is all wrong.

Tickets Now On Sale For The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

2011-10-10T19:45:00.004+01:00

On 12th November, Ireland will receive the very best of Thailand’s nightlife for a one of a kind experience. This week sees tickets for the next Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project go on sale. If you want to pick up some you'll find them exclusively available through the Smirnoff Ireland facebook page for just €10 each.

Guests at the event in the CHQ building, Dublin can expect to sip on delicious drinks, enjoy the best of Thai food and dance to some seriously awesome international music. Kicking off the night in style will be DJ Gordo. DJ Gordo is perhaps best known for supporting Calvin Harris on his Irish tour. Next up you'll experience Dublin's Fourplay DJ’s Ray Shah, Killian O’Sullivan, Steven Cooper and Rory Lynam. Then last, but very much not least, Australian dance sensation the Potbelleez will rock the dancefloor with their unique mix of dance, electro and hip hop beats.

For those of you who think you have the moves, there's also still plenty of time to enter the exclusive online dance competition. To enter the competition to find the best dancer and join Madonna's official dance crew, just upload a sixty second clip of you dancing to a Madonna track. Smirnoff have also confirmed that Madonna will attend the New York celebration to help handpick the overall global winner of a dance competition alongside her choreographers Rich + Tone.

To find out more, follow the action on facebook.

Belfast Crew Land Dream Trip To Caribbean With Captain Morgan

2011-10-06T19:12:00.004+01:00

Following a six week search, Captain Morgan has selected a team from Belfast as the most worthy crew to represent Ireland in The Captain’s Island 2011. The Belfast team is made up of three crew members: their leader Ross McDonald and his mates Calvin Holohan Doyle and Jonathan Haggarty. Winning out over 7,500 teams from across Ireland, the crew had to pit their skills in a series of tests and challenges.

The next stage will see the crew compete in an island adventure against 12 other countries from around the world. Their collective leadership, teamwork, bravado, clever thinking and masculinity will be put to the ultimate test in challenges laid out by Captain Morgan himself.

The Captain’s Island 2011 Challenge will be hosted over three days (October 10th-13th) and take place at a secret location in the Caribbean. Actress Mena Suvari will be on hand on The Captain’s Island to report back on the adventures, interviewing the crew along the way.

Captain Morgan commented: “I only want the best crews from around the world on my island and so far the guys who will represent Ireland look to have all the attributes I’d be looking for. However, they’ve only just got over the first challenge – which frankly wasn’t that difficult – so let’s see how they fare when I really put them through their paces on my Island. I’m not going to give my £13,000 bounty to just anyone so they better show they’ve got what it takes to impress the Captain.”

Competition winner Ross McDonald stated, “It’s an incredible honour to represent Ireland on The Captain’s Island. The Irish lads from last year’s Captain’s Cup team won the overall prize in South Africa so it has made us even more determined to bring the £13,000 bounty home to Ireland!’

To follow all of their adventures visit Captain Morgan’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CaptainMorganIreland for exclusive pictures, commentary and videos of the challenge on The Captain’s Island.

Samsung Central Station

2011-10-02T17:33:00.000+01:00

Loving this brand new video to promote Samsung's new Central Station range of USB hub monitors. It's a stop motion film featuring the perils of messy cables.

The monitors themselves include a wireless USB 2.0 dongle that you connect to your laptop. The monitor then ‘comes alive’ when your computer is within 3 feet of the ‘Central Station’. In addition you can plug all your desktop peripherals into it to be ready to go when you need them.

Credits
Client: Samsung Electronics
Director / Animator: Jey Mal
Production: The Viral Factory

Kildare Village 'Fill Your Suitcase'

2011-09-26T10:54:00.000+01:00

Kildare Village have just launched a brand new campaign inviting their Facebook fans to watch a video and enter their details to be in with a chance to win a series of gift cards or luxury breaks. The Facebook promotion is a tee-up to their new 'Fill Your Suitcase' campaign. Over the next five weeks, five lucky winners will each receive a €100 gift card to shop the luxurious Village boutiques. The competition will then culminate with a €500 gift card or one of two weekend breaks in luxury Irish hotels.

Kildare Village boosts more than sixty luxury boutiques selling everything from daywear, eveningwear and leisurewear, to accessories, beauty products and homewards. The village is open seven days a week and has late night shopping on Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 7pm.

For more information about Kildare Village visit www.KildareVillage.com or check out the Kildare Village Facebook Page for the latest updates.

Saba Celebrates Their 5th Birthday

2011-09-21T23:27:00.002+01:00

Pictured at the fifth birthday celebrations of Thai restaurant Saba on Clarendon Street are Thai Buddhist monks, Phrakruprabasdhammavites Phramaha, Sangthong Dhammacaro and Phramaha Chai Sutamedhi.

As you may have guessed from my first Saba post, I'm a huge fan. I absolutely love their food and was delighted to hear about their latest offering. This September sees Saba turn five, and to celebrate there will be a host of activities in store for customers. To kick off their celebrations Saba flew in some very special guests from Thailand for the occasion, to host a special ceremony in which they blessed Saba, the staff and their patrons.

As part of the celebrations, Saba will be hosting it’s “lobsterfest” for the third year running. This shellfish shindig is sure to please all half shelled and lobster hedonists. Diners can enjoy exquisite lobster fresh from the waters of Inisboffin or freshly shucked Carlingford Lough oysters to sip, slurp and sup!

Make a reservation today and get your claws into our delicious lobster inspired specials including seared lobster tail salad for €14.95 or steamed whole lobster with a Thai twist for €26.95. To wash down these tasty delights, Saba has teamed up with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and will be serving a glass of demi sec and lobster canapé for €14.95. Demi Sec is a real treat and is excellent with Thai cuisine. There will also be a French wine sale to tickle your tastebuds.

Saba, 26-28 Clarendon Street, Dublin 2, is open seven days a week from 12 noon. See their menu here and call 01 679 2000 to make a booking.

ESB Electric Ireland Appliance Calculator App

2011-09-12T11:14:00.002+01:00

Today, Monday 12th September, ESB Electric Ireland announced the launch of Ireland’s first Appliance Calculator App for Smartphones. The Appliance Calculator App allows customers to calculate how much their various home appliances are costing them to run. You just select your appliances and indicate their typical usage to pin point the energy guzzlers in your home and see their cost.

The Appliance Calculator App works with a range of over 130 different home appliances and enables customers to compare the cost of using those appliances in different ways. This could be washing clothes at 40°C versus 60°C or using a small ring on stovetop versus a larger one. They can then see the positive impact of using their appliances wisely. They can also estimate a complete breakdown of their energy bills by creating a full list of all their home appliances. In addition, the App includes a search function where a comprehensive list of individual gas and electric appliances from games consoles to hair straighteners, kettles to fridge freezers can be found.

The App is available to download for all Smartphones. For iPhones simply search “Appliance Calculator” on the iTunes App Store and for Androids, search “Appliance Calculator” in the Android Market.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, “The ESB Electric Ireland Appliance Calculator App is a fantastic tool to help control costs in your home to make much needed savings. The Appliance Calculator is already a popular tool on our website, but given 600,000 Irish people own a Smartphone, we wanted to bring the App to Android and iPhones.”

Ken continued, “The App will give users an understanding of how their appliances use energy, and how they can reduce their energy costs by making some small adjustments, For example by reducing their electric shower running time by just a couple of minutes per day they can make a significant saving on their bill.”

Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

2011-09-09T10:30:00.003+01:00

Back in August I wrote about Smirnoff Night Life Exchange partnering up with Madonna, and yesterday the rest of the story finally unfolded. Smirnoff announced that this years Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project will be taking place on 12th November and will see Ireland exchanging a night out with Thailand.

As with last year's very awesome Argentina night out, party-goers should expect delicious drinks, tasty Thai food and an experience that will, in no doubt, be one of the best they've ever had. Irish Australian dance superstars the Potbelleez will be rocking the dancefloor with help from Fourplay DJ’s (Ray Shah, Killian O’Sullivan, Steven Cooper and Rory Lyna) and DJ Gordo.

For full information check out the Smirnoff Facebook Page and see my posts from the previous Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange activity.

As I previously posted, this year's Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project will see Madonna partnering with Smirnoff to hold a global dance competition. As part of this, Smirnoff have revealed that Madonna will be attending the New York celebration to help handpick the overall global winner of a dance competition alongside her choreographers Rich + Tone. Smirnoff fans can win tickets to the New York finale at the Smirnoff Facebook Page.

“This year’s Nightlife Exchange Project is triple the size of last year’s, has bigger global names and more local original ideas,” said Simon Burch, Global Brand Director for The Smirnoff Co. “We’re going to enjoy it with our fans. We are inviting our Facebook fans to share with us their one-of-a-kind nightlife experiences so we can create them on 12th November.”

Smirnoff is inviting fans to share their ideas and suggestions on the most original aspects of nightlife in their country. Fans with the most original ideas winning an invite to the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project in their city or abroad. Nearly 10,000 ideas have been submitted thus far including local cocktail recipes, new dance styles, types of music and city fashion trends.

The pairings for the 18 countries taking part in the nightlife swap are:
Great Britain with Jamaica
Ireland with Thailand
Brazil with Germany
Australia with Italy
Canada with Vietnam
USA with Netherlands
Lebanon with Mexico
Venezuela with Cyprus
Argentina with Turkey

Carlsberg: JC Jacobsen's Bicentenary

2011-09-02T01:13:00.003+01:00

Today, 2nd September 2011, marks the 200th anniversary of Carlsberg's founder JC Jacobsen. Born in Copenhagen in 1811, it wasn't until he was 24 that Jacob Christian Jacobsen inherited his father brewery and became head of what would unquestionably become the most influential beer brewery in the world.

Jacobsen was well known for his explorative mind and entrepreneurial approach to things. And while he had no formal academic or scientific training, he believed that the production of beer had to be based on scientific methods and to be industrialised. In short, Jacobsen wanted to eliminate the element of chance when brewing beer caused by variable yeast quality.

In 1876, Jacobsen took on Emil Hansen to work at the Carlsberg laboratory. There, Hansen dicsovered that yeast was not a homogeneous substance but could be broken down into a number of strains, of which only a few were right for brewing. By 1883 he had isolated and propagated single-strain yeasts for the first time, to finally allow brewers the control over the fermentation process to guarantee a consistent product, brew after brew. Lager yeast is still known as sacharromyces carlsbergensis in Hansen and Jacobsen’s honour.

Dawn Allison, Brand Manager, Carlsberg commented; "Carlsberg is the world's original lager and JC Jacobsen was relentless in his efforts to create perfect beer. He revolutionised beer brewing and selflessly shared his discovery of pure yeast with other brewers so today, there is a little bit of Carlsberg in every lager beer! The brewers at Carlsberg work to live up to Jacobsen's golden words: 'To develop the art of making beer to the greatest possible degree of perfection'. Today is a very special day for the Carlsberg brand as we pay tribute to its founder, JC Jacobsen 200 years after his birth."

Guinness Cork Jazz Festival 2011

2011-08-29T21:36:00.001+01:00

Back again for the October Bank Holiday weekend (28th-31st October 2011), tickets for the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival are now on sale, and this year's festival is set to be bigger and better than ever, with something to suit every music lover’s tastes.

The most interesting announcement around the festival, in my opinion, is the news that the opening act this year will be none other than the exceedingly talented Damon Albarn. Sometimes Blur frontman Albarn will be joined by his band, Another Honest John’s Chop-Up. Another Honest John’s Chop-Up is a collective of musicians who take inspiration from jazz funk and southern soul.

Another outstanding act who will be performing at the festival is the Kyle Eastwood Quintet. Kyle, who is also known as son of actor/director Clint Eastwood, has made a name for himself on the jazz scene, producing eight studio albums and composing the scores for many of his father’s films including Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby.

Other noteworthy acts on the schedule include; Randy Brecker, the acclaimed trumpet player, Tia Fuller, the saxophonist, who not only has her own highly successful band but also plays alongside Beyoncé and Richard Galliano, the renowned accordionist. Galliano’s performance at the festival will be inspired by the work of Coppola and the music from The Godfather.

Barry Fitzpatrick, Brand Manager, Guinness commented, “We are very excited to introduce this year’s line up. The Guinness Cork Jazz festival maintains its jazz soul, but the line up includes some unexpected talent which will definitely appeal to all musical tastes. We will be announcing more acts in the coming weeks on www.guinnesscorkjazz.com”.

The Guinness Cork Jazz festival will not only have music hosted in more venues than ever before, but ticket prices have also been reduced this year. Tickets can be purchased through www.ticketmaster.ie and more information on all aspects of the festival can be found at guinnessjazzfestival.com/.

Facebook User Stats For Ireland

2011-08-26T11:52:00.003+01:00

A great infographic from the lovely people at Edelman:

Thanks to Piaras Kelly for this. Piaras credited help from Dave Molloy and Damien Mulley, so a thanks to you dudes too :)

Kildare Village Celebrates Reaching 20,000 Facebook Fans

2011-08-25T19:48:00.004+01:00

Kildare Village, who are just 163 fans away from a milestone 20,000, today announced that they will be giving away a treat for all of their loyal followers when they hit the 20k mark.

When their Facebook Page reaches 20,000 likes, Kildare Village will offer fans the opportunity to receive an additional 10% off the already reduced prices in over sixty boutiques.

Simply like Kildare Village on Facebook and make sure to keep checking in for your chance to receive extra discounts.

Kildare Village is open seven days a week and has late night shopping on Thursday, Friday and Saturday until 7pm. For details of opening hours and more information just visit www.KildareVillage.com.

Three Jersey Trade-In Scheme

2011-08-24T19:11:00.000+01:00

From today, Wednesday 24th August, Three is calling on all Irish fans to ‘Go green with pride, pull on the jersey’. Three is giving fans the chance to Go green with pride and trade-in their old Republic of Ireland football jerseys in any Champion Sports store nationwide and get €20 off the brand new Ireland home jersey. The Three Trade-In scheme will run in Champion Sports stores nationwide until 30th September 2011. For every eligible trade-in Three are also offering fans a €10 discount voucher on selected Three handsets and price plans.

Three we be collecting the old jerseys donating them to Friends in Ireland, a charity that cares for orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS in South Africa. The charity, founded by RTE’s Marian Finucane, has Sean St. Ledger as an ambassador.

Sean St. Ledger said, “I have been an ambassador for Friends in Ireland for the past year and have been looking for a way to help them with the fantastic work that they do in their South African centres, Three and Champion Sports have launched the Three Trade-In scheme that allows people to donate their old jerseys to Friends in Ireland and are asking fans to Go green with pride. I will deliver the jerseys in person to the centres next year in time for South African’s bitter winter. I know that everyone has an old Ireland jersey lying around at home that they could trade-in for one of the new jerseys, so I would encourage everyone to make an effort for a good cause, and show your support for the team.”

“We are truly indebted to Sean St Ledger, Three and Champion Sports. The Children of the Eastern Cape in South Africa, whether they play football or not, will be delighted with a warm jersey to wear in their freezing icy winters. The poverty and vulnerability of the victims of the HIV AIDS+ pandemic is sadly an all day, every day reality. Every bit of help counts,” Finucane said.

Fans are also being encouraged to log on to the Three Football Facebook page and upload their Go Green With Pride images. This could be anything from dying your hair to painting your house – something that demonstrates pride in the green jersey. For everyone who does upload a picture, there will be the opportunity to win prizes including match tickets. There will also be an overall winner who will be selected for a money can’t buy prize.

