Monday, December 17, 2012

Bitbuzz Freedom Expands to Further Dublin Locations



Following the recent successful Dublin launch of Bitbuzz Freedom on Grafton St, the service has now been expanded to parts of Henry Street, Temple Bar and the Hibernian Way. Bitbuzz Freedom allows smartphone users to use practical shopping apps and social networking sites to stay in contact with friends and family. This service is complimentary in multiple 20 minute Wi-Fi sessions on Dublin’s busiest shopping streets.

Since launching in June this year Bitbuzz Freedom has already recorded excellent levels of usage on Grafton Street. Shane Deasy, Managing Director, Bitbuzz, said of the expansion to further Dublin locations: “We’re very pleased with the uptake of the service so far and this expansion to other busy outdoor cultural, shopping and socialising destinations throughout the capital is a natural progression. The launch of Bitbuzz Freedom has brought Dublin on a par with many leading cities worldwide, and indeed ahead of others in terms of Wi-Fi deployment.”


“We believe that complimentary Wi-Fi is especially important for international tourists visiting the city. In this respect Henry Street (Dublin 1), Temple Bar (Dublin 2) and the Royal Hibernian Way (Dublin 2) are ideal locations for expansion of the service and we would like to thank the business owners in these locations and on Grafton Street for their continued support. We anticipate further pick-up of this new service in the run-up to Christmas and look forward to expanding Bitbuzz Freedom to other locations throughout the country over the coming months.”


Bitbuzz Freedom is an expansion of the Bitbuzz service and offers the same quality of service the Wi-Fi company currently provides in hotels and coffee shops. Bitbuzz uses multi-band wireless point-to-point backhaul technology to provide a much better performance than traditional "mesh" solutions, enabling users to move around and continue surfing the internet as they walk down the street.


Bitbuzz recently announced that it now has over one million registered users, which was in part attributed to the launch of Bitbuzz Freedom earlier this year.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Sony World Photography Awards 2013 - Last call for entries




----- Press Release -----


All competitions close 4 January 2013 except Professional categories which close on 9 January 2013. Case studies of winning photographers plus entries from the 2013 awards available for publication.


04 December 2012: The World Photography Organisation (WPO) announces the countdown to the close of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s leading photographic awards programmes.


There is just one month remaining for professional and amateur photographers from around the world to select and enter their best images of the year. Professional photographers will compete for the coveted title of L'Iris d'Or/Sony World Photography Awards Professional Photographer of the Year 2013, plus a $25,000 (USD) cash prize. Amateur photographers will contend the Open Photographer of the Year 2013 title, plus $5,000 (USD). All category winners across the awards will receive the latest digital imaging equipment from Sony.


Both winning and shortlisted photographers across the many competition categories receive worldwide recognition and exposure as a result of the awards.


British photographers Palmer + Pawel, 2012 category winners, commented: “The awards allow you to reach a much wider audience, they open doors and enable you to take advantage of opportunities that otherwise might not be available. Winning the Professional Sport category not only allowed us to gain more exposure but it also resulted in us being funded to carry out our Sao Paulo Nights project - we shot the first part when we were invited by Sony Brazil to the city to talk about our work.”


Argentinean photographer Irina Werning described the support of the World Photography Organisation to its winners as “invaluable”. Following her win at this year's awards, Werning spent November 2012 on a five-country tour of Latin America, made possible by Sony Latin America and WPO. Alongside an exhibition of her images, Werning gave master classes and had the opportunity to shoot new pictures for her series ‘Back to the Future’ (which won the 2012 Professional Portraiture category) in each of the five countries.


All 2013 winning and finalist photographers will receive an exhibition of their work at Somerset House, one of London's historical landmarks, from April - May 2013. They will also be featured across the WPO website and all winners, as well as a selection of shortlisted photographers, will be published in the annual Sony World Photography Awards hardcover book.


The deadline for entries for the ten Open categories, for amateurs and enthusiasts, is 4 January 2013. The Professional competition, with 15 categories for serious photographers, will close on 9 January 2013. All entries are free via www.worldphoto.org and the shortlist will be revealed on 5 February 2013.


The 2013 Honorary Jury, who will judge the professional competition, is chaired by leading American agency director and newly appointed Magnum Foundation Director, Catherine Chermayeff. The panel comprises photography professionals from the World Photographic Academy including: travel photographer Macduff Everton; Guardian picture editor Fiona Shields; Magnum photographer Chien-Chi Chang and Director of the Moscow House of Photography, Olga Sviblova.


Further details about the Sony World Photography Awards and the World Photography Organisation can be found at www.worldphoto.org

Friday, November 16, 2012

Captain Morgan Kicks Off The Party Season

Captain Morgan Switches On Christmas lights On Board Jeanie Johnston


Last Night, Captain Morgan commandeered and lighted up an Irish ship, the Jeanie Johnston on Dublin’s north quays, to officially kicks off party season in Ireland. The party lights decorating the ship will remain switched on into the weekend to inspire Irish people to go forth and party.

Helping to switch on the Christmas party lights was newly recruited ‘Morganette’ Georgia Salpa, who was wearing a specially commissioned dress made from Christmas party lights for the ceremony.


Captain Morgan said, “I’ve been to all the party capitals of the world but the parties in Ireland are by far the best. Forget Christmas shopping season, I am officially declaring the kick off to Christmas party season in Ireland today and what better place to get off to a legendary start than on the quays of Dublin. Oh, and If you are going to party make sure you do it responsibly, Captain’s orders!”


Georgia Salpa commented, “What an honour to help switch on the Christmas party lights with Captain. I’ve been to other Christmas lights ceremonies but this is definitely the most unique. Lighting up a ship was inspired; always expect the unexpected with Captain!”


After switching on the Christmas lights, Captain Morgan hosted a special Christmas party with some of his loyal shipmates and fans.


Keep up to date with Captain Morgan’s adventures on: www.facebook.com/captainmorganireland.



Thursday, November 15, 2012

Electric Ireland: Powering Kindness Week

Electric Ireland Launch Charity Initiative Inspired by Kindness to Donate €100,000 to Charity


This Saturday sees the start of a week long campaign from Electric Ireland with the main objective to to generate good will around Ireland. Simply, for the week, people are being asked to do a kind deed. Like I said, simple.

Each kind deed is then logged and assigned to one of three charities. At the end of the week, Electric Ireland will convert these deeds into donations to the charities totaling €100,000. The three charities are: Special Olympics Ireland, Concern Worldwide and Focus Ireland.


You sign up and register your interest at www.poweringkindness.ie and then every deed that you log is passed onto friends, family or strangers and the kindness is shared. There is no limit to the number of good deeds you can do and the charities will benefit from every act of kindness completed during the week.


At the end of the week, the charity with the greatest number of good deeds done in their name will receive a donation from Electric Ireland for €50,000 with the other two charities receiving donations of €25,000.


Deeds can be as simple as making tea for your friend, giving up your seat to a stranger on the train, calling into a an elderly neighbour for a chat, topping up someone’s parking if you see the clampers patrolling, paying for coffee for the person behind you, offering an umbrella to someone being soaked by the rain, the list is endless.

