Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Be a Budweiser Ice Cold Index Weatherman


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.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Eason Offers - Whatever You’re Into


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.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Google Says Happy Birthday


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.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Special Olympics Ireland launch iPhone App


---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.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Meteor Launches Their iPhone Offering


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.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Pizza Making Lesson at Milano

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...