Robert Finnegan, CEO of Three, said “As proud sponsors of the Irish National football team, Three is delighted to work with Friends in Ireland and Champion Sports to offer fans a discount on the new Ireland jersey that will benefit a great cause. We want to drive support for the team ahead of two crucial and exciting up coming games so we are asking fans to Go green with pride. Three is committed to football at all levels in Ireland and the fans are central to this.”

Emily Barry, Marketing Executive of Champion Sports, said “Champion Sports are delighted to be partnering with Three and Friends of Ireland for this very special offer. The Three Trade-In scheme is in aid of a great cause and we look forward to seeing the new Three Ireland jersey on the fans at the next match. Champion are behind our boys in green 100% over the coming soccer season”.

Sean St. Ledger also commented, “It also makes a huge difference for the players to see a sea of green when they come onto the pitch and we need everyone to get behind us ahead of these crucial qualifier games next month.”

Velvet - Can Music Grow Trees?

2011-08-23T11:08:00.004+01:00

Following on from my posts on ESB Electric Ireland and their Electric Picnic activities I thought you might find Velvet Toilet Tissue's announcement interesting. The luxury toilet tissue brand has announced that their Velvet Luxury Toilets will be making a return to Electric Picnic and they will be joined by a campaign to answer the question, "Can music grow trees?"

Velvet Toilet Tissue have taken three Leylandii conifers and equipped them with their own headphones and MP3 players. The three trees have been planted in the Velvet Greenhouse at Newlands Garden Centre and are currently being played three genres of music (rock, folk, dance) in an effort to see how well the trees respond to music. The trees can be viewed and monitored through an application on the Triple Velvet Facebook page. Fans are also asked to vote for their favourite music type to be in with a chance of winning tickets to Electric Picnic. All three trees will also be on display at the Velvet Luxury Toilets this year for guests to see and the winning tree will be announced.

ESB Electric Ireland Electric Picnic Tweet Hunt

2011-08-21T13:40:00.005+01:00

Last Wednesday I wrote about The ESB Electric Ireland Park at Electric Picnic. Beyond being the Official Energy Partner to Electric Picnic, ESB Electric Ireland are also running an energy generating adult playground full of over-sized playground favourites. The twist is that each of the playground items contributes to generating power to help charge participants' phones while they have fun. The playground will also be supported by a host of Ireland's top comedians who will be charged with generating as big a crowd of participants as possible.

This weekend I found out about ESB Electric Ireland's upcoming competition to promote its Electric Picnic partnership.

From Monday, ESB Electric Ireland will be giving away 25 tickets in Europe's first real time treasure hunt using Google Maps and Social Media. The #ShareTheEnergy Tweet Hunt, which is being run through Electric Ireland Facebook Page, gives would be festival-goers the chance to win tickets to Electric Picnic using a Facebook App with a Live Google Map that combines a live Twitter feed to reveal five secret locations around Ireland where tickets are hidden. The Tweet Hunt begins on Monday 22nd August at 9am and ends on Friday 26th August, with one lucky person having the chance to win five tickets to Electric Picnic each day.

To find the secret locations, participants need to tweet #Sharetheenergy. The more the hashtag is tweeted, the closer the map zooms in to where the tickets are hidden. Then, a special code word is revealed along with the exact details of the secret location where the Electric Ireland Sparkheads are waiting with the tickets. After that the first person to find the Sparkhead, and tell them the daily code word will receive five tickets to Electric Picnic.

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager, ESB Electric Ireland commented, “The ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Hunt is a new addition to our Electric Picnic sponsorship this year. Tickets are like gold dust and we hope would be festival-goers will enjoy this innovative competition using social media channels in a fun and unique way to try to win tickets to this fantastic festival.”

For more info on the campaign or any other details of ESB Electric Ireland's Electric Picnic activities, pop over to the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook Page.

Additional information about the ESB Electric Ireland Tweet Hunt:

The innovative Facebook App and social media mash-up was developed by Tequila Ireland and Agency.com.
The App features a live Twitter feed so users can check the tweets to the hashtag and see the 13 zoom levels as each is revealed.
The Facebook page will show pictures of the winner each day and announce the race for that day is over with the next day’s Twitter Hunt commencing at 9am.
The Twitter Hunt is open to residents of the Republic of Ireland aged over 18.

Smirnoff Night Life Exchange & Madonna

2011-08-18T20:53:00.003+01:00

Today, 18th August, Smirnoff made the announcement that the next iteration of their Night Life Exchange project will not only attempt to get 10 million people to discover, share and swap the most original nightlife experiences in 50 countries but also to find the best dancer from their fans for an opportunity to join Madonna on her next tour. To mark the announcement the Smirnoff Ireland dance troupe were on the streets today for a number of impromptu performances all over Dublin City Centre to spread the word.

The initial goal sees Smirnoff fans worldwide invited to co-create and participate by contributing ideas on what makes their local nightlife distinct in the categories of drinks, dance, fashion, music, places, and more, creating a nightlife cocktail of unique events. The most inspiring suggestions from each region will then exchanged with another country in November. Participating fans will have the chance to win a place at one of the global events or experience another country’s party at a Smirnoff NEP event in their own city.

The second part of this years NEP, focusing on the importance of dance, offers fans the opportunity to showcase their own style and flair through an exclusive online dance competition. Starting today, fans just need to submit a 60 second video demonstrating their best moves. The best dancers from around the world will then be chosen to compete for the grand prize at one of the NEP venues. On hand on the evening, Madonna will judge the final herself and select a winner to join her on her next tour as one of her dancers.

Talking about the project, Madonna said, "What attracted me to the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project is the combination of participating in the celebration of nightlife around the world and the opportunity to discover the world's best unknown dancers. The best dancers are always in the clubs looking for the most original experience, just like Smirnoff is doing."

Simon Burch, Global Brand Director for The Smirnoff Co., said, “Smirnoff mixes original nightlife from around the world and gives everyone the chance to be there through extraordinary, one-of-a-kind experiences. Who better to decide the best in the dance category than Madonna herself?”

The 50 countries participating in the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project include: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Trinidad, Turkey, Uruguay, United States, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months and pop along to the

The ESB Electric Ireland Park at Electric Picnic

2011-08-17T21:34:00.003+01:00

This week ESB Electric Ireland announced what they have in store as the official energy partner of Electric Picnic. Teaming up with comedian Karl Spain, ESB have revealed their energy-efficient playground for grown-ups where festival goers can play and use the energy they generate to charge their phones. The playground will feature an adult sized merry-go-round, a giant hamster wheel and see-saws, all of which generate energy that people can share and use. For those that prefer something a little less childish, there will also be fifteen bikes in the Park to help generate power.

To help get everyone into full power-generating swing the ESB will have a number of Irish and international celebrity MCs on hand, including Karl Spain, Andrew Stanley, Damian Clark and Gearoid Farrelly. These guys will be tasked with recruiting festival goers to make use of the playground and also to find volunteers to get on their bikes! On top of this, the MCs will also host a number of small challenges throughout the weekend and may even take part in some of these challenges themselves.

Speaking at the launch, Karl Spain said, “Yes, ESB Electric Ireland has brought an even crazier element of fun to the EP line up this year and I’m looking forward to trying the playground out for size! It will really show people how much energy it takes to power even small things like a mobile phone. From see-sawing to merry-go-rounding and peddling there’ll be even more ways to generate energy at this year’s Picnic. It’s a great initiative and I can’t wait to share my energy with fellow festival goers in September.”

Ken McKervey, Commercial Manager ESB Electric Ireland commented “As the Official Energy Partner to the festival, ESB Electric Ireland is delighted to show festival goers how much fun sustainability can be. We are well aware how important having a facility to recharge phones is to festival goers so it’s great that we can provide this in an entertaining way! We are delighted to have the comedians back this year to MC and between the comedians, the bikes and the playground it will be a fully sustainable festival of fun.”

Outside of their energy-generating playground, ESB Electric Ireland's position as official energy partner of Electric Picnic sees them providing 6 km of energy efficient festoon lighting around the camp sites and walk ways to the main arena, and providing e-cars to transport artists around the festival site. All of this will see the festival’s lighting emissions reduced by 80%.

To stay up to date on all of the campaigns details and upcoming competitions, just head over to the ESB Electric Ireland Facebook Page.

Guinness 'Five' - The Guinness Food Experience

2011-08-12T20:34:00.003+01:00

Yesterday evening, Thursday 11th August, I had the absolute pleasure of popping along to the Guinness Storehouse to experience their brand new Guinness food experience. Adding to its already top class offering, the Guinness Storehouse unveiled an incredible new food experience which sees the entire fifth floor dedicated to Guinness and Food.

The €2 million investment in the heart of St. James’s Gate has been fittingly named “Five. Guinness and Food Experience”. The new experience includes an authentic Irish Bar called Arthur’s Bar, an 18th Century inspired Brewers Dining Hall, a restaurant named Gilroy’s inspired by the iconic Guinness advertisements by John Gilroy. Beyond this, however, there will also be live cooking demonstrations where foodies and Guinness drinker’s alike can see an unique Guinness gastronomical experience driven entirely by the Irish tradition of wholesome, local produce. Finally, there is also an interactive recipe sharing bank that allows visitors to take Guinness recipe cards home to try the recipes for themselves and also share their own Guinness inspired recipes with others.

Speaking about “Five” the new Guinness and Food Experience at the Guinness Storehouse, Managing Director, Paul Carty said “We are delighted to officially open the doors to our new Guinness and Food experience which marries the best of Irish produce to Guinness, an iconic Irish brand. We have a dedicated team who have been working on this specific food project for over a year now, so we are thrilled with the results which we look forward to sharing with our visitors from all over the world, show casing the best of Irish produce”.

The Storehouse team have carefully selected a number of key local suppliers to work alongside with and their produce can be seen on the menus at “Five” including Ardsallagh goat’s cheese, Irish mussels from Carlingford and MD Bakery in Waterford who supply the Waterford Blaas.

Executive Chef at Guinness Storehouse, Justin O’Connor, said, “Certainly the most recognisable and popular Guinness dish in the world is Beef and Guinness stew; in fact, since we opened our doors in 2000, we have served over 400,000 portions of Beef and Guinness Stew. We have refined this traditional dish as part of our project using Hereford beef from Nenagh in Co Tipperary. The meat is marinated for 24 hours in Guinness and aromatics and then slow cooked for succulence and taste.”

Full outlet details...

Brewer’s Dining Hall
The Brewer’s Dining Hall takes inspiration from the 18th and 19th century dining room of the same name. This traditional dining hall catered for the hard working at St. James’s Gate Brewery, who wanted to eat well. The Brewer’s Dining Hall is an informal dining experience served buffet style featuring the freshest and most wholesome ingredients. All of this is experienced with full views of the working kitchen which is on show through a large glass viewing area.

Gilroy’s Restaurant
Gilroy’s restaurant is inspired by the artist, John Gilroy, who was the artist and creator behind the “MY GOODNESS, MY GUINNESS” marketing campaign. In Gilroy’s you will be greeted with a warm setting surrounded by the wonderful animal characters created by Gilroy, all of which are displayed prominently overhead to add to your dining experience.
Gilroy’s is a waiter style bistro restaurant offering a premium food experience serving traditional Irish food complemented by a contemporary twist.

Arthur’s Bar
The Irish Pub is an integral part of Irish life and always has been. The pub is the focal point of community life where music, sport, literature and family occasions are all celebrated.
Arthur’s Bar is a modern twist on a traditional Irish pub, taking elements of a traditional Irish pub, and showing them in a contemporary manner.

Captain Morgan's Caribbean Adventure - The Captain's Island

2011-08-05T11:08:00.002+01:00

Sun, sea, surf, Captain Morgan and a chance to win €15,000….. where do I sign up?

Simples. Just pop over to the Captain Morgan Ireland Facebook Page and start your adventure for a chance to join Captain Morgan, Mena Suvari and 13 other teams of aspiring buccaneers in a contest to win a €15,000 share of the Captain's legendary bounty on The Captain’s Island (from 9th – 14th October) in the Caribbean.

Before you get the chance to prove yourself against these other teams you first need to be selected to go - not everyone can get to The Captain’s Island. First you need to show Captain Morgan that you have traits befitting of a Captain – leadership, camaraderie, bravado (without recklessness), clever thinking and determination. To prove yourself, you will need to complete a number of different challenges on the Captain Morgan’s Facebook page to earn ‘keys’. ‘Keys’ are also available on promotional Captain Morgan packs in supermarkets & off-licenses, in bars, at events and in a number of other secret locations. You will need to collect five keys in total.

Captain Morgan commented: “The chance to have a three day legendary experience on my Caribbean Island and a share of a €15,000 bounty - why wouldn’t you want to be part of that adventure? Sign-up for The Captain’s Island and if you’re lucky enough it could all be yours. Oh, and did I mention that you’ll get to hang out with me, the Morganettes and get interviewed by Island reporter Mena Suvari too? What are you still reading this for – enter now!”

Mena Suvari added: “But you’re going to have to impress Captain Morgan to stand a chance here. If you can’t show leadership, camaraderie, determination, bravado and clever thinking then you can kiss goodbye to an Island adventure and a share of his bounty. He doesn’t just give this away – you have to earn it.”

The contest is open now to everyone in the island of Ireland above legal purchase age and challenges conducted via Facebook require a fun-loving Buccaneer who has a passion for adventure, creativity and a winning spirit. The closing date for crews to sign up and collect five keys is 18th September 2011.

About Captain Morgan:
In 1654 a young Henry Morgan left his native Wales for the West Indies. He never looked back. A born leader, he quickly made Captain and became famous as a legal pirate or Buccaneer, defending British interests and generally rocking the Caribbean. His awesome exploits on the high seas earned him a knighthood and by 1680 Sir Henry Morgan was a plantation owner and Governor of Jamaica. There he lived out his final days until his death in 1688.

Centuries later he became the figurehead for a company that became as famous as the man himself… The Captain Morgan Rum Company.

Three launches ‘S’Up’ Campaign

2011-08-04T18:07:00.004+01:00

Three have just launched their latest campaign with everyone's favourite music and reality crazy kids, Jedward. The campaign, which announces Three's new “All you can eat” data on Prepay, will hit TV screens tomorrow evening (5th August) and run for five weeks until 11th September 2011. The campaign uses 30 second placements on RTE, TV3, 3E, Sky packages, Comedy Central, MTV E!, Living and E4. Aside from the TV slots, the campaign will also run online rich media banners on yahoo, MSN, Ryanair, Facebook, and Skype. Finally, the campaign will also use targeted press advertising and special builds in Dublin’s city centre.

The campaign was developed by McCann Erickson and the TV ad was directed by Damien O’Donnell, who has directed the films; ‘East is East’, ‘Heartlands’, and ‘Inside I’m Dancing’, and produced by Russ Russell of Russell Curran Productions.

The TV ad features Jedward calling, texting and tweeting each other all day long. This may not appear unusual given the close bond the twins share, but what is different about Jedward is that they call text and tweet each other even when they’re in the same room, because it costs them nothing on Three Prepay. They can call each other to say hello or in Jedward’s case ‘S’Up?’ and make sure they don’t miss what’s going on even for a minute.