Poweringkindness.ie will host all the details you need to know during the week, including:
  • Some inspiration with a list of suggested good deeds
  • Check out what good deeds have been logged to date, there may be some well-known faces taking part
  • An update on how each charity is doing and how many deeds are assigned to them
  • A deed tracker to show where deeds are travelling to – around Ireland, around the world and the route they are taking
The Electric Ireland Powering Kindness week will culminate in an announcement event that will take place on Friday November 23rd in the city centre. At this, the announcement of the charity with the largest amount of kind deeds done in their name will be made.

The campaign will be hosted primarily through www.poweringkindness.ie but you can get live updates through the Electric Ireland Facebook Page, Twitter Account (@electricireland) and following the #poweringkindness hashtag!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Meteor Christmas Ad & New Jingle

Meteor’s new Christmas Jingle Composed by former Bell X1 Brian Crosby


Next week Meteor will launch their 2012 Christmas campaign, “Let’s Get Christmassy”. The campaign will be driven by a new TV ad which debuts Meteor’s new Christmas song composed by Brian Crosby, former member of Bell X1.

Following in the character tradition of Meteor ads, the latest ad will feature a new Meteor character Steve. Steve is followed from the moment he realises that Christmas is here. During the ad we then hear his internal thoughts as he anticipates all the things that he loves about an Irish Christmas. In typical Meteor style, the ad features a series of vignettes capturing Steve getting Christmassy: taking it easy in work; eating a selection box for lunch; abandoning Christmas shopping in favour of drinks with mates; being gifted with an annual supply of underpants by his Mam; being late for Christmas mass; and “enjoying” a Christmas dip in freezing Irish waters.


“We wanted our ‘Let’s Get Christmassy’ campaign to celebrate a very Irish Christmas and all of the things that make Christmas our favourite time of year. There was no Christmas song out there that reflected this so we wrote our own,” commented Lisa Comerford, Head of Brand and Advertising, ‘We were delighted to work with a talent like Brian, who not only composed the song but acted as musical director on the project in its entirety and in conjunction with the creative team at Rothco, Bobby Byrne and Stephen Rogers.”


“The best and most unique things about an Irish Christmas are free or cost very little. These are some of the things that set the Irish Christmas apart and this is what we wanted to convey with our “Let’s Get Christmassy” campaign. Value is what Meteor is all about and our Christmas phone range reflects just that. We have some real Christmas crackers of phones this festive season including exclusive colour ranges not available anywhere else” she added.


The “Let’s Get Christmassy” ads showcase the Meteor device offering for Christmas.


A 10 second sequel ad also forms part of the campaign, developing the storyline, and featuring the hero Steve buying a handset as a Christmas gift for his office crush Sarah.


Created and filmed entirely in Ireland, the Meteor “Let’s Get Christmassy” TV campaign launches Thursday 15th November and will be supported with radio, press, online display and social media from November 19th. #whatmakesmechristmassy.


The ad was developed by Meteor with Rothco and creative team Stephen Rogers and Bobby Byrne, was directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman from Team D.A.D.DY. and produced by Gary Moore from Red Rage Films.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Smirnoff: Yours For The Making


Sarah-Jane Wai O’Flynn, lead singer of the Dirty Epics is pictured under the world’s largest free-hanging mirror ball to announce the Smirnoff “Yours for the Making” campaign.


Smirnoff's latest campaign, Yours for the Making, is a challenge to all their customers and fans, throughout Ireland, to make more of our free time by trying something new on nights out. To drive this, Smirnoff have brought together a collective of the most creative and innovative nightlife experts, including Dirty Epics front woman Sarah-Jane Wai O’Flynn, to uncover extraordinary nights.

To amplify the campaign and create real engagement and feedback, club promoters, night owls and partygoers are being called upon to fuel the search by tweeting their suggestions for new nights to @SmirnoffGB_IRE using #yoursforthemaking. Whether it's a silent disco or rubiks cube party, Smirnoff will reward the best submissions by turning suggestions into reality.

To celebrate the launch and to get people to make the most of the extra hour this weekend, Smirnoff has created a giant mirror ball suspended over London.  Sarah Jane Wai O’Flynn who attended the impromptu set by DJ Maya Jane Coles under the mirror ball, commented, “With an extra hour this weekend, it’s a great opportunity for people to get out and make the most of their night.  I am really excited to be involved in the Smirnoff Yours for the Making campaign in Ireland to find the next big thing in nightlife, I can’t wait to start seeing the ideas coming through and hopefully getting to see some of these ideas become a reality.”

The Smirnoff mirror ball is currently the World’s largest free-hanging mirror ball.



Situated in the centre of London, the giant Smirnoff mirror ball marks the clocks going back this weekend and calls on the 80% of Irish who plan to sleep for longer, to make the most of their extra hour. With over half the population likely to forget the clocks going back all together, the world’s largest mirror ball spinning is not just a bold reminder to set our clocks but also to feel inspired to try something new.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

TV advert featuring Caoimhe Rathmone which shows the lengths Chill Insurance will go to get you the best deal on your insurance. Don't stress out searching for insurance when we can do it for you.


An interesting move by Chill Insurance in their latest TV ad - instead of hiring professional actors and actresses they held open auditions for their 120 staff members who fancied themselves as the new faces of Chill Insurance.

I think this was a great move by the firm and shows a trust in their staff. Plus, for an insurance business, I really like the ad. Thumbs up all around.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Eason’s Virtual Book Shop




This week sees one of Ireland's most recognised high street names take a bold new step in the world of retail. Eason, Ireland’s leading bookseller, who started its retail legacy with news stalls in train stations across Ireland in the late 1800s, is returning to its roots as it launches Ireland’s first ever Virtual Book Shop at Connolly Station in Dublin to allow commuters to buy bestselling books by simply scanning QR codes with their smartphones.

The Virtual Book Shop resembles the shelves you'd see in an Eason store, displaying images of book covers with corresponding QR codes. Once scanned they will bring users to an online mobile shop where they can purchase the book. Everything from bestselling Sport, Food and Drink, Kids and Fiction titles will be available to purchase at the Eason Virtual Book Shop including a pre-order option for what are expected to be some big hits for Christmas.

Speaking about the Virtual Book Shop, David Field, Group Head of Marketing and Retail Development, Eason said, “We’re delighted to be bringing the first ever Virtual Book Shop to Ireland. While the traditional physical store is still very much at the heart of Eason, we recognise the ever-growing need to further develop our online shopping experience and to create a concept that is not only innovative and a first to Irish market but that very much demonstrates that we are as contemporary multi-channel retailer. To bring the Virtual Book Shop concept to life we’ve put social at the heart of the solution by deeply integrating with Facebook.  Not only can people shop in a totally new way, they can share their experience via Facebook, make recommendations and see what titles their friends have bought which really brings that word-of-mouth marketing to social platforms.”

Also speaking at the launch of Eason’s Virtual Book Shop, leading Irish author, Cecelia Ahern said, “As an author there is no greater feeling than seeing your book on the shelves. But today seeing my new release One Hundred Names available in Ireland’s first ever Virtual Book Shop – it’s really exciting and I am delighted Eason has invited me to be part of this.”

Developed by VendorShop Social, the Eason’s Virtual Book Shop takes integration with Facebook a step further than most brands by using the Facebook Open Graph as a key part of the mobile store application. The result is a much more personalised experience for users and a more viral solution for Eason.

“We all know the power of word of mouth marketing and Facebook’s Open Graph functionality enables a business to embed word of mouth into their marketing and e-commerce activities. Open Graph is an extremely powerful tool to turn people’s interactions with your brand and products viral, but many businesses simply don’t realise what is possible”, said Chris Small CEO of VendorShop Social.