So we have TV, online and press so far, but the most interesting part of the campaign is the in-store POS and PR activity, which will focus on recruiting a third member of Jedward via on-street and social media auditions to spend a day with Jedward at a secret Three Ireland Jedward gig on 16th September. Lucky Three Prepay customers will receive a special Jedmail inviting them!

Commenting on the launch, Sales and Marketing director, Elaine Carey at Three, said: “We at Three are very excited to be launching ‘All you can eat’ data for our Prepay customers, marking another important first in the Irish market for Three. From Friday the 5th of August, Three Prepay customers can avail of the exclusive ‘All you can eat’ data price plan for the first time, giving unlimited mobile internet access, free any network texts, and free Three to Three calls, all for just €20 a month minimum top up. To celebrate this we are offering the Samsung Galaxy Europa on Prepay for just €49, an amazing price for a great Smartphone, with the ‘All you can eat’ data plan allowing Three Prepay customers to make the most of its enhanced social media functionality.”

Commenting on the launch, Emma Sharkey, McCann Erickson, said: “Jedward’s star power and their ubiquitous popularity will help Three to reach a larger prepay audience. Jedward’s youthful energy and innate sociability are a natural fit with the brand’s Prepay proposition. Three understands that people want the ability to stay in constant contact with their closest friends through texts, social sites and calls, without fear of burning through credit.”

For further information on Three, the new offer or the handset, just visit www.three.ie and be sure to follow Three on Twitter and Facebook.

Scott Campbell Backs Bahrain Storm For Galway Plate

2011-07-27T11:32:00.002+01:00

Unless you don’t own a TV or a smartphone you’ll know who Scott Campbell is. Well, Ireland’s new fresh face of weather and frontman to Budweiser’s current campaign - The Ice Cold Index - is down in Galway for the Races. Scott, a wealth of information and insight, has turned his weather foresighting skills to the horses for the day and named Bahrain Storm as his pony to win the Galway Plate race this afternoon at 3pm.

Being the generous man that he is, Scott has promised that all his fans can avail of a free pint of Budweiser Ice Cold if Bahrain Storm finishes in the top three of the Galway Plate. Nifty!

Speaking about his visit to Galway, Budweiser Ice Cold Index weatherman, Scott Campbell, said, “It’s all happening this week in Galway. I’ve been doing my research and I’ve heard great things about Bahrain Storm so I’m really hoping he comes through for me – my Budweiser Ice Cold fans deserve a free pint!”

Scott will be hanging out at the Budweiser tent at the Ballybrit race course to cheer on Bahrain Storm but he’ll also be delivering an update as part of the TV3 evening news weather report live from the Galway Races on Ladies Day tomorrow (Thursday, 28th July).

Scott has also extended an open invitation to join him for a special Galway Races Budweiser Ice Cold Index party in The Skeffington Arms Hotel, Eyre Square, Galway city on Saturday, 30th July from 4-7pm. Rugby star Cian Healy and his DJ partner Gordon Johnston will provide music and acting as MC will be RTE’s Jennifer Maguire.

As part of the party, Scott and his crew will be holding auditions to search for Scott’s co-star. Galway is the second of three heats in the search for Scott’s co-star. Scott will finish his search in Cork next month. Each finalist selected from the three heats will win €1,000 on the night and go through to the final heat to win the overall prize which includes starring alongside Scott on national TV and winning the ultimate holiday to Los Angeles. You can pre-register for auditions on www.facebook.com/budicecoldireland.

To check out Scott and keep up-to-date with the search for his co-star, visit the Facebook page where there will also be regular competitions, updates from Scott and invitations to the hottest events throughout the summer. You can also follow Scott on Twitter.

Dublin To Paris With The Irish Hospice Foundation

2011-07-18T09:34:00.002+01:00

Yesterday saw the start of the annual Irish Hospice Foundation cycle from Dublin to Paris. The gruelling 600km journey by 17 cyclists is the charity’s annual campaign to raise funds to support the development of Children’s Hospice Home Care.

In order to take part in the 5 day event each cyclist raised €3,500, equating to €720,000 over the past two years (2009 and 2010). The cycle takes them from Dublin down to Rosslare, across to Cherbourg, and then on up through the beautiful and historic Normandy countryside to finally arrive in the French capital.

The event has been so successful, both in raising funds and drawing participation, that a second cycle has been organised where 44 riders will cycle from Geneva to Nice from Sunday 24th July. It is hoped that around €220,000 will be raised between the two cycling events this year.

Sharon Foley, Chief Executive Officer of the Irish Hospice Foundation, stated: “We hope that the participating cyclists enjoy their experience. To fulfil this feat, they have undertaken many hours of training over several months. Their families have also been fully behind their efforts. We appreciate their support for one of our most important programmes. Their fundraising efforts will be used to support a new service for some of the most vulnerable children in society.”

You can follow all the action on the Irish Hospice Foundation Twitter account and through the hashtag #ihfcycles, or over on their Facebook Page.

Dublin-Paris cycle itinerary
Sunday17th July
Depart from the southside of Dublin and cycle to Arklow -93kms.

Monday 18th July
Cycle from Arklow to Rosslare-85kms.The group will take the 3.30pm overnight Irish Ferries to Cherbourg from Rosslare.

Tuesday 19thJuly
The cyclists arrive in Cherbourg at 11am and cycle from Cherbourg to Bayeux-108kms.

Wednesday 20th July
This is the longest stage of the event a massive 168kms taking the group from Bayeux to Evreux.

Thursday21st July
Last day of cycling: This sees the riders enter Paris -105kms.

Friday22nd July
The cyclists can enjoy the sights of Paris before catching a flight back to Dublin.

Additional Information
On a national level, an estimated 1,400 children are living with life-limiting conditions in Ireland. There are about 350 child deaths every year – the majority in the first year of life. The Irish Hospice Foundation has committed €2.5 million to the implementation of the national policy Palliative Care for Children with Life-limiting Conditions in Ireland. The Irish Hospice Foundation funds the role of Dr Mary Devins who in June was appointed Ireland’s first Consultant in Children’s Palliative Care. The Irish Hospice Foundation has also agreed to fund five out of eight outreach nurses, who will support families caring for their children at home. Since 2007 the Irish Hospice Foundation has funded courses in children’s palliative care for nurses and healthcare professionals where over 1,500 have been trained.

Leading Irish sustainable products manufacturer Kingspan Group is the overall title sponsor for both of the Kingspan Irish Hospice Foundation Cycle Challenges.

Arthur Guinness Fund: 10 Social Entrepreneurs Awarded €650,000

2011-07-15T19:59:00.001+01:00

Ten Irish social entrepreneurs are set to help the unemployed, save lives, improve skills and create a more dynamic, innovative Ireland with the help of a €650,000 investment from the Arthur Guinness Fund. Last Tuesday the ten entrepreneurs were announced as the recipients of the 2011 Arthur Guinness Fund with each of their unique projects receiving financial support and professional business mentoring over the next two years.

The 2011 Arthur Guinness Fund awardees are:
* Jamie Regan - Hand on Heart Enterprises: As a former accountant for St Joseph’s Centre for the Blind in Drumcondra, Jamie saw how difficult it is for blind or low vision people to find meaningful work and has developed a model for supportive enterprise that helps them get into the workplace;

* John Evoy - Irish Men’s Sheds Association: John and his colleagues are helping to create unique environments all over the country where men, particularly those hit by unemployment, can recover their self-esteem through a unique mix of education, up-skilling and health promotion;

* Robin Blandford - Decisions for Heroes: Robin has combined a background in digital media engineering with his work as a volunteer cliff rescuer to create a unique software application that enables rescue workers to spot trends and patterns in accidents and thus target their missions more effectively;

* George Boyle - The Fumbally Exchange (FEx): when the news came that her employer’s company had been liquidated, George moved fast to establish FEx, a new design hub in the heart of Dublin’s Liberties in which entrepreneurs, the unemployed, sole traders and small businesses can come together to share not just office space but ideas, energy and innovation.

* Michael Hallissy and John Hurley, H2 Learning: building on years of experience in the e-learning field, Michael Hallissy and John Hurley have set up H2 Learning and a new virtual learning platform called AdultMaths, which helps those who may be uncomfortable about returning to traditional adult education to up-skill in this critical field;

* Oisin Scollard Turn2Me - driven by the many challenges within the Irish mental health system, and prompted by a personal experience, Oisin founded Turn2Me, an online interactive community comprising of 3,500 people who help and support each other in a peer-to-peer environment.

* Stephen Plunkett - U-Casadh: A former prison officer, Stephen established U-Casadh to help former prisoners re-integrate into the workplace. The programme provides sheltered training and employment to build structure, confidence and self-esteem;

* Stuart McLaughlin:Fundit – keenly aware of the enormous challenges around employment opportunities in the creative sector, Stuart has developed a new web platform that gives the public an opportunity to ‘fund’ ideas they like in return for creative rewards;

* John Kearney - West Cork Rapid Response: by more efficiently using local voluntary resources, John and his colleagues bring to rural areas the same standard of intensive care drugs, monitoring equipment, diagnostics and skills found in the best hospital resuscitation rooms in Europe;

* Denis Roche - Vivartes – recognising the problem of anxiety and depression in care facilities, Denis has designed a web platform which enables patients to remain connected with their families, friends and the outside world.

Speaking at the announcement, Tanya Clarke, Marketing Director, Diageo Ireland said, “Arthur Guinness, the original philanthropist, provided the inspiration for the Arthur Guinness Fund and the Guinness brand is delighted to be in a position to continue his philanthropic legacy today through the Arthur Guinness Fund. Through the fund, we have encountered some amazing people who possess a business head and a social heart. In the face of a tough economic environment, they are pushing ahead and playing their part to help bring about positive social change in the communities in which they operate.”

The Arthur Guinness Fund received 450 applicants from social entrepreneurs all over Ireland. The thorough assessment process was conducted by Diageo employees, a representative from Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and a panel of external judges from the Irish social enterprise and business sectors.

Sean Coughlan, Chief Executive, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland commented: “The quality and diversity of applicants is a testament to the value of the initiative and also an indication of the strong will that is out there to come up with innovative, impactful and sustainable initiatives that the benefit communities right across Ireland.”

For further information see here or visit www.guinness.com or www.facebook.com/GuinnessIreland

Kildare Village Summer Festival

2011-07-13T11:32:00.004+01:00

For anyone yet to experience the Kildare Village Summer Festival, I’d suggest that you look to this weekend as the perfect time to get down there. The four-week long festival brings together entertainment, shopping and Irish artisan food all within the comfortable and relaxed setting of Kildare Village. The festival, which launched on July 1st with the arrival of star guest Whitney Port, designer of Whitney Eve, may be nearly two weeks in but it isn’t losing any momentum and in my opinion is getting better and better with each passing day.

One of this years highlights for me is taking place this Friday from a specially constructed stage in the piazza. As part of the festival and to celebrate Kildare Village’s fifth anniversary there will be a free gig from Choice Music Prize nominee Cathy Davy. The free gig is on at 8pm and all you need to do is register on the site and become a VIP member of Kildare Village. Easy peasy!

Another part of the festival that I think is particularly cool is something from their star guest, Whitney Eve. Whitney has created an exclusive canvas bag for Barretstown, which is exclusively available in Kildare Village for the duration of Summertime Festival, priced at €15. Best of all, all profits go to Barretstown.

Whitney Port commented, ‘I am so excited to be the face of the Summertime Festival @ Kildare Village especially as I get to take part in my two favourite pastimes shopping and designing. I’ve created the perfect summer bag which will be sold at Kildare Village to raise money for Barretstown children’s charity. This will be my first visit to Ireland and The Summertime Festival makes Kildare Village the perfect stop for me to enjoy performances, food and entertainment this July. ‘

Dee Ahearn, CEO of Barretstown commented, 'We are delighted Kildare Village has chosen to support Barretstown in their Summertime Festival campaign with the launch of the canvas bag by Whitney Port. This year as Kildare Village celebrates their fifth anniversary, Barretstown will pass the milestone of welcoming 20,000 children and their families from Ireland and across Europe since being founded in 1994. Childhood cancer affects so many families in Ireland each year, and through the support of Kildare Village, we can continue to welcome as many campers as possible each year.’

This is really just a snapshot of everything going on and I would strongly recommend that you pop over to www.kildarevillage.com/summertimefestival for full details.

Get Your Giggle on for ReachOut.com

2011-07-12T22:13:00.003+01:00

Having been lucky enough to work with the good people at Reachout.com before this is something a little close to my heart. On 26th July 2011 Reachout.com is hosting a comedy night at The Sugar Club. Basically this is an awesome opportunity to help raise money for ReachOut.com and have an excellent evening of comedy.

The MC for the evening is an old friend of mine and an absolutely hilarious gent, the magnificent Fred Cooke. Fred is joined by Jack Wise, Eric Lalor and Shazwanda.

Fresh from his performance at this year’s Street Performance World Championship, Jack Wise is sure to mesmerise the audience with his speciality cocktail of comedy and magic all served up with a solid slice of sarcasm. Meanwhile, the warm and energetic Lalor will leave the audience with a warm fuzzy feeling that only a belly laugh can, showing why he goes down such a treat with comedy gig goers across the land.

Keeping the boys in check with her razor sharp North Dublin wit is the disarmingly demure Shazwanda. With hair extensions and high heels galore, Shazwanda is a shining example of why the Dublin sense of humour is so side splittingly special.

For those of you not familiar with ReachOut.com I'd urge you to click through to their site and check them out. They're a service dedicated to taking the mystery out of mental health, removing the taboos and bringing mental health issues out into the open. With this event all proceeds from the sales of tickets will go to helping ReachOut.com deliver the best service it can to young people with something on their minds.

This event is kindly supported by the Macquarie Group Foundation and its Dublin staff.

Tickets cost €20, available through entertainment.ie. The event starts at 8pm and is strictly over 18s.

Guinness - The Power To Lift Us All

2011-07-11T21:56:00.000+01:00

Today, Monday 11th July, Guinness launched a new advertising campaign in support of its GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship sponsorship. Entitled “The Power to Lift Us All” the campaign brings to life the way the game of hurling and its players inspire and thrill a nation through the unique place the game holds in our hearts. For many Irish people Hurling is more than a sport. It instils a sense of cultural and national pride.

The campaign was created by Irish International and photographed by Kevin Griffin, with photographic retouching by Taylor James.

Speaking about the campaign, Guinness Brand Manager, Barry Fitzpatrick said, “With this campaign, we wanted to recognize Hurling as a uniquely Irish icon and an inspiration for people across the country. The 2010 Hurling Final drew the biggest audience for RTE of any sporting event last year, highlighting just how highly regarded it is as the national game. Hurling is a part of what we are and has a unique ability to inspire, not only fans of the game, or of a winning county, but the whole country.”

The overall campaign will also include PR and digital activity, and a media partnership with Newtalk, which includes the Guinness Hurling Greats series of recordings with players, managers, referees and fans that bring to life iconic and game changing moments in the sport.

Stay tuned and as soon as I have more details on these additional elements I'll get them straight up, of course in the mean time make sure to check out the above graphic in it's full glory.