Ireland’s first ever Virtual Book Shop will be situated in Connolly Station from Monday 22nd October until Christmas with plans to bring the mobile shopping experience to other locations throughout the country.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award: SmartThings


€100,000 prize awarded on main stage at the Web Summit


Yesterday, Thursday 18th October, Electric Ireland announced that SmartThings are The Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award Winner 2012 at the Dublin Web Summit. SmartThings is the recipient of the Spark of Genius €100,000 prize.

With over 1,000 startups competing in The Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Competition, SmartThings battled with 3 other finalists, pitching to a panel of international investors and industry heavyweights in front of a full audience on the main stage at The Web Summit yesterday.

SmartThings makes it easy to connect the things in your physical world to the internet via your smartphone.  Using SmartThings you can control your air conditioning, lock your doors or get an alert when things go wrong. 

Speaking at the announcement, Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Electric Ireland, said, "We are delighted to present the Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award to SmartThings. At Electric Ireland, we are committed to powering the innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit that is inherent in start-up companies. We wish SmartThings all the best of luck and congratulate the team.”

Dublin Web Summit Founder Paddy Cosgrave said, “SmartThings is a well deserved winner of this year’s Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award. This competition is an incredible platform for startups to pitch to the world’s top investors and media and we are delighted the winner was announced at the Web Summit, one of Europe’s biggest tech events. On the back of winning the Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award in 2011, Redeem & Get have enjoyed huge success with a launch to a global audience”.

“The Web Summit is committed to helping emerging technology companies get off the ground. As well as the Electric Ireland Spark of Genius final, we have also showcased 260 leading technology start-ups from Ireland and abroad at the Web Summit. The last two days have been an amazing opportunity for emerging companies to showcase their products to some of Europe’s leading technology figure”, added Cosgrave.

The Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Competition, now in its third year, focused on the most promising high potential Irish startups. 1,000 initial entries were shortlisted to a top 100, who then pitched from one of four separate stages – social, mobile, consumer and enterprise- to leading international investors (Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Atomico, Accel and many others), industry leaders, startup experts at the Dublin Web Summit. From these 100 finalists, four finalists were chosen for a final stage of judging before SmartThings was announced as the final winner.

Overall winners SmartThings were presented with a €100K prize fund supported by Electric Ireland, Mason, Hayes & Curran, Microsoft Bizspark, KPMG, Cawley Nea, Getty Images, PCH International and HT Meagher O’Reilly.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Electric Ireland’s Dublin Web Summit Treat

Meet The Speakers at Electric Ireland’s Tweet Café



Electric Ireland will, again, be bringing a unique coffee experience to the Dublin Web Summit. Powered by Twitter, Dublin Web Summit delegates will be able to enjoy a nice break from the talks and schmoozing by ordering simply by tweeting.

Following on from last year's extremely popular (and award winning!) addition to the summit, Electric Ireland’s Tweet Café will have lots of little doors with numbers corresponding to various coffee orders so you simply tweet the hashtag (#TweetCafe) with your order number. An electronic queuing system will then let you know when your order is ready and you simply head to the door and pick it up.

Beyond just the delicious coffee experience, the Tweet Café also provides delegates with an excellent opportunity to network with key speakers who will be available at the Tweet Café. Some of the speakers lined up include film director Barry Sonnenfeld, blogger Robert Scoble, Moshi Monsters’ Michael Acton-Smith and internet activist Wael Ghonim among others.

Speaking in advance of the two-day conference Margaret Colton, Head of Marketing, Electric Ireland said, “We’re really looking forward to this year’s Dublin Web Summit and are delighted to be powering innovation through the Electric Ireland Tweet Café. The response from delegates at last year’s summit was overwhelming and to make the experience even better this year we’ll be creating an incredible networking opportunity for delegates with some of the conference’s key speakers. The Dublin Web Summit is a wonderful gathering of creative and innovative minds and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

"The Tweet cafe is a real highlight of the summit, not only does it reward tweeters with a coffee but it is a great opportunity to meet our speakers. We're delighted to have Electric Ireland as a partner of Dublin Web Summit", said Paddy Cosgrave, founder of Dublin Web Summit

Another highlight of the Dublin Web Summit is the Electric Ireland Spark of Genius Award, the winner of which will be announced at the Dublin Web Summit on October 18th 2012 with a prize fund worth €100,000. The competition, now in its third year, focuses on the most promising high potential startups. Nearly 1,000 entries have been shortlisted to 100, who will be offered an opportunity to pitch to leading international investors (Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins, Atomico, Accel and many others), industry leaders, startup experts at the Dublin Web Summit taking place at the RDS on the 17th and 18th of October.


For information on the year’s Dublin Web Summit taking place on 17th and 18th October and to book a place visit www.websummit.net.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Big Knit 2012: Dublin’s Statues


Dublin’s statues tip their hats for the innocent Big Knit 2012


Today saw something a little bizarre happen in Dublin. The statues of Daniel O'Connell, Jim Larkin, and Charles Stewart Parnell all got kitted out with woolly hats to celebrate the start of Innocent's Big Knit 2012 in aid of Age Action.

Since 2008, the innocent Big Knit has helped to raise over €60,000 for Age Action by knitting over 180,000 little woolly hats. The hats, which range in design from classic bobble hats to Jedward hats to Santa hats, are all created by the public. So this year innocent are urging everyone to help the cause by knitting 80,000 little woolly hats to raise €20,000 and much needed awareness for Age Action.

Follow the campaign with #IrishBigKnit, check updates on the Innocent Twitter Account, through the Innocent Ireland Facebook Page or on the Innocent site.




Statues that were hatted:

  • Constance Markievicz
  • James Connolly
  • Chariot of Fire
  • Meeting Place (Two Women at the Ha'penny bridge)
  • Patrick Kavanagh
  • Oscar Wilde
  • Molly Malone
  • Phil Lynott
  • John McCormack
  • Henry Grattan
  • Jim Larkin
  • Charles Stewart Parnell
  • Daniel O Connell
  • Robert Emmet
  • Arthur Guinness

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Smirnoff Limited Edition Bottles



Smirnoff have just launched a new series of limited edition bottles. The bottles are part of Smirnoff's bid to awaken the senses through touch before taste. The innovative design concepts bring to life the look and feel of each delicious flavour inside with each design emulating the natural fruit or flavour in startling clarity. Created to capture the imagination, the bottles are crafted using pioneering design techniques.

Pick up a Lime Smirnoff Limited Edition to discover its unique lime skin texture or feel the peel of Green Apple Smirnoff Limited Edition. Blueberry Smirnoff completes the full limited edition range.

Smirnoff Limited Edition Flavours will be available exclusively at Dunnes from 15th October for six weeks.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Guinness: 'Made of More' Ad Campaign

 


Today Guinness launched a brand new advertising campaign to run in the UK and Ireland, 'Made of More'. The campaign features a TV ad entitled ‘Cloud’, which was exclusively previewed on the UK and Irish Guinness Facebook pages today at 12 noon. The ad will be on TV, digital and in cinema from 4th October. Created by AMV BBDO, the campaign celebrates the brand philosophy and reinforces its positioning strategy - getting more out of life by putting more in.