PhotoIreland VAI Professional Development Programme

2011-07-04T21:04:00.003+01:00

Following an extremely successful 2010, PhotoIreland Festival is back for 2011. On top of a great lineup of exhibitions there are loads of workshops and seminars on, and the most interesting in my opinion is the PhotoIreland VAI Professional Development Programme. Visual Artists Ireland (VAI) in partnership with PhotoIreland Festival are running a limited series of professional development seminars aimed at emerging and established photographers to help in four key business areas: Professional Practice, Money Matters, Negotiation and Experience.

The four sessions take place over the closing weekend of PhotoIreland Festival on 23rd and 24th of July in La Catedral Studios off Thomas Street. While this is primarily aimed at Photographers it may be of interest to all artistic practices but places are limited so advance booking is essential. Prices are €20 for non-members and €15 for VAI members or €60 for all 4 sessions.

Professional Practice: Online marketing with Mary Carty
23/07/11 10:00 – 13:00
This session will teach you how to grow your profile, build your network and promote your work online. By using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr effectively, you can grow your audience and position yourself as an expert in your field. I will use case studies and practical walk throughs to help you get the most from your time online.

Money Matters: Preparing Proposals & Grant Applications with Eilis Lavelle & Sarah Searson
23/07/11 14:00 – 17:00
This session will look at the proposal and application preparation process in detail exploring the strategic skills required to ensure that you submission is seriously considered. The session will include information on writing and preparing, documentation or visual packages, application forms etc. It is aimed at artists who wish to apply for resources and opportunities such as: funding; residencies; exhibitions and commissions.

Negotiation: Dealing with Public/ Private Galleries with Jerome O’ Drisceoil & Karen Downey
24/07/11 10:00 – 13:00
This training session is designed to give artists the confidence and knowledge to build strong relationships with curators and to get the most out of their experience when working with a private or public gallery. It will look at: Do’s and don’ts in approaching or presenting work to galleries. Being clear on why you want to exhibit; clarity of the artist’s intention for the artwork; clarity of ambition and expected outcomes for an exhibition. It will also examine roles and responsibilities for both the artists and the gallery. Understanding element of planning an exhibition, time-line, budget and production value. The expectations and motivations for an exhibition from both the gallery’s and artist’s perspectives.

Experience: Career Options with Anthony Luvera; Dragana Jurisic; Liam Campbell & Stephanie Joy
24/07/11 14:00 – 17:00
This session is aimed at emerging photographers and is designed to show them the variety of career options available to them. Our panelists have a variety of careers and availed of numerous and varied opportunities all within the umbrella of photography. From commercial photography to book publishing and from teaching to collaborating, each of our panelists will explain how they came to be in their current position and the opportunities and decisions that accompany them.

For more information and booking go to www.visualartists.ie/education or contact Donna on +353 (0)86 3505 722 or donna.kiernan@gmail.com

Be a Budweiser Ice Cold Index Weatherman

2011-06-29T10:11:00.002+01:00

By now I’m sure you’re well aware of the Buweiser Ice Cold Index and its spokesman, Ireland’s newest weather man Scott Campbell. In an exciting development of the campaign, Scott has landed in Ireland and has announced that he’s here to search for his weather presenting co-star. Scott is looking for one lucky individual to star alongside him and present a weather bulletin that will be broadcast on national television.

Speaking about his visit, Scott said, “I’m excited to finally arrive in Ireland and begin the search for my co-star. I’m guessing it’s going to be tough competition as I’ve heard the Irish really have the gift of the gab and combined with that great Irish charm, these are the key ingredients I’m looking for.”

As the face of Budweiser Ice Cold Index, Scott is recognisable for his slick weather presenting style both on TV and on outdoor ads all over Ireland for the last couple of months. Scott’s co-star will need to be just as effortlessly cool, and exude a instant likeability, as well as bringing buckets of charisma and charm. Essentially, Scott wants someone who can inject that Index excitement into their weather bulletin and really help to make this summer in Ireland a whole lot more interesting.

To kick off the search and to celebrate the USA’s biggest holiday, Scott is hosting a 4th July party from 6pm in DTwo, Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 on Thursday 30th June. With help MC’ing from Today FM’s Ray Foley and music from Fourplay DJs (98FM’s Steven Cooper, Rory Lynam, FM104’s Killian O’Sullivan and Q102’s Ray Shah), this is your chance to put yourself forward.

Dublin is the first of three heats in the search for Scott’s co-star. Scott will continue his search at the Galway Races and also in Cork later in the summer. Each finalist selected from the three heats will win €1,000 and go through to the final heat to win the overall prize which includes starring alongside Scott on national TV and winning the ultimate holiday to Los Angeles.

To check out Scott and keep up-to-date with the search for his co-star, visit the Facebook page where there will also be regular competitions, updates from Scott and invitations to the hottest events throughout the summer. You can also follow Scott on Twitter.

Eason Offers - Whatever You’re Into

2011-06-25T11:21:00.003+01:00

Everyone loves a mystery and I had my own little mystery this week starting with the unexpected arrival of a package on Monday morning. Simply wrapped and baring no clue to the sender other than a small tag with the hashtag '#whateveryoureinto', my gift was a paint-by-numbers set. Odd perhaps, unusual certainly but none-the-less very happily received. Of course I'd no idea who it was from.

Tuesday came and another package arrived. This time it was a book: Kirstie Allsopp's 'Kirstie's Homemade Home'. Again the clue was a small tag with the hashtag '#whateveryoureinto'. A Google search of 'whatever you're into' revealed that this was Eason's brand tagline. Still no idea what Eason were doing, if it was indeed Eason. Wednesday I received a pack of batteries with the now familar note, Thursday saw a Meetings Folder arrive, and finally on Friday there was a copy of Neven Maguire's new book 'Neven's Food From The Sun'.

While I was pretty sure that I had cracked the #whateveryoureinto code, Friday revealed all as the book was accompanied by a note. All the gifts arriving over the previous week were indeed from Eason, to celebrate the launch of their brand new online daily offers website - www.easonoffers.com.

Easonoffers.com is a brand new site offering exclusive daily items from Eason, but with up to 75% discounts every day and free delivery anywhere in Ireland. These could be anything from the extensive range at Eason, including bestselling novels, cookbooks and lifestyle guides, as well as stationery, exclusive signed and limited edition books, computer accessories and arts and craft materials.

David Field, Head of Marketing and Retail Development, Eason, commented, “We’re delighted to be launching Easonoffers.com and providing such a great online service to our customers. Whatever your interest or hobby, we'll bring you an exclusive offer online on a daily basis, all at fantastic value and with free delivery anywhere in Ireland. So whatever you’re into, get into Easonoffers.com. Eason boasts such an extensive offering, not just books, so this is a great opportunity to make our Irish customers aware of our product range, available at heavily discounted prices, delivered direct to their door!”

Go have a browse and see what's happening today.

Google Says Happy Birthday

2011-06-23T01:20:00.005+01:00

I would imagine that pretty much everyone is familiar with the Google Doodle. The Google Doodle is when Google swap out their regular logo on their homepage and show a special, stylised version to commemorate a historic event, a famous birth, a national holiday etc. The doodle can be different in different countries or they can be global doodles.

Some of the most recent ones are above: Father's Day, the Lunar Eclipse, Les Paul's 96th Birthday and Martha Graham's 117th Birthday.

My favourite, however, is the one that I can see today. I say 'I' as unless you happen to share the same birthday as me, you won't be seeing this. This is the Google Doodle that Google display to you on your birthday:

In my humble opinion, this is very cool.

Special Olympics Ireland launch iPhone App

2011-06-16T15:21:00.001+01:00

---Press Release---

Special Olympics Ireland are delighted to launch their first iPhone app today enabling supporters to follow Team Ireland at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games. 126 athletes will represent Team Ireland in 12 different sports at the Games in Athens which will run from 25th June – 4th July. The Team will be accompanied by 49 coaches, 200 volunteers, and hundreds of family members and supporters. The app will also provide information on the ongoing work undertaken by Special Olympics in more than 400 clubs throughout Ireland. The Special Olympics Ireland iPhone app is available to download for free from the Apple App store from today.

“The app is a fantastic communication tool for us. This is a unique app for Special Olympics globally and for the first time people will be able to follow the World Summer Games on their iPhone.” said Sahra O’Neill, Special Olympics Ireland Director of Fundraising and Marketing. “Throughout the 2011 World Games, our iPhone app will provide athletes, families, supporters and volunteers with up-to-date information on the progress of each individual member of Team Ireland on their iPhone. The app is fully integrated with Special Olympics Ireland social networks and provides live blogs, results and news from the Games, as well as information on the ongoing work of Special Olympics. We look forward to adding additional functionality and updates to the app in the near future and hope the app provides hours of use for all supporters of Team Ireland.”

The Special Olympics Ireland app was developed free of charge for the charity through the collective efforts of Alan Haverty (www.outlier.ie), Cian Pas (www.creamgraphics.ie) and Roland Gröpmair (www.mapps.ie). Alan, who’s brother Ian benefits hugely from his participation in Special Olympics, approached Cream Graphics with the idea of developing an iPhone app to follow the 126 members of Team Ireland at World Games, and together they brought onboard long term app developer Roland Gröpmair to assist with the build of the app.

“We’d like to thank Alan, Cian and Roland for their enthusiasm, creativity and perseverance in making this happen for Special Olympics Ireland,” said Ms O’Neill. “It’s fantastic for us to be able to reach out and connect with people via their mobile phones, and raise awareness of the fantastic endeavours of the 126 Sporting Heroes who are representing Ireland on the world stage in Athens”.

Cream Graphics
Cream Graphic Design is a professional graphic design consultancy based in Dublin Ireland. A boutique agency, we bring together professionals from disciplines including design, photography, video production, illustration and web development to deliver tailored design solutions from the ground up, which are realised on brief, on budget and on time. www.creamgraphics.ie

Roland Gröpmair
Roland is a freelance software developer, specializing on mobile apps for the iPhone and iPad. His website is www.mapps.ie. He is an experienced IT project manager and technology consultant with more than 15 years industry experience. He has worked with several Fortune 500 companies in Europe, US and Canada.

Alan Haverty – Outlier.ie
Alan Haverty holds close to a decade of experience in consumer focused marketing. He is currently developing a business collaboration forum through his own website www.outlier.ie. His current responsibilities at Blueface lie in the development of customer propositions as well as, the continuous updating of the customer's online experience. Before joining Blueface Alan was a brand ambassador for Microsoft (Australia). He also spent a year as a Rugby Development Officer in Asia, and is a Patron of the Lao Rugby Federation.

Meteor Launches Their iPhone Offering

2011-06-14T18:46:00.003+01:00

Today, Tuesday 14th of June, Meteor announced a suite of new price plans and, more importantly, the availability of both iPhone 4's and 3GS's on the network (available in both black and white). The price plans, which include three different flavours, start at €40 and offer data, call and text combinations. The iPhone range is also available on Pre Pay from €469.

Commenting on the latest edition to the Meteor handset range, Kealan Donoghue Head of Devices and Product Operations said, “The introduction of the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS means that customers now have even more choice and value with Meteor. We have already had more than 10,000 people pre-register for the iPhone on meteor.ie, so we are really delighted to be able to offer this fantastic handset to our customers and better still they can get an iPhone for Free. With the surge in Smartphone popularity and data consumption, customers are demanding more for their mobiles and are constantly using their mobile to update their status on Facebook, tweet and stay in touch with their family and friends on the go. We have invested heavily in our high speed data network and on creating real value, so customers get more for their money. The introduction of the iPhone further enhances an already extensive range of exciting devices - there is something for everyone, with Meteor”.

For more information log on to www.meteor.ie or call into one of Meteor's 42 stores nationwide.

Pizza Making Lesson at Milano

2011-06-01T18:55:00.001+01:00

Last Tuesday I was invited to pop along to Milano Grand Canal Dock and bring three friends to experience something new that the restaurant has launched. It isn't a new dish, though I guess it could be if you like, but it is something really cool. Milano's Grand Canal Dock restaurant has introduced pizza making lessons!

This absolutely ingenious idea lets you and a group of friends take a private area in the restaurant and learn from Milano's seasoned staff exactly how to make seriously good food. What makes this even better is that the premise is simple - you just pay for whatever you eat just as normal. All the tuition and fun had putting your pizza's together doesn't cost a thing!

Now I'd be the first to admit that I am a Milano fan. I love the airy, casual atmosphere that the restaurants have; combined with great food, a good selection of wines and beers and brilliant staff and service. In this case I was especially happy to hear that it was Milano Grand Canal Dock that has introduced this new service as it's my local Milano, and my favourite of the Dublin branches.

We started off the evening with a few drinks and some starters, and then the fun got under way...

I really can't stress how much fun this was and I couldn't recommend it any higher. The four of us (@Juleser, @CurlyDena, @CloudSteph and I) had an absolute blast and being able to have a go at throwing our own dough was brilliant. If you have a birthday or a hen or just want to do something a little bit different with a group of friends then this should be it. Just give the restaurant a call and they can advise on dates and times.

As a bit of a foodie and someone who loves cooking this was an opportunity I jumped at, and wasn't one that I regretted. This was easily the best fun I've had in ages!

And finally...

Lyons Decaf - ‘Same Great Taste, Same Great Talk’

2011-05-26T06:48:00.000+01:00

Lyons Tea has just launched its latest advertising campaign. ‘Same Great Taste, Same Great Talk’ supports Lyons Decaf tea and will run with targeted print, outdoor and online advertising and PR activity.

Decaf is the second fastest growing category within tea in Ireland at +6% (value) compared to the fastest growing, Green Tea at +11%. The Decaf market in the UK is worth £32.3m up 13.5% versus the previous year and Decaf is the fastest growing category in tea in the UK, pointing to the strong potential for growth for Lyons Decaf in the Republic of Ireland. Lyons Tea research has demonstrated that almost 90% of Irish people drink tea with the average Irish person drinking around four cups a day - an estimated 300 litres per person per year. However, Decaf tea household penetration is just 7%, half that of Decaff coffee in Ireland which has 14%.

Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea comments, “It is interesting that Irish people are more likely to buy Decaf coffee than tea… Given that so many Irish people love tea! Lyons Decaf is a great alternative for people trying to reduce their caffeine intake, with the same great taste as Lyons Tea is famous for!”

Digital Employment and Salary Survey 2011

2011-05-18T06:31:00.000+01:00

Prosperity, Ireland's leading digital recruitment agency, have just released the results of a serious piece of research. Prosperity's Digital Employment & Salary Survey for 2011 covers all the digital sectors: Vendor/Portals, E-commerce, Digital Agency, Online Publisher, Gaming and Mobile/Telecoms.

The survey, while showing several very positive aspects of the digital sector, does highlight that there is a large shortfall in skills across the Irish digital environment. that need to be addressed if we are to be the digital colossus we aspire to be. The survey also draws comparisons between Irish salaries and those of The UK, Czech Republic, Israel and Singapore, and also includes a comparison of digital salaries today compared to those of two years ago.

For anyone involved in the sector, either as an employee or employer, I highly recommend taking a look.

ISPCC Advert - I Can’t Wait

2011-05-17T23:07:00.003+01:00

The ISPCC recently completed a new advert. The ad has its origins in a series of conversations between Copywriter, Laurence O’Byrne, and Director, Richie Smyth. At it's core the ad is driven through a simple yet highly impactful physical and emotional impact on the viewer. Amazingly the ad was filmed and produced on a very small budget. In fact castings took place and a full crew was assembled to shoot the spot in one day in Dublin on 29th April.