‘Cloud’, directed by award-winning Peter Thwaites, was shot on location in South Africa in both Johannesburg and along the Durban coastline. It follows the extraordinary journey of a rather unusual cloud, a metaphor to show the amazing things that can happen when we challenge ourselves to make the most of who we are.

The campaign also includes creative using four extraordinary visuals shot by renowned photographer Nadav Kandar on location at the Olympic National Park, Washington State. These reveal unique creatures which evidently refuse to settle for the ordinary: a woodpecker has sculptured itself an elaborate home, a caterpillar has delicately nibbled out highly detailed scene in a leaf, and a spider has spun an intricate web depicting other insects to tempt its prey.  A fourth poster shows a swarm of fireflies that have come together to make the shape of a beautiful chandelier on an overhanging branch.


Nick Britton, Guinness Senior Brand Manager, said “We think the new brand creative will resonate with people who are open-minded and alive to opportunity and it will inspire them to never settle for the ordinary. The idea of something being made of more is one that really reflects a shared attitude Guinness has with its drinkers who love the distinctive look and taste of Guinness and aspire to get the most out of every aspect of their lives. It’s not defined by a single age, class or demographic.  Guinness has always been synonymous with iconic advertising and this new creative direction for the brand presents great territory to connect with consumers that never settle for the ordinary.”

Executive Creative Director BBDO on Guinness Western Europe, Dave Buchanan,  said, "We all have a choice.  Many years ago Arthur Guinness chose to transcend the ordinary and produce an extraordinary drink, a drink made of more. Today our cloud bucks the trend. Instead of being blown by the wind it takes its own extraordinary journey; our spider spins an extraordinary web and our woodpecker fashions an extraordinary house. This campaign is about that choice: Do we settle for the way things are or do we take the bold choice to step up and be made of more? Do we settle for an ordinary drink or do we choose one that is made of more?”

Filming was captured over 4 days including 2 half day helicopter shoots. Weather conditions were critical as a clear sky and calm conditions were essential to the shoots success.

Soundtrack information:
“The Grand Finale” – Danny Elfman

Ad credits:
Director: Peter Thwaites, Gorgeous
Prod Co. Producer: Ciska Faulkner, Gorgeous
AMV Producer: Olly Chapman

Creative team:Executive Creative Director: Dave Buchanan
TV: Alex Grieve and Adrian Rossi
Print: Ant Nelson and Mike Sutherland
TV Producer:  Olly Chapman

Friday, September 28, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day




----- Press Release -----

Over 600 International and home grown artists perform across Ireland for Arthur's Day

Mumford & Sons, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Example and more make Guinness 2012 Arthur's Day celebration the biggest yet

September 28th - Yesterday saw a record number of GUINNESS® lovers worldwide come together to celebrate Arthur’s Day 2012. Fans from 55 countries across the globe, spanning six time zones, raised a toast to the founder of the legendary stout, Arthur Guinness.

The global events kicked off on 27th September across Europe. Spanish festivities were led by the former lead singer of popular rock band Pereza as 1,200 GUINNESS fans raised a toast to Arthur. While in Germany and Italy, Revolverheld and Max Gazze continued the Arthur’s Day celebrations.

An hour later, GUINNESS lovers at Senate House in London were treated to an exclusive gig from music icon Tom Jones performing a one-off collaboration with R&B superstar Wretch 32. To top off the evening, a silent disco and an impressive light projection of the St James’ Gate brewery in Dublin allowed fans to feel like they were almost at the home of GUINNESS. GUINNESS lovers at Senate House in London were treated to an exclusive gig from music icon Tom Jones performing a one-off collaboration with R&B superstar Wretch 32. To top off the evening, a silent disco and an impressive light projection of the St James’ Gate brewery in Dublin allowed fans to feel like they were almost at the home of GUINNESS.

Simultaneously, surprise gigs from the likes of Mumford & Sons, Professor Green, Example, Fun Lovin’ Criminals and Fatboy Slim took place in pubs across Ireland giving fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to get up close to these renowned music stars for a truly remarkable evening.

Ellie Goulding shot a music video using audience participation at her Arthur’s Day TV Special in Cork’s Crane Lane while Mika did a unique performance of some of his songs with Dublin Gospel Choir.

Irish Highlights
·  Texas surprised locals with an early performance in Smyth’s Bar, Denmark Street, Limerick before heading for a late gig in a local pub in Galway city
·  The Coronas played a surprise gig in Geary’s Bar, Charleville, Co Cork
·  Mumford & Son’s performed to a packed Toner’s pub, Baggot Street, Dublin
·  Primal Scream turned up at The Silver Granite, Palmerstown, Dublin
·  Mika showed up at The Graduate, Dun Laoighaire, Dublin
·  Tinie Tempah played to a surprised audience in Whites Tavern, Belfast city
·  Fun Lovin’ Criminals turned up at Kazbar in Waterford City

Celebrations will continue in countries including Singapore, Malaysia and Australia over the next 24 hours with performances from Asian superstars such as Shin, Della Ding Dang and Paul Wong.

Example who performed at the celebrations in Dublin commented; “Well, what better way to come back to Arthur’s Day than with my mates P Money, AlunaGeorge and the boys from Rudimental in tow. I was excited to see where we would all be playing and loved meeting all you Guinness fans! Thanks for having me back Ireland.”

Fatboy Slim said, “27th September only means one thing…Arthur’s Day! I knew it was going to be a big day for Ireland and the fantastic Irish crowds didn’t disappoint. Thank you for having me!”.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals, commented “Wow THANK YOU Ireland. We put on a spectacular little show for those of you who were lucky enough to be in the right pub. To Arthur!”

Nearly €8 million has been donated to the Arthur Guinness Fund to date thanks to Arthur’s Day and other GUINNESS projects. Contributions were made on behalf of people who “checked-in” to Arthur’s Day events via Facebook, so that this year, the celebrations continued the philanthropic legacy of Arthur Guinness and were true to the long standing tradition of the brand, to support those who are in the business of doing good.

With the 2012 festivities celebrated in style across the globe and a record number of people raising a toast to Arthur Guinness, plans are already beginning to ensure Arthur’s Day 2013 provides yet another night to remember for all those involved.

Ellie Goulding said, "Wow – what an incredible experience Arthur's Day was… Cork you were unbelievable! It was a night full of surprises all across Ireland – a great way to bring the whole country together in celebration of one incredible man. To Arthur!"

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day - Paints The Town Black App

Fans To Reveal Arthur’s Day Message and Raise
Over €30,000 for Arthur Guinness Fund


I've posted a lot about Arthur's Day, and will probably post some more, but this is definitely one of my favourite things happening around Arthur's Day this year. Today the Guinness Storehouse launched a brand new Facebook application that allows fans to paint a pixel on a canvass in the digital world that will trigger the spray painting a huge canvass in the real world action in the Guinness Storehouse to reveal an Arthur’s Day message.

The app also helps raising funds for charities as, for each pixel painted, Guinness will donate €5 to the Arthur Guinness Fund, generating in excess of €30,000 for the fund on completion of the painting.

Each pixel correlates to an area on the canvass that is hanging on the 1st floor of Guinness Storehouse. With 6600 pixels to paint, it is estimated that the final image will be created by midday tomorrow (Wednesday 26th September).