The finished spot went online on at 11.00am, Tuesday, May 10th and immediately received a huge response from the public and media around the world. In three days it has become a national talking point on radio, in the press and garnered huge commentary around the world in online forums. All this helps raise awareness and much needed funds to protect Irish children from abuse.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy
Creative Director: Colin Nimick
Art Director: Des Kavanagh
Copywriter: Laurence O’Byrne
Agency Producer: Derek Doyle
Director: Richie Smyth
Producer: Michael Duffy, Glen Collins
Production Company: Blinder

iCook With Neven

2011-05-16T10:14:00.002+01:00

Neven Maguire has just launched a brand new app, iCook, for the iPhone & iPad. The app includes 60 of Neven's favourite recipes and allows people to easily browse the various categories to plan meals while at home or on the move. Not forgetting the basics, the app also has an additional section that has 8 recipes for stocks, sauces and other miscellaneous recipes.

Broken down into straightforward categories such as Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks/Party Foods and Desserts, there is something for everyone and all the recipes are in Neven’s familiar user-friendly style. The innovative ingredients page on each recipe allows users to amend the number of people they wish to feed and the quantity of ingredients automatically changes too.

The app utilises beautiful full colour photography for each recipe, with eleven of the recipes also offering full length video from Neven’s television series to download. There is also an advanced shopping list functionality allows users to easily plan what they want to cook, to set up a shopping list and to email it or text it to themselves, partners or a friend.

In the Kitchen section Neven guides users through the ingredients and utensils that you would find in his kitchen, offers advice with respect to the do’s and don't's of stocking your fridge, freezer and larder and discusses the utensils that are available today and should be in every aspiring Home Chef’s kitchen.

Finally, and most interestingly, the app also brings together a strong Social Media element, allowing users to post comments, photos or videos to their Facebook or Twitter account and to Neven’s at the same time.

iCook with Neven is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad and is available to download from iTunes, price €4.99.

Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange: Buenos Aires To Belfast

2011-05-13T10:00:00.000+01:00

Back at the beginning of April I wrote about the next step in Smirnoff's Nightlife Exchange Project, an evening of Argentinian fun at Kelly's Portrush.

Basically, tomorrow evening Smirnoff will transform Northern Ireland’s biggest nightclub into an evening of thrills and excitement with the best sights, sounds and flavours of South America. In what will essentially be an Argentinian carnival, the club will feature stilt walkers, tango dancers, fire-eaters and inspired theatrical acts. Club visitors will also be greeted at the door by Paka the fire-breathing horse.

 The evening's music will also draw on the best of Argentinian culture. DJ David De Valera, who represented Ireland in Buenos Aires as part of the Nightlife Exchange last November, will bring a fusion of UK dance music mixed with the best beats from South America. David will also be joined by Lush's resident DJ Col Hamilton. Col will be bringing crowd-pleasing tunes with an Argentinian twist. Finally, completing the line up is one of Northern Ireland’s most popular DJ’s, Cool FM’s Connor Phillips.

 David De Valera said: “I can’t wait to get to Kelly's, to play alongside Col Hamilton and Connor Phillips and to bring a flavour of Buenos Aires to Portrush. The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange creates one off, fantastic occasions and I am looking forward to being part of this one on 14th May."   Carol McHugh, Smirnoff Brand Manager, Ireland said: “Smirnoff was recently voted number 30 in the Social Brands 100 report. 2 It was the highest ranking alcohol brand and the only spirit on the list that ranked brands on the basis of their social interaction with people. Campaigns such as the Nightlife Exchange Project only serve to reinforce the commitment of the Smirnoff Co. to consumers by creating dynamic, one off nightlife experiences. I am looking forward to going to Kelly's and witnessing the best of Argentinian nightlife come alive at what will be a must BE THERE event."

 Admission is just £7 and the doors open at 10pm. For more info on the evening and the entire Nightlife Exchange Project just pop over to the Smirnoff Facebook Page.
 To get you in the mood, here is an interview with Headline DJ David De Valera talking about the event...

Meteor Abolishes EU Roaming Charges

2011-05-05T09:50:00.003+01:00

---Press Release---

From today (Thursday 5th July 2011), Meteor customers now pay the same for calls and texts while abroad in the EU, plus other destinations including Norway & Iceland, as they do at home in Ireland. Meteor customers will now have a saving of up to 47% versus EU regulated rates and over 60% versus Vodafone and O2 equivalent offers*.

Meteor is the first operator in Europe to offer customers the very best value roaming rates within the EU. To opt in for these great rates, customers simply Freetext ‘Europe’ to 50104. The new roaming rate charges apply for:

Prepay customers - only pay 29c per minute rate to make a call and a 12c text rate (9c call set up fee)
Bill Pay customers - will just pay 25c per minute to make call and 10c per text
Meteor customers will no longer be charged to receive calls while roaming in the EU

Commenting on the operators ‘Pay the same as you would at home’ offer, Meteor’s Head of Consumer Marketing, Bill Blake, said, “ This is another market changing move for Meteor, as we are the first Irish operator to abolish roaming charges in the EU. Our customers will no longer have to worry about paying more for calls and texts while in the EU, with the added benefit of being able to receive calls from family and friends for FREE.

This reinforces our commitment to offer the best combination of innovation and value, just in time for the summer holiday period for our customers, who want to stay connected when abroad” he added.

Meteor’s No Roaming Charges in Europe option is available to new and existing customers and available to Prepay Anytime Choice and Current Bill pay tariffs.

For more information on these new rates, log on to www.meteor.ie/roaming

M&M’s and the Election of the Year

2011-05-03T06:43:00.001+01:00

Today M&M’s have launched their latest international campaign, the M&M’s Election Campaign. For the campaign, M&M’s are calling on fans to vote for their favourite M&M character. By simply visiting the M&M’s website and voting, fans will be put into a draw for a chance to win an incredible trip to the exclusive Election Party of the winning M&M in New York!

This will be Ireland’s first electronic polling booth, and will provide polling for 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Before you go to vote, however, be sure to check out the brand new M&M’s Election TV ad (below) and M&M’s Facebook page. On Facebook each of the candidates outlines why you should vote for them. Outside of the grand prize there are also lots of other prizes to be won, so be sure to rally your friends to show their support too.

Sarah Keenaghan, M&M’s Brand Manager: “We are very excited to launch the M&M’s Election campaign and we look forward to seeing the characters battle it out on our dedicated new website, and our fabulous Facebook page. This campaign gives us a great chance to have some fun with the M&M’s characters and we can’t wait to see who comes out on top."

The candidates
Blue, a.k.a. Mr cool, confident and contemporary, is hoping that his charm with the ladies and varying degrees of coolness will help him to sway the public vote.

Red, a power colour by nature, was born to lead and as he is a pro at bossing people around, he’ll be forcing your hand for you vote.

Orange isn’t quite sure how he got sucked into this in the first place and is feeling somewhat nervous so is in desperate need of some support.

Yellow thinks all the nicest things in the world are yellow, like sunflowers, so feels he deserves to win.

Miss Green is out to prove that sister’s are doing it for themselves - she is not too happy with the lack of women voted into power in the recent election. A feisty lady, Miss Green is not afraid to use her female charms to get what she wants!

Lyons Gold Blend announces Ireland’s Top Storyteller

2011-04-29T10:20:00.000+01:00

The storyteller from Dublin lived happily ever after…

Today, Lyons Gold Blend presented Dubliner Paul O’Brien with the title of Ireland’s Top Storyteller, following thier nationwide search. Paul was selected from a huge number of entrants by a judging panel of comedian Karl Spain, author and actress Claudia Carroll, and storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy. The trio rated Paul O’Brien the top of the talkers with the gift of the gab, and presented him with a €10,000 prize.

In total 120 budding story tellers entered the competition with stories ranging from, fact to fiction, from everyday life, to favourite childhood memories, some folk tales and some modern takes on classic children's stories. From the 120, 10 finalists were selected to compete at the National Final in Dublin where they completed a storytelling challenge for the judging panel to battle for the title of Ireland’s Top Storyteller. The final 10 were selected by public vote on www.lyonstea.ie/tellusyourstory (the top six) and through various regional radio competitions (remaining 4).

The competition called on entrants to use the famed Irish ability to exaggerate and colourfully enhance a story through words and phrases. This played directly into Lyons latest advertising campaign around talk being the ‘secret ingredient’ in Lyons Tea and ‘richer talk’ being added to the tea that gives Lyons Gold Blend its richer, full bodied taste.

Speaking at the National Final, Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea said, “Irish people all love a good story over a cuppa. Our Gold Blend richer tasting tea celebrates the telling of rich and colourful stories and our search for Ireland’s Top Storyteller highlighted how popular our storytelling tradition continues to be, with so many entries and budding storytellers eager to compete. Congratulations to Paul on winning the competition and I hope he keeps up the storytelling!”

Author and actress Claudia Carroll, said, “Simultaneously the best craic I’ve had in weeks, and the toughest decision I’ve had to make. We almost came to blows in the judging room, but I think we’re all agreed at the end of the day that the best person won - we’ve found Ireland’s Top Storyteller!"

Comedian Karl Spain said, “It was great to judge the competition, all the contestants were very different and very entertaining in their stories. Any of three second round finalists could have won. Pity we couldn’t share the cash amongst ourselves. We weren’t entirely in agreement in the judging panel, we probably would’ve been throwing drinks over each other, but it was Lyons tea so it was too hot! I really enjoyed myself, it’s always nice to judge people!”

"Good storytelling requires a lot of different skills and we saw a high standard today. It was difficult to choose and each of the finalists could easily go on to work with stories. Also, I was delighted to see such an excellent response from the younger demographic, it just shows storytelling is alive and well in Ireland today", said Clare Muireann Murphy, renowned Irish storyteller.

Lyons Tea

Lyons Gold Blend tea is a blend of finest Kenyan, Assam and Ceylon teas.
Lyons Tea employs expert master blenders and tasters to select the best blends and combination of some of the finest teas from Kenya, Assam from India and Ceylon from Sri Lanka to produce the highest quality tea. Lyons Tea is available from leading supermarkets and retailers nationwide.
Lyons is Ireland’s number one tea brand with 43.1% market share***; Lyons is an iconic Irish brand with more than 100 years of tradition in Ireland, having started business in Dublin in 1902 near Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland.
Lyons Tea is Ireland’s favourite tea. The Lyons Tea range includes Lyons Gold Blend, Lyons Original Blend, Lyons Gold Blend Reserve, Lyons Kenya Blend, and Lyons Decaffeinated Tea. Lyons Green Tea is available in original, with Lemon and with Mint. For further information on Lyons Tea visit www.lyonstea.ie
Lyons tea is currently working with the Rainforest Alliance - independent experts in sustainability and by 2012 all our tea will only come from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.
For more information visit www.lyonstea.ie

Budweiser Ice Cold Index

2011-04-27T05:40:00.002+01:00

The hotter the day the less you pay for your pint of Budweiser Ice Cold all summer...

Today sees the launch of Budweiser Ice Cold's latest marketing campaign, the Budweiser Ice Cold Index. The campaign is driven by the Budweiser Ice Cold Index mobile application (available on both iPhone and Android) and aims to create an unmissable summer experience by matching real Irish temperatures to real discounts off the price of your pint. Essentially, the hotter day the less you pay for a pint of Budweiser Ice Cold.

The Budweiser Ice Cold Index App gives these discounts directly through your handset. On days the temperature reaches 20°C and over, you'll enjoy a free pint, if it's 18°C or 19°C you'll get €2 off, and if it's 16°C or 17°C you'll get €1 off. There are a huge number of participating 'Index bars' and you can check the app for daily offers too. The App will allow you to get offers right up until 31st August and to celebrate the launch of Index everyone who downloads the App will enjoy their first pint of Budweiser Ice Cold free, regardless of the weather!

The App also boosts a pub finder to help you locate a nearby participating Index pub and other great features including bar reviews and special rewards for loyal Budweiser Ice Cold drinkers. The App is free and can be downloaded on most smart phones but for all other phones you can free text the word ‘INDEX’ to 50400.

To kick off the Index summer in style, Budweiser Ice Cold have also created a free pop up urban beach experience in Dublin City Centre. At lunchtime today an actual beach appeared at George’s Dock, IFSC. The pop up beach included deck chairs, a hog on a spit, an ice-cream van, a live acoustic performance by Sligo band Túcan and the Irish volleyball team even dropped by for an exhibition match.

Moon man Ken Ring, New Zealand’s famous weather predictor and astrologer, has shared his predictions for the Budweiser Ice Cold Index summer ahead and it seems that Munster and Leinster will be hotting up this summer enjoying more than 30 days from 1st May to 31st August of 20°C temperatures or over. Ulster is expected to be 20°C or more for approximately 17 days and while Connaught is the coolest province, Ken still expects the temperature in the West to hit at least 20°C for 9 days.

Speaking about the Budweiser Ice Cold Index Campaign, Christopher Wooff, Senior Brand Manager, Budweiser, commented, “This is a really exciting time for Budweiser as the brand goes from strength to strength in Ireland. Budweiser Ice Cold Index is an innovative concept, which we feel will excite consumers and we are thrilled to be the first brand to bring mobile vouchering to the Irish on-trade. We have had such a positive response from our on-trade customers with over 2,500 participating bars nationwide. Weather has always been a sore point for Irish people but if Ken Ring’s predictions are true, this really will be a summer to remember.”

Consumers can find full details on the Budweiser Ice Cold Index here and also on the Budweiser Ice Cold Ireland Facebook page where there will be regular competitions, Index updates from the Index weatherman Scott Campbell and invitations to the hottest events throughout the summer. You can also follow us on twitter @icecoldindex.

The Budweiser Ice Cold Index campaign is supported by ATL, POS, Digital, and PR and the following TV commercial, which was shot on location in South Africa featuring the Index weatherman Scott Campbell.

Notes:
* The temperature is taken from Met Éireann, the Irish National Meteorological Service, and fans will be notified of their region’s temperature at 1pm daily via the Index App.
* On an Index day, consumers can redeem their free or money off voucher between 1pm and 11.59pm (or closing time of a particular bar) on that day. It cannot be stored and redeemed at a later date.
* Once consumers have download the voucher, the participating Index bar will provide them with a pub code and they will then have two minutes to redeem their voucher before it expires.

Arthur Guinness Fund: Camara And Jamie Heaslip

2011-04-18T12:13:00.000+01:00

Last week Camara made their 50th container shipment of computers to disadvantaged communities through the on-going support of The Arthur Guinness Fund.

Irish Rugby player Jamie Heaslip, who is an ambassador of the Arthur Guinness Fund, took time out of his busy schedule to lead a team of 8 people to help pack the 40ft container containing over 500 computers, including one of his own, for travel to Ethiopia.

Camara, one of the beneficiaries of the Arthur Guinness Fund, is dedicated to using technology to deliver education more effectively to disadvantaged communities in Ireland and Africa. The organisation takes in used computers from Irish companies and individuals and has a team of dedicated volunteers who prepare the computers to ensure they are in optimal condition for re-use. This rigorous process involves wiping each hard drive of data (in line with US Department of Defence standards), refurbishing and loading each computer with educational software, and finally setting them up as Learning Centres in Ireland and African communities.