According to Lisa Fitzsimons, Marketing Manager of the Guinness Storehouse, ‘We are delighted that we are able to involve thousands of people in the creation of the real-world canvass at Guinness Storehouse. Fans of Guinness and the Guinness Storehouse can play their part in the creation of this canvass while continuing Arthur Guinness’ philanthropic legacy and generating funds for the Arthur Guinness Fund  benefiting many worthwhile social entrepreneurs in Ireland.’

Visitors to the Guinness Storehouse can interact with the application through teams of staff with iPads to claim their pixel and fans throughout Ireland can do so through their Facebook profile. Those who wish to see the real-world reveal can witness it on the 1st floor of the Guinness Storehouse.

The ‘Paint The Town Black’ can be found on the Guinness Ireland Facebook page and was developed by Tribal DDB London. Matt Oxley, Head of Creative Technology, Tribal DDB, London, said ‘This is a truly innovative campaign that blends technology and creativity to bring to life a traditional medium in a modern way’.




Monday, September 17, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day - TV Specials

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe


Following on from last week's announcements, today Guinness announced details of eight more music events for Arthur's Day: Arthur’s Day TV Specials. These events will take place in Cork, Dublin and Belfast, and will be part of Guinness's bid to put live music into 500 pubs across Ireland. The Arthur’s Day TV Specials will be recorded for later broadcast, both in Ireland and around the world, to give people who couldn’t be there, the opportunity to experience Arthur’s Day.

These events will feature some amazing home grown and international talent such as Rudimental, Jessie Ware, Willy Moon, P Money, Aluna George, This Club, The Riptide Movement, The Original Rudeboys, The Minutes, Lilygreen And Maguire, Josh Osho, Jake Bugg, Smiler, Dream Mclean, The Milk and Dublin Gospel Choir. As well as surprise performances from some of the headline Arthur’s Day artists.

Speaking about his Arthur’s Day visit, Professor Green said; "Myself and a few mates are heading to Ireland on September 27th to host a unique night at a surprise location to celebrate Arthur's Day. Expect a special night of music and more! Here's to Arthur!"

To get hold of tickets to these events, fans just need to apply through the Guinness Facebook Page from Wednesday 19th September.
 

Arthur's Day Social Media:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Guinnessireland
Twitter: @GuinnessIreland
Hashtag: #ToArthur

Arthur’s day TV Specials -  Pub venues and acts

Dublin
Dakota:
·  Headline artist
·  Rudimental
·  P Money
·  The Original Rudeboys
·  Willy Moon
·  AlunaGeorge

Market Bar:
·  Headline artist
·  Lilygreen & Maguire
·  Josh Osho
·  Dublin Gospel Choir

Grand Social:
·  Headline artist
·  Kassidy
·  The Minutes
·  Jake Bugg

Whelan's:
·  Headline artist
·  Leaders of Men
·  Jake Bugg

Cork
Crane Lane Theatre:
·  Headline artist
·  This Club
·  The Riptide Movement
·  Hudson Taylor

The Old Oak:
·  Headline artist
·  Funeral Suits
·  This Club

Belfast
Lavery's:
·  Headline artist
·  Dream Mclean
·  Smiler
·  The Milk

Botanic Inn:
·  Headline artist
·  The Milk
·  The Wonder Villains
·  Jessie Ware


Confirmed Headline Artists
·  Amy Macdonald
·  Ellie Goulding
·  Example
·  Fatboy Slim
·  Fun Lovin’ Criminals
·  Mika
·  Mumford & Sons
·  Primal Scream
·  Professor Green
·  Texas
·  Tinie Tempah


500 Arthur’s Day Music Events

A selection of artists performing at the 500 music events include;
·  Delorentos
·  Royseven
·  Key West
·  Little Green Cars
·  Picturehouse
·  We Cut Corners
·  The Shoos
·  Jerry Fish
·  The Hot Sprockets
·  Mundy
·  Walking on Cars
·  Dove
·  The Vals
·  The Rapparee
·  The Bonnevilles
·  The Heads of State
·  Ard Ri
·  Midnight Graffiti
·  Fiddlers Green
·  Ruaile Buaile
·  Willie Byrne
·  Gentry Morris
·  The Muldoons
·  Shane Butler
·  Jaker
·  Hush Warley
·  Ghost Estates


A full list of 500 Arthur’s Day music events taking place in pubs across all 32 counties is available on Guinness.com.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day - Mumford & Sons, Primal Scream or Fun Lovin' Criminals at Your Local



Today Guinness announced a raft of new additions to the confirmed Arthur's Day lineup. From Mumford & Sons to Primal Scream to Fun Lovin' Criminals, there are now even more top name acts and stars who you might see down your local. Not forgetting surprise performances, this September 27th is shaping up to be the biggest Arthur's Day yet.

Don't forget though, this year's Arthur's Day has no tickets. All you need to do is grab your mates and pop down to any one of 500 free Arthur’s Day music events taking place in local pubs across all 32 counties.

Of course, to shape which of these artists will appear in which local you'll need to join the 55,000+ people who have already voted. Though best hurry as voting will close on 16th September. The winning pubs will remain a secret to the public until the night itself so you never know who might walk through the door.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals, who are no strangers to Ireland said, "Doing things the normal way just ain’t us. That’s why we’re excited to be a part of Arthur’s Day this year. We’ll be putting on a special performance in a secret location and that’s all we can say. Ireland, you had better get ready for us."
Without doubt Arthur's Day promises to be a remarkable night of live music featuring hundreds of home grown artists and, as usual, a night full of surprises.


The Arthur Guinness Fund
Arthur's Day isn't just about music and entertainment. Through the Arthur Guinness Fund, Arthur’s Day supports social entrepreneurs in Ireland and around the world who are in the business of changing communities for the better. This year, for every ‘check-in’ to an Arthur’s Day Facebook event in any of the 500 locals, a €5 donation will be made to the Arthur Guinness Fund by Guinness.


Confirmed Headline Artists:
  • Mumford & Sons
  • Primal Scream
  • Fun Lovin’ Criminals
  • Example
  • Tinie Tempah
  • Ellie Goulding
  • Mika Professor Green
  • Fatboy Slim
  • Texas
  • Amy MacDonald

A selection of the other artists performing:
  • Rubberbandits
  • Delorentos
  • Royseven
  • Key West
  • Little Green Cars
  • Picturehouse
  • We Cut Corners
  • The Shoos
  • Jerry Fish
  • The Hot Sprockets
  • Mundy
  • Walking on Cars
  • Dove
  • The Vals
  • The Rapparee
  • The Bonnevilles
  • The Heads of State
  • Ard Ri
  • Midnight Graffiti
  • Fiddlers Geen
  • Ruaile Buaile
  • Willie Byrne
  • Gentry Morris
  • The Muldoons
  • Shane Butler
  • Jaker
  • Hush Warley
  • Ghost Estates

Note: The list of pub artists will continually be added to between now and Arthur’s Day on 27th September

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Irish Tweets To Boldy Go



As a celebration of Robert Boyle and to promote the availability of EU funding for Irish Scientists, this week saw the launch of talktoEU.ie's #TWEETSINSPACE campaign. The campaign involves a balloon, Junior Cert Physics and tweets from Irish people.

talktoEU.ie, the public information initiative funded by the European Commission, is tasked with highlighting the significant funding currently available to Irish scientists through EU programmes. #TWEETSINSPACE is designed to communicate this to young Irish people through discussing the benefits of EU funding in science, innovation, and research.