Speaking about his involvement, Jamie Heaslip said “I am really proud to be an Ambassador for the Arthur Guinness Fund and to be able to support organisations such as Camara. I have donated an old computer of mine to include in this container and I am looking forward to tracking its journey and seeing the difference it will make when it is reused for education in a disadvantaged community. It has taken us over 2 hours and a lot of manpower to pack these computers today, but I had a strong team behind me and we had great fun doing it! Our container will leave in the morning and begin a 6 week journey to Ethiopia, where the computers will play a huge part in making a difference to the lives and education of local people. I look forward to sharing its progress on the Guinness Ireland Facebook page.”

Also speaking today John Fitzsimons, General Manager, Camara said “We are delighted to have the support of the Arthur Guinness Fund and their ambassador Jamie Heaslip. As a result of thousands of people just like Jamie, who have donated their computers to us, we are now in a position where we can begin to see the positive impact in disadvantages communities by providing working computers, software and training for educational purposes to thousands of people”.

Since receiving funding from the Arthur Guinness Fund, Camara has opened computer recycling centres in Belfast and Galway. Camara has to date received a total of 30,000 computers from Irish individuals and companies, including a donation of computers to the value of €70,000 from Diageo.

To follow the journey of Jamie’s computer as it travels from Ireland to Ethiopia and for other good news from the Arthur Guinness Fund log onto the Guinness Ireland Facebook Page.

New Liverpool 2011/12 Away Kit

2011-04-14T11:34:00.036+01:00

On Saturday, Liverpool Football Club Football Club and adidas unveiled their new away shirt for the 2011/12 football season. The new adidas Liverpool away kit, which will go on sale on the 12th May and will be available in Lifestyle Sports Stores nationwide, takes its design inspiration from metallic elements. Solid grey in colour, the shirt is finished with metallic silver detailing on the iconic adidas 3 stripes across the shoulders, both sponsors logo’s and the laser cut woven crest.

Also new for 2011/12 season the kit includes a revolutionary sock design which features anatomically placed cushioning and an achilles protector.

On the field, the players’ kits will incorporate adidas’ cutting edge TechFit technology, to help improve speed, increased endurance capabilities and enhance awareness. This works by stabilising and focusing the muscles’ energy to generate explosive acceleration and deliver maximum power output.

The shirts also feature adidas ClimaCool technology, a mixture of heat and moisture controlling materials, ventilation channels and 3D fabrics which improve air flow to the skin in the key heat zones.

Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange: Buenos Aires To Belfast

2011-04-11T11:04:00.041+01:00

Smirnoff have announced the next step in their Nightlife Exchange Project. Carrying on from their last event, which saw the Wright Venue turned into an Argentinian party night, Smirnoff have decided to bring the flavour of Buenos Aires to Northern Ireland. The event will take place at Kellys Portrush on Saturday, 14th May 2011.

Resident DJ at Kellys Portrush, Col Hamilton, who will play alongside David De Valera on 14th May, said: “The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange continues to break new ground in nightlife experiences. As Northern Ireland’s biggest nightclub we are pleased to host the latest phase of the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project. Our customers can expect the very best of Kellys and Lush! club culture mixed with Argentinean nightlife. I will be delivering the finest UK and European dance music that Lush! fans have got to know and love and the headline act, David De Valera, who played in Buenos Aires last year will bring some Argentinean dance sounds to Lush! It’s going to go down in Kellys Portush history as a legendary night – it’s a must BE THERE event.”

As well as a fusion of great Argentinean and European dance music, the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange project will also bring the many vibrant sights and tastes of Argentinean nightlife to Kellys Portrush. Visitors to the nightclub can expect delicious drinks including an Argentinean take on the signature Smirnoff® Mule, the best food from South America and Argentinean inspired theatrical acts including tango dancers and Paka the fire breathing horse.

Carol McHugh, Smirnoff Brand Manager, Ireland said: “I’m delighted that the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange is going on tour for the first time. Last November more than 18,000 people from six continents across 10 time zones swapped nights. This May, the best of Argentina will come alive in Kellys Portrush for what will be a one of a kind nightlife experience.”

Tickets for the event cost £7 and can be purchased at www.kellysportrush.com. Visit www.facebook.com/smirnoffireland for further information on the Nightlife Exchange Project and for the chance to win tickets to the event at Kellys Portush in May as well as other Smirnoff goodies.

blablabLAB - Be Your Own Souvenir!

2011-04-05T21:26:00.001+01:00

This is a very cool piece of gorilla marketing produced by BlablabLAB earlier this year in Barcelona using open Kinect in a pretty brilliant way. Basically by utilising open Kinect's motion and inferred track functionality coupled with a 3D copier they were able to create a really engaging installation.

The aim was to connect street users with arts & science, linking them to their under-laying spaces and their own realities through a technological ritual where the audience is released from established roles in a perspective exchange: spectator-performer, artist-tourist, observer-object. The user becomes the producer as well as the consumer through a system that invites him/her to perform as a human statue, with a free personal souvenir as a reward.

Irish Consumer's Digital Behaviour

2011-03-31T17:34:00.003+01:00

A nice infographic video from the chaps at Cybercom:

Saba To Go - Real Thai Food

2011-03-31T09:46:00.006+01:00

As anyone who knows me would probably tell you, I'm a huge fan of Asian cooking especially Thai food. I cook a lot of wok dishes and curries, usually leaning towards the pretty spicy as more than one guest has found out. It was a no brainer then when I was invited by the guys at Saba to visit Saba To Go for a personal cookery lesson that I jumped at the chance. So last Tuesday evening saw me standing in the Saba To Go kitchen with Saba Executive Chef is Tweesak Trakoolwattana (known as Tao) wearing an apron and preparing to learn about my favourite food from a native and professional (Tao was born and trained in Bangkok).

Tao began by bringing me through the different ingredients that are key to good Thai food. Perhaps unsurprisingly at the core of this was fresh vegetables and the best cuts of meat. Saba To Go use nothing but the freshest vegetables and ingredients, prepared each day. Tao stressed that it was beyond important to use nothing but freshly prepared ingredients. From here he took me through the different types of Thai Curry Pastes and ways in which different Soy Sauces, Fish Sauce and Oyster Sauce are used.

So with prep all covered and a good understanding of the basics, it was now time to cook. The three dishes I would be cooking were Chicken Thai Green Curry, Beef Phad Nam Prik Pao and Prawn Phad Prik Sod. Of course as I prefer the spicy each of these was going to have a little extra chilli.

Chicken Thai Green Curry
1. Add oil to the wok and turn up the heat (it needs to be hot!).
2. Put a large tablespoon of Green Curry Paste in the oil and sauté until fragrant, then reduce the heat and gradually add 1 cup of thick Coconut Milk and a 1/4 cup of water.
3. Add the chicken and Kaffir Lime Leaves, continue cooking for 3 minutes until the chicken is almost cooked through. Season with 1/2 tablespoon Palm Sugar and 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce.
4. Add the vegetables (Aubergine, Chillies, Peppers, Bamboo Shoots, Green Beans and Onions) and cook for a further 2-3 minutes (you want the vegetables to still have a crunch).
5. Finally add Sweet Basil Leaves and turn off the heat.
6. Serve with Jasmine Rice.

Beef Phad Nam Prik Pao
1. Add oil, a large tablespoon of Chopped Garlic and a large tablespoon of Chopped Chillies to the wok and turn up the heat to high.
2. Put a large tablespoon of Red Chilli Paste in the oil and sauté until fragrant, then reduce the heat slightly.
3. Add the beef and continue cooking for 3 minutes (the beef can be cooked to your liking - rare to well).
4. Season with 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce, 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce and 1/2 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce.
5. Add the vegetables (Chillies, Mushrooms, Peppers, Baby Sweetcorn and Spring Onions) and cook for a further 2 minutes (again, you want the vegetables to still have a crunch).
6. Serve with Jasmine rice.

Prawn Phad Prik Sod
1. Add oil and a large tablespoon of Chopped Garlic to the wok and turn up the heat to high.
2. Add the prawns and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
3. Season with 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce, 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce and 1/2 tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce.
4. Add the vegetables (Chillies, Woodear Mushrooms, Peppers and Onions) and cook for a further 2 minutes.
5. Finally add Sweet Basil Leaves and turn off the heat.
6. Serve with Jasmine rice.

Not only were each of these dishes easy to make but they were unbelievably tasty. I highly recommend trying them out yourself, and if you aren't eager to try out the cooking yourself then get on the phone to Saba To go and order some in. You won't be disappointed.

For more information on the cookery lessons that Tao does you can contact Fabulous Food Trails whom run the courses on Saba's behalf. Either call them on 01-4971245 or email info@fabfoodtrails.com. The lessons are run both for individuals and groups, and can be done onsite or in your own home.

My biggest thanks go out to Alan Cadden, Saba To Go's Owner, and Tao for the opportunity to do all of this. Much appreciated :)

Champion To Offer Facebook Deals

2011-03-30T17:36:00.003+01:00

Well it looks like it's quite the day for Facebook Deals in Ireland. Just an hour ago I posted about Meteor's Facebook Deals and now I have a second bit of Deals news.

This afternoon Champion (Sport) announced that it is participating in Facebook Deals from today. Champion will be offering people special discounts when they check in to Champion stores across Ireland using Facebook Places.

To celebrate the launch of this new initiative by Champion, they will be offering the first 500 people to check into a Champion store through Facebook Places a top class football.

There are 23 Champion Sports stores around the country where people can check in and full details of the Facebook Deal are available on the Champion Facebook Page.

“Facebook is a great way for us to have conversations with our customers,” said Emily Barry of Champion. “So we are delighted to be participating in the launch of Facebook Deals, as it’s another opportunity for us to engage with our customers and give something back to them”

Meteor's Facebook Deals Offering

2011-03-30T16:22:00.002+01:00

[Press Release]

Dublin, Ireland – 30th March 2011

Meteor today announced it’s participation in Facebook Deals, a new feature offering people special discounts when they check in using Facebook Places on their mobile in Ireland. To celebrate Meteor’s involvement in this new offering , Meteor will offer €5 free phone credit to the first 250 customers who check in at one of its 43 stores nationwide. The offer goes live this Friday, 1st of April.

Facebook Deals works by harnessing the power of your mobile phone by finding nearby deals using Facebook Places. This gives people another chance to get more value from businesses they visit or are near to.

Meteor’s, Dee Currid, marketing communications manager said, “Meteor, your social network, has always embraced online and we are lucky to have a fantastic community of Meteor customers on our Facebook page. Having just reached the 40,000 active Facebook fan mark in Ireland, we are glad to be able to give something back to our loyal community and hope that as many people as possible will avail of Meteor’s ongoing special deals. As always, it is important for Meteor to continue providing the best blend of technology and value for our customers.“

Meteor has enjoyed much success on Facebook and was one of the first companies in Ireland to launch an online shop as well as offering its customers the chance to top up on the social networking site. In 2010 Meteor was also awarded the Irish web award for the category of “Best Facebook page” for a business in Ireland.

Meteor now has over 40,255 fans on Facebook www.facebook.com/meteor since it’s launch last April.

2011 ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil Launch

2011-03-29T11:31:00.000+01:00

Today saw the launch of the 2011 ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil. On hand were eleven year-old twins Emily Jane and Isabel Doyle who will be competing in the piano and violin categories of the Festival and seven year-old Edward Brown who plays the piano and is the youngest competitor.

Ireland’s biggest classical music festival will be taking place in the RDS from the 4th to 15th April with day tickets costing just €5.

Over 4,000 musicians from all over Ireland are set to perform in the competition, which now boasts over 185 individual classical music competitions including voice, piano, strings, wind, brass and orchestra. In addition to the prestige of winning at the ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil, successful competitors will also enjoy over €50,000 worth of prizes.

Laura Gilsenan, CEO, Feis Ceoil, said “We are delighted to be launching the programme for this year’s ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil, and that some of our young competitors could be here to celebrate with us. We are extremely grateful to our sponsors ESB Electric Ireland and thanks to their support, the competition continues to grow with a very high standard of classical music performance.”

Brid Horan, Executive Director, ESB Electric Ireland said, “ESB Electric Ireland is proud to support the Feis Ceoil, Ireland’s biggest classical music festival, which plays a vital role in the development of young musicians in Ireland. From next week the RDS will be home to some of Ireland’s most talented young classical musicians. We wish them every success in their competitions and their ongoing musical pursuits.”

Some of the most outstanding competitors from the 2011 ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil will be showcased at a special Gala Concert in the Dublin Convention Centre on April 16th 2011. The concert will feature The Celtic Tenors, and will be attended by the Patron of Feis Ceoil Association, President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

Galaxy Ace ‘Slowdance’

2011-03-24T11:47:00.000Z

This is the latest video from The Viral Factory for Samsung. The brief was to delivery a contemporary and trendy video for Samsung's latest model. This phone in question, the Galaxy Ace, is the latest smartphone powered by Android which is aimed at being one of the most competitive mid-range smartphones in the business today.

Personally I think it's a cool video and definitely an interesting way of showing off the phone's features in an unusual and compelling way.

Video Details
Agency: The Viral Factory
Creative: The Viral Factory
Production Company: The Viral Factory
Spanish Production Co: Icon International
Director: Jake Lunt with The Viral Factory
Producer: Jon Stopp
Spanish Producer: Nick Bolger
Editor: Owen Oppenheimer / The Viral Factory
Edit House: The Quarry London
Grade: Ricky Gausis
Online: Frasier Celland
Post Production: MPC London
Audio Design & Mix: Tristin Norwell

adidas is all in

2011-03-18T19:43:00.004Z

Last Monday adidas launched their latest campaign, 'all adidas'. The campaign represents the first time in the brand’s history that a campaign has leveraged the three divisions that make up the brand – Sport Performance, adidas Originals and Sport Style, in a single commercial that shows the unique breadth and depth of the brand.

The campaign focuses on the adidas brand ambassadors, including football stars Lionel Messi and David Beckham, NBA star Derrick Rose, pop icon Katy Perry and the adidas skateboarding team, in their own surroundings doing what they love to do most. The main aim here is to showcase the brand’s distinctive presence across and into different sports, cultures and lifestyles, fusing the worlds of sport, music and fashion.

To celebrate the launch of the new campaign, adidas have had Irish International Rugby star Cian Healy produce a series of artwork depicting the Game Face theme of the campaign. Game Face is the visceral culmination of all that goes into the game, from the preparation, to the glory goal (or defeat), and features Cian's fellow international rugby stars Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell, Johnny Sexton and Ronan O’Gara. The artwork will be auctioned off for selected charities.

The commercial is supported with a brand new soundtrack from Justice called Civilization (official release date 4th April 2011). Directed by Romain Gavras, famous for directing Justice and M.I.A, the campaign is built around a 30 and 60-second version of the commercial for TV and Cinema as well as an extended 2-minute version for Online.

The campaign will also have a social media side through Facebook and twitter, where adidas are posting daily, in-depth exclusive content from the various parts of the brand – from new product releases to competitions for Katy Perry tickets and much more.

“In the past ten years we have successfully extended the adidas brand into three powerful sub-brands with adidas Sport Performance, adidas Originals and adidas Sport Style. Now we are proud to be able to show the breadth and depth of the adidas brand in one global brand campaign,” explains Erich Stamminger, member of the Executive Board responsible for Global Brands.

"’all adidas’ is the biggest campaign we have ever executed. Its creative concept brings together the diversity of the brand under one strong roof. From the court to the catwalk, the stadium to the street, we are giving an authentic statement with credibility only adidas has.”

Montreal-based agency Sid Lee created and produced the global campaign. Sid Lee was hired as the global advertising agency for lifestyle label adidas Originals at the start of 2008 and developed the global campaigns for Originals in 2009 and 2010 including ‘House Party’. In 2010, Sid Lee was announced as the global lead-agency for the entire adidas brand.

The “all adidas” campaign takes place throughout 2011 in a mix of environments from sport to music, lifestyle to fashion with different elements rolling out over the year. The ad will air on RTE 1, RTE 2, TV3, 3e, Universal, MTV, E!, E4, E4+1, Sky Sports 1 & 2, Sky Living, Sky Atlantic and Sky 1 through to 10th April. The ad will also feature in Cinema from 25th March to 28th April.

Lyons Tea - Fans Vote On Favourite Ending

2011-03-15T20:19:00.002Z

Lyons has been putting the talk into tea very successfully for some time now but the next TV ad is being handed over to the fans. Never-before seen endings to the current Gold Blend TV ad are now available to view on the Lyons Tea Facebook page and fans are being asked to vote for their favourite clip in a bid to help Lyons Tea decide which ad to air next on television.

The current Gold Blend TV ad opens on the magical Lyons tea factory where the Master Blender and his young apprentice ponder the richer taste and richer stories of Lyons Gold Blend. The current ad then ends with Dad, Mum and their 3 year old boy sitting on the couch and Dad is recounting the age-old fairytale ‘there was an old woman who lived in a shoe’ to his son. However in true Irish style, Dad throws in a few exaggerations and a bit of colour for good measure.

However, this was just one of four potential endings for the Lyons Gold Blend ad. Storytelling is at the heart of each alternate version but we hear the story of Goldilocks in one, while the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs takes on some interesting twists and turns in the other versions. However it is always Dad recounting the tales in a rather exaggerated fashion so that the joke is always on Mum.

Lyons is calling on its Facebook fans to vote for their favourite ending to help them decide which ad to air next. Whichever ending is voted the favourite by Lyons Tea fans, the overarching message will remain unchanged, revealing that a richer talk’ added to the tea is what gives Lyons Gold Blend its richer, full bodied taste.

‘Animated’ - Irish Animation at Kildare Village for St Patrick’s Weekend

2011-03-11T09:50:00.002Z

Kildare Village in association with Cartoon Saloon is creating a free family cinema experience to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Guests will walk the green carpet into a cosy family screening area with rugs, cushions and complimentary popcorn before enjoying a feast of short animated films including the award winning animation, The Secret of Kells. To coincide with the screenings, Kildare Village will be hosting workshops for 9 to 12 year olds. During “An Introduction to Animation”, children will create their own animation character and storyboard and bring it to life in a cartoon flick-book. The ‘group’ animation will be available for viewing on YouTube following the workshop.

The Secret of Kells is Cartoon Saloon’s first feature film and was directed by Tomm Moore. Nominated for an Academy Award ® for “Best Animated Feature”, the film has screened and won awards in major festivals worldwide. This vibrant animation is a spirited retelling of the provenance of Ireland’s most cherished artefact, the Book of Kells. With the Viking hordes approaching, the monks of Kells are forced to turn their attention from transcribing manuscripts to building barricades. The future of the precious book is in jeopardy and it falls to Brendan, young nephew of the abbot Cellach, to save the day.

Festivities in Kildare Village begin on St. Patrick’s Day itself, Thursday 17th March with a host of short animated films from Cartoon saloon shown hourly between 11am and 4pm. The Secret of Kells, a bewitching animated fairytale, will have a green carpet screening daily at 2.30pm while workshops will take place from 11am until 1pm daily from Friday 18th until Sunday 20th March. Celebrations will continue all weekend with workshops and activities for the whole family to enjoy.

2011 ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil

2011-03-03T20:53:00.000Z

Ireland’s biggest classical music festival, ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil, is set to showcase the talent of over 4,000 musicians from all over Ireland at the annual festival from 4th to 15th April. The competition now boasts over 190 individual classical music competitions including voice, piano, strings, wind, brass and orchestra.

Laura Gilsenan, CEO, Feis Ceoil, said “Since its foundation in 1896, the Feis Ceoil has set the standard for the performance of classical music. We are vey grateful to our sponsor ESB Electric Ireland for their support which enables us to continue this competition, which plays a vital preparatory part in the career development of aspiring professional musicians, as well as a significant role in musical education in Ireland.”

Brid Horan, Executive Director, ESB Electric Ireland said, “ESB has sponsored the Feis Ceoil since 2008. This year is particularly exciting for us as we are supporting the Feis under our new brand name, ESB Electric Ireland. We are very proud to support Ireland’s emerging and extraordinary talent in classical music, reflecting the energy and passion that is evident in the performances of all the participants”.

Some of the most outstanding competitors from the 2011 ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil will be showcased at a special Gala Concert in the Dublin Convention Centre on April 16th 2011. The concert will feature The Celtic Tenors, and will be attended by the Patron of Feis Ceoil Association, President of Ireland, Mary McAleese.

For the performers, in addition to the prestige of winning at the ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil, successful competitors will also enjoy over €50,000 worth of prizes.

Ticket prices for the competition are €5 per day and open to everyone.

Former well known Feis Ceoil participants:

John O’Conor, internationally renowned concert pianist,
Siblings Finghin & Dearbhla Collins, both renowned pianists who perform worldwide,
Acclaimed opera singers Virginia Kerr, Regina Nathan, and Cara O’Sullivan,
Young up and coming pianist Sophie Cashell,
Harpists Anne-Marie O’Farrell & Cormac de Barra,
Celebrated Composer Conor Linehan,
John McCormack, Ireland’s most famous and critically acclaimed Tenor,
Author James Joyce, who won a Bronze Medal for Tenor Solo.

Other Competitors of Interest:

Comedian Risteard Cooper who won the Baritone Solo competition in 1987,
Broadcaster Liz Nolan of Lyric FM,
Contemporary eclectic cellist Vyvienne Long.

Current competitors of interest:

Quaid Family siblings who perform as individuals soloists and in an ensemble, winners of Family Ensemble 2010 – all of whom will be competing individually in 2011,
Seán Óg Boylan, accomplished pianist and organist and the son of former Meath manager, Seán Boylan (both pictured above).

Competitions of ‘note’ at ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil 2011:
Tuesday 5th April, RDS Concert Hall, from 5.00pm
Category: Choral
ESB Electric Ireland Feis Ceoil School Choir of the Year Finals

Thursday 7th April, RDS Concert Hall, 7.00pm
Category: Piano
Mabel Swainson Pianoforte Award

Friday 8th April, RDS Concert Hall, 7.30pm
Category: Vocal
Cuisine de France John McCormack €8,000 Vocal Bursary Finals

Tuesday 12th April, RDS Dodder Room B, 7.00pm
Category: Chamber Music
Chamber Music Cup

Wednesday 13th April, RDS Concert Hall, 7.00pm
Category: Woodwind
McCullough Cup & RTÉ lyric FM €1,500 Radio Award

Thursday 14th April, RDS Concert Hall, 12.00pm & 2.00pm
Category: Strings
Aileen Gore Cup (for recital by Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Concert Harp, Guitar)

Thursday 14th April, RDS Concert Hall, 7.00pm
Category: Piano
Morris Grant €2,500 Bursary

Friday 15th April, RDS Concert Hall, 7.00pm
Category: Vocal
Gervase Elwes Memorial Cup

Lyons Gold Blend: Ireland’s Top Storyteller

2011-03-01T20:29:00.001Z

Today Lyons Gold Blend has started a search for Ireland’s Top Storyteller. There latest campaign teams up with comedian Karl Spain, author and actress Claudia Carroll and storyteller Clare Muireann Murphy in a search for Ireland’s Top Storyteller - essentially Ireland's top talker.

Bringing on their ongoing campaign around the ‘secret ingredient’ in Lyons Tea and the adding of ‘richer talk’ to the tea to give Lyons Gold Blend its richer, full bodied taste, the campaign will seek out those with the gift of the gab and ask them to tell a rich and original two minute tale for a chance to win €10,000.

To enter just visit the Lyons Tea website and upload your entry in an MP3 or video file, or call 1513 415 010 to record their richer tale over the phone*. The story can be fact or fiction, from everyday life, from a favourite childhood memory, to a folk tale or even modern take on a classic children's story.

The six entries with the most votes will attend the National Final in Dublin in April and the entry with the most votes per province following the closing date will also receive a special prize.

On the site you can also hear a two minute tale from each of the judges to give you some inspiration.

Speaking of the search for Ireland’s Top Storyteller, Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea said, “Irish people all love a good story over a cuppa. Our Gold Blend richer tasting tea celebrates the telling of rich and colourful stories by searching for the best of Irish storytellers. And we really hit the "teapot” with our judging panels, some of Ireland’s best storytellers, Karl Spain, Claudia Carroll and Clare Muireann Murphy. So if you have a great story, or just want to have a listen, we urge everybody to go online and vote.”

In addition, Lyons Gold Blend will be running week long radio promotions on Dublin’s Q102, Galway Bay FM, Limerick Live 95FM and Cork’s 96FM from today to find four finalists to compete alongside the other six at the national final.

Speaking about the storytelling competition, Claudia Carroll, said, “We've a long a proud tradition of storytelling in Ireland and I think it's brilliant that Lyons are keeping the flames burning. I'm so looking forward to this gig as I know only too well, with most of us, the problem is never getting us to tell our stories...it's getting us to shut up that's the hard part. So if you think you've got the gift of the gab...we want to hear from you!"

Sharing his thoughts on what makes a good story, comedian Karl Spain said, “Well I obviously think humour is one of the key things for a good story to keep the audience interested. It can be difficult to get the funnies in but it can be hard to listen to a story without them. But the most important thing is the story itself, a good tale well told. When people get together in Ireland whatever the occasion it’s always about the swapping of stories. Be it birthdays or even funerals…its all about the stories.”

"This is a great chance for anyone in the country to try out their storytelling skills. It's brilliant to see Lyons tea promoting this dynamic art form that is such an integral part of the Irish personality. I can't wait to see the stories that get sent in", said Clare Muireann Murphy, renowned Irish storyteller.

Ireland’s Top 10 storytellers will go to a national final in Dublin where they can talk themselves into winning a Golden Cup and €10,000. The finalists will be given a series of storytelling challenges to complete in front of the panel of judges to see who wins the title of Ireland’s Top Storyteller. Closing date for receipt of entries is at midnight on Monday 11th April 2011.

*Calls cost €0.60 per call including VAT. Calls from mobile and other networks vary. You have two minutes to record your story. SP Phonovation Ltd. Helpline 0818 217 100

Arthur Guinness Fund - 'My Good News, My Guinness'

2011-02-22T13:21:00.012Z

The Arthur Guinness Fund has joined forces with Sile Seoige, Alan Brogan, Baz Ashmawy, Jamie Heaslip and Shane Horgan, to share the good news of the projects benefiting from the Arthur Guinness Fund. Each of them will follow the progress of a specific project, and report back on a variety of milestones and good news updates via video messages and personal updates on the Guinness Ireland Facebook.

Activities that have already benefited from the Arthur Guinness Fund include:
* Failte Isteach with a national office in Meath has grown from 22 to 33 English language centres in three months
* Speedpak based in Clonshaugh, has provided FETAC level 4 qualifications to 40 people
* Pieta House has opened two new support locations in Limerick and Ballyfermot in Dublin
* GIY Ireland has increased its GIY groups in towns around Ireland by 13 since June to a total of 82 groups
* Growing Locally has recruited their first fifteen people for a yearlong training programme - the programme is underway
* Camara has opened computer recycling centres in Belfast and Galway

Speaking today Jamie Heaslip, who will be reporting back on the achievements of Camara Education, an organisation that reuses computers for educational purposes in Africa, said, “The work these different projects do is so inspiring. It is amazing how one simple idea can benefit a whole generation. I am really looking forward to following the journey of my old PC through Camara’s online tracking system as it makes its way to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in the coming months.”

Meanwhile, RTE presenter and DJ Baz Ashmawy added “I signed my name in support of the Arthur Guinness Fund to help raise €2.5 million, so I am delighted to have this opportunity to show just where that money is going. My chosen project, Failte Isteach, does fantastic work uniting Irish people with those from other cultures, with the common goal of teaching and learning English.”

Dublin Football captain, Alan Brogan will be providing regular updates on the work carried out by Speedpak. Based in Clonshaugh, this innovative company has developed a Workplace Accreditation scheme, which captures workplace learning and skills development and converts them into a recognised education qualification in the form of a full FETAC level 4.

Meanwhile Irish Rugby star, Shane Horgan will be getting in touch with his green fingers whilst working alongside GIY (Grow It Yourself), a network of online and community based groups from all over Ireland who are committed to encouraging more and more people to grow their own food. The groups meet regularly to share information learn from each other and exchange tips, ideas and produce.

Radio and TV presenter, Sile Seioge who is also lending her support to the Arthur Guinness Fund, will be sharing Anam Cara’s good news. Anam Cara offers help and comfort for bereaved parents and siblings, through their loss. Since receiving the funding, Anam Cara has set up a sibling support group enabling them to deliver a schedule of support presentations nationally for bereaved parents.

The Arthur Guinness Fund 2010 Awardees were:
* Anam Cara – bereavement support service focusing on the needs of parents and siblings
* Camara – re-using technology to tackle global waste and education in disadvantaged areas
* Growing Locally – training people on low incomes to grow their own produce and improve their diet and exercise
* Fáilte Isteach – supporting older people to make a difference especially within migrant communities
* Grow It Yourself – promoting and encouraging food growing skills and the sharing of knowledge
* Kanchi – driving best practice in the inclusion of people with disabilities within society
* Pieta House – service focused on suicide prevention and intervention in a supportive environment
* Rediscover Fashion – recycling textiles establishing a new generation of eco-conscious socially aware consumers
* Speedpak WAM – a social enterprise providing employment and up-skilling for the long term unemployed
* Suas – a Service Learning Programme for young Irish people to help them become the leaders of the future

The Arthur Guinness Fund Globally
The Arthur Guinness Fund, which was born out of Guinness’ 250th celebrations, is a recognisation of the original social entrepreneur of his day, Arthur Guinness. Since establishing the Arthur Guinness Fund in 2009, a total of €7.4m has been invested in the Fund. This figure includes the €2.5m allocated to the Arthur Guinness Fund in Ireland. Guinness has also invested in some remarkable projects in Africa, Indonesia, United States and the UK. Most recently, Guinness announced a global partnership with Ashoka to enable the deployment of the funds to new social entrepreneurial projects around the world.

Ballygowan 'Think Pink' Week

2011-02-15T21:12:00.003Z

This week (14th – 20th February) is "Think Pink Week" in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and the Marie Keating Foundation, with thanks to Ballygwowan Pink. Throughout the week Ballygowan Pink are encouraging people to raise awareness and get behind this worthy cause by ‘Thinking Pink’ in aid of the Marie Keating Foundation.

Above, sporting stunning pink dresses courtesy of Covet (Powerscourt Centre, Dublin), models Sarah McGovern and Emily MacKeogh kicked off Think Pink Week. The girls, College students and office workers all over the country will be ‘Thinking Pink’ this week, by wearing a pink accessory or by sporting a pink outfit, to show their support and help raise funds for the Marie Keating Foundation.