Of course the campaign also celebrates Robert Boyle, who is one of Ireland’s most well known scientists, by demonstrating the impact he has made on the scientific world and testing the limits of Boyle's world famous law.

European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "The European Union needs a million more researchers by 2020 if we want to stay ahead of the game in research and tackle major issues like climate change and food shortages. EU funding is supporting many young scientists to further their careers and really make a difference."

The weather balloon that will travel to the edge of the earth’s atmosphere will have Boyle’s face printed on it and will be filmed as it expands until it eventually bursts, as Boyle's Law predicts. The experiment will also display a number of tweets from the public when it reaches the edge of space via a screen attached to the balloon, making them the highest tweets ever sent in Ireland.


When the balloon bursts, the talktoEU team, using GPS, will then attempt to locate the balloon payload and recover the HD video footage showing the experiment in action. Anybody interested in the process can follow the #TWEETSINSPACE live blog that charts the research behind the launch, as well how it is being constructed and the predicted flight path of the balloon here : talktoeu.ie/tweetsinspace


Weather permitting, the balloon and it's payload will launch on September 10th.


To find out more about this event, and have your tweet displayed, send your tweet to #tweetsinspace or visit talktoeu.ie.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Guinness: Example's Arthur's Day 2012 Challenge

As I mentioned in my previous post, Example will be one of this year's Arthur's Day artists. So ahead of his surprise performance in one of the 500 'Vote For Your Local' pubs on Arthur’s Day, Example created this exclusive video in response to the challenge to name the 500 Arthur’s Day pubs in the time it takes to pour a pint of Guinness...


Sunday, August 19, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day 2012 TV Ad




To promote Arthur's Day 2012, Guinness today launched a new global TV ad. The new creative entitled ‘Paint The Town Black’ made its global TV premiere in Ireland today during the half-time break of the All-Ireland Hurling Championship Semi-Final on RTÉ Two.

Paint The Town Black, created by Saatchi & Saatchi and directed by Daniel Wolfe, is set around a sleepy little village as it prepares for an extraordinary celebration. The ad follows the towns people as they come together and begin to paint everything with a black distinctive liquid, before raising a pint to Arthur Guinness.

Guinness Marketing Manager, Stuart Kinch said: “We wanted to create an advert that brought to life the remarkable spirit of Arthur’s Day and encouraged people from around the world to be a part of the annual celebrations by raising a toast to the man behind our iconic pint, Arthur Guinness.”

Kate Stanners, Creative Partner, Saatchi & Saatchi said: “To paint the town is all about celebration. Instead of red, we painted it black in celebration of the black stuff and Arthur Guinness, the man behind the pint. We wanted to depict a tradition that has been going on for years, one where the whole town, gets together. We wanted to elicit the response of "I want to be there', and I think we have done that.”

The ad was shot in and around the Transylvania area of Romania over a period of 4 days, using more than 350 local people and 2,000 kilos of a specially made black liquid consisting of alimentar glucose mixed with water and black glucose

The ATL campaign will also include digital, outdoor and print executions of the creative theme, 'Paint The Town Black'.

For more information on Arthur’s Day please visit the Guinness Ireland Facebook page or Guinness Ireland website.


Soundtrack information

Title: Asfalt Tango
Artist: Fanfare Ciocarlia
Composed and arranged by Adrian Sical
Published by Piranha Musik / Administered in the UK & Ireland by Carthage Music Ltd
From the album "Baro Biao" (Piranha Musik – CDPIR1364)

Ad Credits
Advertising Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi
Executive Creative Director: Kate Stanners, Paul Silburn
Copywriter: Gavin Torrance
Art Director: Danny Hunt
Director: Daniel Wolfe

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Guinness: Arthur's Day 2012

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe


This week Guinness hosted a special media launch and announced the details of Arthur's Day 2012. Scheduled to take place on 27th September, Arthur's Day 2012 will see a massive expansion of the day's activities coming to every corner of Ireland with local pubs being placed at the heart of the celebration.

So what does this mean? To start with, there will be no tickets to buy this year. Instead, Arthur's Day will take place in 500 pubs across the 32 counties with live music provided in all of them. So it'll simply be a case of grabbing some mates and getting down to one of them for an evening of free Arthur’s Day music and craic.

Of course that's not the end of it. Aside from hundreds of home grown Irish artists, Arthur’s Day will also be a night full of surprises. This year you will have the chance to vote to bring internationally renowned artists such as Example, Tinie Tempah, Ellie Goulding, Mika, Professor Green, Fatboy Slim, Texas and Amy Macdonald to one of the 500 Arthur’s Day pubs near you.

Voting opened on the 15th August and will run until the 16th September To make things as exciting as possible the winning pubs will remain a secret to the public until the night itself, so you never know who might walk through the door.

Arthur’s Day artist Tinie Tempah, who has recently had four top 5 singles in the Irish charts, said, “I played Arthur's Day back in 2010 so I know all about the magic of it. I'm honoured to be invited back to Ireland for 2012 and couldn't be more excited about playing a pub gig for a small, surprised crowd! We'll be kick starting the global celebrations in Ireland on September 27th - hope to see you all there!”.

Stuart Kinch, Guinness Marketing Manager, Diageo Western Europe said, “Arthur’s Day has always been about people coming together for unique and remarkable music experiences in pubs and venues around the country. This year, we wanted to do more and give everyone the chance to experience the magic of Arthur’s Day by making all events free and giving the public a chance to vote and help bring a headline artist to their local! Apart from the change from 38 ticketed music events last year to over 500 free Arthur’s Day music events this year in pubs in all 32 counties, we anticipate many more pubs will also be organising their own celebrations around the country so it promises to be the biggest Arthur’s Day yet with the Arthur Guinness Fund also directly benefiting from the celebration”.

Through the Arthur Guinness Fund, Arthur’s Day supports social entrepreneurs in Ireland and around the world who are in the business of changing communities for the better. This year, for every ‘check-in’ by people to the Arthur’s Day Facebook event, a €5 donation will be made to the Arthur Guinness Fund by Guinness. Check out details on how to RSVP and ‘check-in' on the Guinness Ireland Facebook page.

Stay tuned though, as this isn't the end of the Arthur's Day story. There will be further exciting announcements made in the coming weeks. So whether you're in Dingle or Derry, this will be one Thursday night not to be missed! To Arthur!!


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Famed Privateer Captain Henry Morgan's Lost Fleet Found




Many people don't realise that Captain Henry Morgan was a real person. Not only that but before he became associated with the famous rum baring his name, he was a Privateer working throughout the Caribbean. One of the great mysteries around Captain Morgan is the location of his sunken fleet of five ships that disappeared off the Coast of Panama in 1671. However, for the third year in a row, with the help of the Captain Morgan brand, a team of leading U.S. archaeologists have been scouring the mouth of the Chagres River in Panama in search of this lost fleet.

“Morgan was one of the most infamous privateers of all time, so for me, this is a chance to use archaeological research to bridge the gap between science and pop culture. Most people associate Morgan with the image on a bottle, but in reality, he was an iconic historical figure who accomplished incredible feats throughout the Caribbean,” said Frederick “Fritz” H. Hanselmann, underwater archaeologist and Research Faculty with the River Systems Institute and the Center for Archaeological Studies at Texas State University who has been leading the team in an effort to locate, excavate and preserve the remains of Morgan’s lost ships.