For those of us who don't have any pink to wear Ballygowan Pink is encouraging us to ‘Think Pink’ by choosing the pink Ballygowan bottle which is now a permanent part of the Ballygowan range. So by simply choosing pink people can make a difference and help raise awareness for breast cancer.

Lillian McGovern, CEO, the Marie Keating Foundation said, “While breast cancer remains the most common cancer in women in Ireland, the good news is that survival rates are improving both overall and for all age groups. A large contributing factor to this is an increase in breast awareness and early detection so we are calling on people to ‘Think Pink’ and show their support this week.”

Working closely with the Marie Keating Foundation, Ballygowan continues to raise awareness of breast cancer and highlighting the importance of early detection. Ballygowan Pink has already raised over 200K for the Marie Keating Foundation and will continue to raise much needed awareness throughout the year.

Ballygowan was at the IFTAs on Saturday to generate awareness and support from the stars and they got some amazing video footage featuring Kim Cattrall, Pierce Brosnan plus lots lots more. Check it out, it's well worth a watch, with Kim singing at the end!!

Carphone Warehouse: I Just Called to Say I Love You

2011-02-14T10:31:00.002Z

The nature of how people communicate has changed in the last twenty years in ways that no one could have predicted. So when it comes to a day like today, built around telling someone special exactly how you feel, there are now a multitude of public, private, digital and non-diital ways to do it. What may surprise you is that a poll conducted by The Carphone Warehouse has revealed that 53% of people use their mobile phone to say I love you on St. Valentine's Day.

The poll also revealed:

Only 2% of people favour a traditional love letter to say “I love you”
20% of people have sent a saucy text to the wrong person
89% of people would not break up with someone via text or in an email
Flowers are the most popular gift to buy online (36%) for a loved one on Valentine’s Day, with DVD’s and CD’s the next most popular online gifts
The gift people most covet is the iPad, with the iPhone and other smartphones following closely behind

Taking the last point to heart (pardon the pun), Carphone Warehouse have announced that they will be offering a FREE selected Pre Pay phone to anyone that buys the Nokia C7 on O2 Bill pay.

Visit www.carphonewarehouse.ie for more information.

Kildare Village & The Dublin Chinese New Year Festival 2011

2011-02-03T22:56:00.000Z

Kildare Village will play a key role this year in the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival, which is taking place from today, Thursday (3rd February), until Sunday next (13th February). Events are a fascinating mix of Chinese culture and heritage, and Kildare Village will be marking the start of the Year of the Rabbit in spectacular style with Chinese arts and entertainment from a host of home-grown artists.

The festivities at Kildare Village will take place next weekend (12th - 13th February) with a number of traditional and contemporary entertainment acts such as vibrant and energetic Lion and Dragon Dance displays and traditional Chinese kite-making classes for the whole family to enjoy. Se sure to don your finest red fashion pieces and head to Kildare Village for a great time.

To help you celebrate the weekend anyone visiting Kildare Village will have the chance to win one of the thousands of prizes by simply picking up a fortune cookie. Ranging from Kildare Village VIP cards to gift vouchers and much more, this is just another reason to pop down to Kildare.

Maria McGovern, Marketing and Retail Director of Kildare Village said, ‘Kildare Village is delighted to be involved with the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival again this year. It’s an opportunity for our customers to celebrate experience and engage in Chinese culture, while also being a great family day out. Supporting the Dublin Chinese New Year allows us to further extend our offering as a cultural and shopping destination for shoppers and tourists alike and we look forward to welcoming new visitors to Kildare Village.’

Declan Hayden, Dublin Chinese New Year Festival Director, at Dublin City Council agrees that the collaboration has again been a success, “We at the Chinese New Year festival are delighted to be working with Kildare Village again this year and hosting a weekend of Chinese festivities. Kildare Village is a popular shopping destination among the Chinese community in Ireland and we are proud to partner with them on such a unique cultural event”.

Lyons Gold Blend 'Rich Talk'

2011-01-22T21:41:00.001Z

Anyone reading my blog should remember the two previous Lyons Tea campaigns that I've written about. Well I'm delighted to say that the latest in the series of Master Teablender ads is right on the ball, and continues this great campaign.

The latest advertising campaign reveals that a ‘richer talk’ added to the tea is what gives Lyons Gold Blend its richer, full bodied taste. The new campaign launched on television screens this week bringing to life those richer, more colourful conversations, where what begins as a casual chat, delivers more than expected.

The campaign has been developed by Rothco with this 30 second instalment directed by JJ Keith, produced by H2 Films and post-produced by Windmill Lane Studios. The campaign also comprises of one radio execution, and outdoor advertising on 48-sheet and 6-sheets, which will roll out next Monday (31st January 2011).

Speaking of the new advertising campaign, Liz Finlay, Marketing Manager, Lyons Tea said, “Irish people come from a long line of storytellers, poets and authors – talking is one of the things we do best. Lyons Tea is all about talk and the fuller flavour of our Gold Blend enhances this talk, making it richer, more colourful and leading to the slightly exaggerated tales we all know and love. We’re delighted with our new TV advertisement and we’ll be supporting the new campaign with some really exciting BTL and PR activity over the coming months.”

Ad Outline
The TV advertisement opens on the magical Lyons tea factory and the Master Blender and his young apprentice. The apprentice quizzes the Master Blender on why Lyons Gold Blend is so special, who replies, “It’s richer. Richer taste.” We see the rows of different boxes each with a different type of Gold Blend talk and the Master Blender continues, “So we put in richer talk… which leads to…. Richer STORIES.” The two then enter the Blending Room where we see the Master Blender adding the richer talk to the tea, creating Lyons Gold Blend.

The ad then cuts to a family home with Dad, Mum and their 3 year old boy sitting on the couch. Mum and Dad are enjoying a cup of Lyons Gold Blend and Dad is recounting the age-old fairytale ‘there was an old woman who lived in a shoe’ to his son. Dad begins the tale, takes a sip of his Lyons Gold Blend and then continues with a somewhat embellished version of the story, “which if her taste was anything like your mother’s...it wouldn’t have been cheap….still at least she only had one shoe…not 50 pairs. The voiceover then reveals ‘A richer taste for richer talk’.

Visit the Lyons Tea Facebook page for more Lyons info, or check out the ad here...

About Lyons Tea

Lyons Tea employs expert master blenders and tasters to select the best blends and combination of some of the finest teas from Kenya, Assam from India and Ceylon from Sri Lanka to produce the highest quality tea. Lyons Tea is available from leading supermarkets and retailers nationwide.
Lyons is Ireland’s number one tea brand with 42.8% market share***; Lyons is an iconic Irish brand with more than 100 years of tradition in Ireland, having started business in Dublin in 1902 near Christ Church Cathedral. It is now owned by Unilever Ireland.
Lyons Tea is Ireland’s favourite tea. The Lyons Tea range includes Lyons Gold Blend, Lyons Original Blend, Lyons Gold Blend Reserve, Lyons Kenya Blend, and Lyons Decaffeinated Tea. Lyons Green Tea is available in original, with Lemon and with Mint. For further information on Lyons Tea visit www.lyonstea.ie
Lyons tea is currently working with the Rainforest Alliance - independent experts in sustainability and by 2012 all our tea will only come from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms.
For more information visit www.lyonstea.ie

Maltesers The Great Indoors

2011-01-20T20:49:00.000Z

Maltesers have just launched a new campaign - celebrate the great indoors. Through a multi-channel startegy Maltesers want to help their fans through the January blues by staying in and enjoying everything the great indoors has to offer. The campaign has hundreds of 'Great Indoors' packs to be won.

To be in with a chance of winning the prizes enter either by texting MALTESERS to 51500, through the Maltesers Facebook Page or by tuning in to the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM every morning from Monday 24th until Friday 28th January.

The prizes include a fantastic Rock Band Starter Kit including game, guitar, drum kit and mic (Rock band starter kit prizes available online only) or “Great Indoors” packs. The packs are a one stop kit for your perfect night in including a blanket, slippers, a DVD and, of course, some Maltesers.

Of course it's not just a matter of staying in, sometimes you need a reason to avoid having to go out. For that Maltesers have even created an “excuse generator” right on their Facebook Page, to help you come up with hilarious reasons why you must stay in!

ESB Meter Reading App

2011-01-17T23:35:00.004Z

The ESB have just launched a meter reading app for both iPhone and Android. The free app, which is available from today, is the first energy provider app for both iPhone and Android Smartphones and the first app developed by an Irish utility for electricity meter reading submissions.

The app allows customers to submit their electricity meter reading using their phone, effectively making estimated bills a thing of the past and giving them more control over their bills. The app is also capable of managing multiple properties and provides a Useful Contacts section with all the ESB emergency contact numbers at their fingertips.

I for one absolutely love to see utilities embracing technology in this, but also doing so in a way that is genuinely beneficial to their customers. I can think of so many times, especially living in apartments, that your meter reading gets estimated and you wind up hitting a huge bill the following month. I can't imagine any ESB customers who own an iPhone or Android and not downloading this! Get to it...

Haiti: One Year On

2011-01-13T21:17:00.004Z

It's hard to imagine that the devastation suffered by Haiti was over a year ago. Of course I say 'was' over a year ago but the truth is that the last year has been anything but trouble free as the country tries to rebuild itself. A good friend of mine works for Concern and spoke to me recently about what they're doing in Haiti. From a digital perspective I thought it was really interesting that it’s the first time that an Irish International charity has done anything of note on Facebook so I thought it might be of interest to you folk.

To mark the anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti Concern ran an awareness campaign within Facebook. Concern are the first Irish charity to harness a Facebook homepage takeover, which is driving to a custom tab on their profile. The tab acts as the landing page for visitors that have not previously ‘liked’ Concern and outlines the key areas that Concern and ECHO have been working on. In addition, within the tab they have embedded a campaign specific video that is streamed from their YouTube channel, an interactive Google map that details what has been achieved in each location Concern is working in and twitter feeds from @Concern and staff that are in the field at the moment.

You may also like to take a look at this post from The Boston Globe. The images are absolutely incredible.

This is the Concern 'Haiti One Year On' video:

UpStart – Promoting The Importance of Creativity in Ireland

2011-01-10T07:18:00.000Z

So what is all this about?

UpStart is a non-profit arts collective which aims to put creativity at the centre of public consciousness during the Irish General Election Campaign in 2011. The whole initiative is about reinterpreting the spaces commonly used for displaying election campaign posters in Dublin City. The objectives of UpStart is to encourage a debate on the role of the arts in this state. To do this they're asking artists to submit work for placement around the city to highlight the importance of creativity and ingenuity when society is in need of direction and solutions, and to emphasise the value of the arts to public life.

Submissions for the project are being sought from the full range of artistic disciplines and the hope is that over 500 submissions will be received from writers and visual artists, photographers, painters and graphic designers. These works will be duplicated and 1,000 pieces will be printed as election size posters and erected throughout Dublin city. They are also accepting works from musicians and film makers which will be hosted and exhibited through their website which will be launched on the day of the electoral poster campaign.

They believe that the future development of the country requires a healthy cultivation of the Arts and want all creative types to get involved with the project to spread the word as much as possible. To do this they made the above animated video to explain what they’re all about. As you'll have already noticed, Stephen Rea kindly did the voice over for them.

UpStart comprises artists and writers from Ireland and abroad and are non-aligned to any political party.

So why not favourite the video, share it to your blog or Facebook page, and remember to mention UpStart to other folk.

Guinness Dark Life (New TV Ad)

2010-12-31T16:01:00.002Z

Last year Guinness produced a really cool New Year's Eve experience as part of their Guinness 250 campaign (posts here and here). In true epic form Guinness have again produced something new this year. You may have seen the new Guinness ad already in the cinema (where it went live from December 17th) but it won't be seen on tv until this evening when it will be aired in Ireland exclusively. The ad, entitled ‘Dark Life’, is all about Guinness's life and energy from its unique swirls and surges from a settling a pint of Guinness. The ad was shot in various locations including Hong Kong, Columbia and New York.

Speaking about the new ad, Head of Marketing for Guinness, Tanya Clarke said “Guinness is an iconic Irish brand that is celebrated globally and at the heart of our new ad is the idea that there is more life in the dark. Daytime scenes from around the globe are transformed by the coming of a magical liquid which brings on the night. The captivating film connects with consumers across borders and cultures.”

The Ad Storyboard:
From East Village in New York, the liquid swirl continues on a journey of vitality throughout the ad. Dark Life is unveiled as we see people gathering together in anticipation of something exciting. They begin to unite in field where they start to build a bonfire. As the stunning sky comes alive, darkness falls.

Then we see a woman happily sitting on a swing, waiting patiently as the magical liquid darkness appears. Then a couple are seen excitedly running through a field chasing the liquid darkness. We then see a flash of a steel works station on the edge of a remote town. Then quickly it pans to an urban scene where we see a train heading into the striking sky line. From there we are transported back to East Village where the young guy is seen joining his mates in a bar.

As the energy builds we are presented with a bicycle light in Hong Kong, As the camera pans out it reveals hundreds of people cycling with their lights beaming and creating a sense of occasion and togetherness. From there we are taken back to Hong Kong where a beautiful colourful light scene is formed as the day turns into night

As the liquid surge in the sky unveils magical scenes we see people celebrating and enjoying life in the dark. By the bonfire, in a field, on the busy street of Hong, all bringing to life the unique energy of the Guinness surge.

And here's the ad itself:

‘Guinness: Dark Life’

Some interesting facts about the ad:

The street drummer at start was found on youtube.
The surge effect was achieved by constructing a special tank into which pieces of wood matching the shape of buildings in the specific shot were placed. Then liquid was injected and shot at very high speed. This replicated the liquid night descending around the buildings.
Bicycles Scene: 75 cast members were recruited on the street. Streets cannot be closed for filming in Hong Kong, so the ad was shot around the constant busy traffic.
The New York Fire Department assisted by opening the fire hydrants for shooting the street dancing scene.
The cornfield shoot was shot through the night and only stopped shooting when dawn light prevented us from continuing.
The ad was shot on a traditional 35 mm film and Canon 5D. The 5D gave great freedom when shooting on the streets as it is light and easy to transport.
The skyline shots were all shot from the top of buildings. Over many hours the skylines were captured as darkness fell and these different exposures were then combined in post production.

Production Info:
The music track used in the ad is entitled ’10 mile stereo’ by the band Beach House. The American indie rock duo from Baltimore recently played a sold out gig in Vicar Street. Their third and latest album released this year, received positive critical and commercial reaction. Their track ’10 mile stereo’ was chosen as it “perfectly carries and enhances the magical, uplifting energy of the ad” said Irish International BBDO’s Mark Nutley.

The ad was directed by the award winning French director, Frederic Planchon and was joint production between the Guinness marketing and BBDO teams of both Ireland and Great Britain. Frederic is a prestigious French director, whose work has been recognised globally including the Masters of Advertising, where he won Director of the Year and at Cannes where he picked up a Silver Lion for Jeep Treacherous Terrain. He continues to be a prolific, and much sought after director worldwide.

Frederic Planchon about the new Guinness ad, “The different parts of the ad combine to create an atmospheric arc that starts at the end of a normal working day around the world, and culminates in a New York bar where the surging of a freshly pulled pint mirrors the urgent buzz and anticipation of a New York City night getting underway outside”.