Hanselmann continued, “Locating his lost ships and being able to properly preserve and share it with the public is our ultimate goal with this project. We’re really close – and at the end of the day, his ships are down there and we’re going to find them.”

The story of the search for the lost fleet began back in September 2010 when the archeological team discovered six iron cannons off the coast of Panama belonging to Captain Morgan. The next breakthrough then came last summer with the discovery of a 17th century wooden shipwreck, which is believed to be one of the five ships Morgan lost in 1671 on the shallow Lajas Reef. The fleet included his flagship Satisfaction.

Returning to Panama this summer, the team excavated a host of historic artifacts from the shipwreck in hopes of confirming its origin. During this work, the team recovered a sword, chests, wooden barrels and multiple cargo seals. The artifacts, which are currently housed at Patronato Panamá Viejo (Old Panama Trust) in Panama City, will undergo the preservation process before being studied further and verified by London-based experts in English artillery.

“For us, there’s no better way to communicate the values and unwavering spirit of our brand than by unearthing the real-life history of its inspiration,” said Tom Herbst, Brand Director, Captain Morgan USA. “This adventure that we’ve embarked on truly embodies the character of Morgan himself and the free-spirited nature of rum. In our case, we don’t have to make up a brand story – ours is real and it’s waiting to be discovered at the bottom of the ocean floor.”

Captain Henry Morgan was one of the few men to survive the treacherous life on the high seas long enough to enjoy his successes. From 1664 to 1671, Morgan led daring raids throughout the Spanish Main, resulting in riches for him and his men far beyond what they ever expected.

In 1670, Morgan amassed the largest fleet in the history of the Caribbean and set his sights on Panama City, the richest city in the western hemisphere. While en route, his flagship and four additional ships ran aground on the Lajas Reef at the base of Fort San Lorenzo, the military base that guarded the mouth of the Chagres River – the only water passageway leading toward Panama City. Despite the setback, Morgan and his men prevailed, securing Fort San Lorenzo, sailing up the Chagres and ultimately making their way by foot through the dense rainforest to take Panama City.

All artifacts excavated through the project will remain the property of the Panamanian government and will be preserved and displayed by the Patronato Panamá Viejo in Panama City.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Meteor: Facebook For Free



Last week, Meteor launched a brand new offer, Anytime Online. The new deal gives customers free data with their top ups. Specifically aimed at social media users, the deal is designed as a budget-friendly way to stay connected through all your social channels. Basically, Meteor is giving free data with online top-ups at every level from €5 to €20. This is a first in the Irish market.

Deirdre Currid, Meteor’s Marketing Communications Manager said, “We know our customers would love to connect with their friends on the go with Facebook and Twitter more often, but have the perception that mobile internet is out of their price range. In response to this, we created the Anytime Online campaign to show them that they no longer need to put themselves in awkward situations to avail of free WiFi. We’re offering them free data with top-ups at every level, from €5 to €20 to help enjoy being more connected for less. With this new plan, Meteor has written the book on value!”

Friday, August 10, 2012

Electric Ireland Tweethunt



Next Tuesday, 14th August, Electric Ireland will announce their activity for Electric Picnic 2012. The announcement will include news about a very special guest. Building on their success from last year’s Tweethunt, Electric Ireland have decided to again give fans the chance to win tickets to Electric Picnic.

Starting Monday 13th and running until Friday 17th August, one fan each day will win four tickets to Electric Picnic – that’s five days, five winners and four tickets each!

Again the competition will be run through the Electric Ireland Facebook page using a custom app. First, however, fans have to tweet the Share the Energy hashtag (#SharetheEnergy). Then live on the Tweethunt map on the Electric Ireland Facebook competition app the location of the daily codeword location will start to be to revealed. This works through a map display. The more times #SharetheEnergy is tweeted, the closer the map zooms in on the daily codeword location.

Participants then need to make their way to the actual location where the codeword will be revealed on anything or anyone. Once it is spotted it just needs to be sent, via a Twitter DM, to @ElectricIreland. The first person to do so wins the four Electric Picnic Tickets.

I'll have more info on Tuesday so stay tuned.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

It's Not MiWadi, It's Emma's Wadi



MiWadi today announced the launch of a new limited edition addition to their range: Emma’s Wadi. Emma Dorgan from Cork is the winner of MiWadi's latest marketing initiative, the MiWadi MiWay Competition. Emma suggested the creation of a new flavoured MiWadi, Bananaberry Split. Emma's flavour is described as a deliciously fun, tasty and mouth-watering blend of blackcurrants, bananas and ice-cream.

The MiWadi MiWay campaign gave kids the opportunity to enter a virtual MiWadi factory to select the fruits and flavours for their ‘Wadi’ and name their new flavour . This campaign reflects MiWadi’s vision of seeing the world through the eyes of a child and bringing more fun and excitement to the squash category.

23,000 children from all over the country mixed, matched and combined ingredients to create their very own MiWadi. The MiWadi team went through each and every entry before choosing the three flavours to make it on to our shortlist. Then, following nearly 300,000 votes cast over 3 days, the winner was selected – Emma Dorgan.

Emma, who starts senior infants this September in Rathcormac’s Scoil Bhríde, entered the MiWadi MiWay Competition after her older sister Kate entered. Emma’s father Don commented; “The reason behind Emma’s choice of flavours is simple – blackcurrant is the MiWadi she takes to school each day, bananas are her favourite fruit, and she always picks ice-cream when ordering dessert. Emma has been so excited about the squash being made before she goes back to school, so she can bring her MiWadi in and show it off to all her classmates.”

When Emma’s not busy inventing flavoured squashes, she loves playing with her dolls with her big sister Kate, and is now set to be very popular with her new found ‘fame’. “I can’t wait to start school so I can show all my friends my Wadi” said Emma.

Speaking today at the official launch of Emma’s Wadi, Dee Cunniam, Senior Brands & Activation Manager said; “We are delighted to launch our new limited edition Emma’s Wadi, to the Irish market. Emma’s Wadi is simply a creation that only a child’s imagination could conjure up! Her blend of delicious flavours, certainly has a distinctive taste from any other squash. Even at a young age Emma has shown that creativity and imagination are key to successfully producing a new and exciting product that both children and indeed all the family can enjoy.”

The prize for Emma’s creative efforts is a trip for herself and her family to Disneyland Resort Paris with €1,000 spending money. Emma’s mother Lynda commented; “The kids are so excited about going to Disneyland and can’t stop asking when we are going. We plan to go in September as it will mark our 10th wedding anniversary, so it will be very special. We are so proud of Emma.”

Emma’s Wadi is available in a 1l single concentrate pack nationwide from the beginning of August.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Calor Announces the Shortlist for Community Champion 2012

At the announcement of the shortlist for the Calor Community Champion 2012 were
TV & Radio personality, Hector Ó hEochagáin and legendary GAA and sports broadcaster,
Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Jennifer Fagan, Marketing Executive, Calor.


Yesterday, Calor announced the shortlist of nominees for the inaugural Community Champion 2012. Without doubt the calibre of nominations has been very strong and clearly highlights the exceptional and largely unrecognised contributions people are making to their local communities. These local unsung heros, who have gone above and beyond in giving back to their communities, and are now in with a chance to be crowned Community Champion 2012 and win €1,500 and a bursary of €7,500 to give to their nominated charity or local organisation. On top of that, Calor is also throwing in €500 for the person or organisation that nominated them.

Voting is now open to each and every member of the public through the Calor Facebook page. Visit the Gallery of Nominees and you can see who is representing your county and who the organisation is that they have selected to receive the prize. You'll also find their ‘pitch’ for your vote. Voting is open until August 20th.

Speaking at the shortlist announcement, Hector Ó hEochagáin, TV personality and head of the Judging Panel said, “We asked for nominations from every corner and boreen on the island and you have not disappointed! All of us on the judging panel have been heartened by the stories of unseen work going on across our local communities. This initiative has been a platform to shed light on these truly deserving people. We now have a gallery of what can only be described as real life community heroes. Now it is time to see what each county is truly made of and who the best supporters are, so visit the Gallery of Nominees and get voting today!”

Jennifer Fagan, Marketing Executive, Calor Gas said, “At Calor we have been overwhelmed by the quality of work going on across the country and the numbers of nominations which have been flooding in to us. These people help to raise aspirations and create a feel-good factor within local communities. Choosing the local champions has been a hard task, without them it is clear our communities would be much poorer places. Calor wants every county to get behind their local champion and provide them with the reward and recognition they deserve.”

The Calor Community Champion 2012 will be announced on September 4th.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Rosanna Davison Competes in Captain Morgan Volleyball Match



Yesterday, London commuters and visitors were treated to a series of pop-up beach volleyball matches hosted by Captain Morgan. The matches, featuring Ireland's very own Rosanna Davison with a host of European models and dancers, took place at a variety of locations around London’s city center including; Leicester Square, Westminster Bridge and Jubilee Gardens.

Speaking in London Rosanna said; ‘I was delighted to get the chance to take part in Captain Morgan’s volleyball team. Myself and the girls had a fun day meeting people in London. There’s a real buzz about the city’.

For more information go to the Captain Morgan Facebook Page.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Three Ireland Launch #3HubTalk



Three Ireland have launched an exciting new Facebook App, Three ‘Hub Talk’. The app provides a space where some of Ireland’s favourite celebrities (including Roz Purcell, Bernard Dunne, Pippa O’Connor, Conor Mortimer and the not-so-real Marty Morrissey) will be revealing exclusive content via their own Facebook and Twitter pages. Fans will then have the opportunity to interact with these personalities.

Each day the celebs will post a link to the app of an exclusive personal video or picture. Fans will then upload their own version of the video/picture in order to win a whole host of daily, weekly & grand prizes. The celebrities themselves will each select a winner at based on how entertaining the data shared is.

Prizes up for grabs include Samsung Galaxy Minis, official Republic of Ireland jerseys and €20 top-up vouchers. Also, everyone who enters the app, even if it’s just for a nosy at the celebrity content, will be in with the chance to win the grand prize of a brand new Samsung Galaxy SIII with bill paid for a year and two VIP tickets to see Ireland take on Germany in their World Cup qualifier in October (including an overnight stay and dinner in a top Dublin hotel).

Commenting on the launch Bernard Dunne said: “Three ‘Hub Talk’ is a really clever idea from Three. It not only gives fans a chance to interact with each other in a fun and competitive way, it also means they can win really great prizes every single day. I’m a big Twitter fan and I’m always looking for different ways to interact with my followers. It’s also great for Three customers to be able to use their phone to upload data without any charges!”

Speaking about the campaign, Elaine Carey, Sales and Marketing director at Three, said: “We’re very excited to be launching Three ‘Hub Talk’ to promote our latest prepay offer. The Hub will be the perfect place for our customers to come to make great use of our ‘All you can eat’ data offering by sharing all sorts of content. From Wednesday 1st August, as well as having a place to come and share exclusive content, Three Prepay customers can snap up the Samsung Galaxy Mini on Prepay for just €69, 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.”

For further information on Three visit www.three.ie

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Survey Reveals 1 in 5 of Irish Parents Don’t Read to Their Children



This week sees the launch of the Eason ‘Get Into Reading’ campaign. The campaign aims to highlight the importance of reading, especially with children, and is supported by leading Irish authors Cathy Kelly and Ireland's new children's laureate Niamh Sharkey. To kick off the campaign a survey

As part of the campaign, Eason commissioned Amárach Research to carry out a survey, which revealed some very interesting results. The stand out insights were...

  • While four-in-five (84%) Irish people were encouraged to read by their parents and almost seven-in-ten members of the Irish public (69%) were read to as a child, almost one in five (18%) of Irish parents never read to their children.
  • Close to two in four parents ‘pass the buck’ to their partner when it comes to reading to their children – men (42%) are more guilty of this than woman (34%)
  • More than half of Irish parents of kids under 8 have felt badly about not having time to read with their child.
  • One third cites time pressures as the main reason for not reading more to their child.
  • A quarter of Irish people read for five or more hours each week and those who were read to as a child are 30% more likely to spend this amount of time reading than those who were not read to as child – 24% of those who were not read to as a child read for an hour less each week.
  • Almost all (93%) of respondents concur that reading increases one’s vocabulary and close to half (46%) have listed reading as an extracurricular activity on their CV.
  • 79% of those surveyed would like more time in the day to read more.

Dr. John Sharry, child psychotherapist, commented on the research findings, “Establishing a daily reading time with your children is the single most important ritual, benefiting not only their learning and communication but also creating an important connection between you. The research describes the barriers to reading with children with ‘having no time’ being the most cited reason by parents. This highlights the importance of building a daily routine of reading with the ‘bedtime story’ being one of the most important of these. Bedtime reading not only provides all the educational benefits of reading, but also is an important ritual in gaining a good night’s sleep and usually a special moment of connection between parent and child.”

Ireland's leading female author and mother to nine year old twin boys, Cathy Kelly offered her thoughts, “‘It’s hard to find time to read to your children. At night time, I’m often shattered, want to throw myself into bed and am not in the mood for another chapter of the wonderful Harry Potter. But I do it and I can see the enormous difference reading has meant to my sons in terms of learning.

She continued, “Both of them now love books. When they were little, the bedtime story was part of the lovely bedtime routine. Now, it’s a fabulous time to read – and talk. Children tell you what they really feel at night. Reading gives you a lifetime of joy and even ten minutes each night can make such a difference to your children.”

According to David Field, Head of Marketing and Retail Development at Eason, “We at Eason are hugely committed to supporting literacy in Ireland, particularly among children. ‘Get Into Reading’ really draws on the importance of reading from a young age and the role of the parent in nurturing their child’s love of the written word. We recognise the passion many people share for reading and we simply want to encourage kids and adults alike to read more, one book at a time.”

In order to facilitate the campaign, Eason are calling on the Irish public to pledge their support for reading by visiting the Eason Facebook page or website. All who pledge will be entered into a weekly draw to win a €500 Eason voucher.

‘Get Into Reading’ is part of Eason & Son’s commitment to literacy and will include weekly in-store reading events for children and parents throughout the year. Each Saturday morning, participating Eason stores will host ‘Get Into Reading’ Story Time events where a dedicated member of staff will read a preselected book to the children. ‘Get Into Reading’ Story Time kicks off this Saturday 28th July.

The Eason ‘Get Into Reading’ campaign is a year-round initiative and takes place in line with other initiatives supporting literacy such as the Eason Spelling Bee which was met with huge success this year receiving entries from close to 300 schools from all 32 counties of Ireland. Later this year, Eason will also announce details of a partnership with Barnardos Children’s Charity in support of child literacy.