Posted on Wed, Nov 23, 2011
Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle – This was probably the idea behind Domino’s Pizza Hero, an app that let’s players “make top quality pizzas by kneading dough, spreading sauce, sprinkling cheese, placing toppings and more” as fast as they can. Players attend “Pizza School” (levels one through five), can share their scores on Facebook and Twitter and, most importantly, can order “their” pizza from Domino’s by hitting a “Make an Order” tab.
To fight actual hunger, Feeding America recently partnered up with Groupon, where buyers could get coupons to make donations to the charity. The “deal:” For a donation of only $11 (instead of $22), buyers could help feed a family for two weeks, thanks to Pepsi, which matched up all donations. According to Mashable, Feeding America and Groupon exceeded their goal of 200 donations by over 4,800.
Posted on Wed, Nov 16, 2011
Kate McCaw of our events team guest blogs today on the beauty and value of Mexico as an event and incentive destination in a new feature called Kate's Take.
Mexico has become one of the most desirable meetings and incentive travel destinations in the world. The majority of the tourism trade is centered around the beach resorts such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and the Riviera Maya, an ever-expanding area south of Cancun. These areas are the most popular, known for their clear turquoise waters, lively party atmosphere and wealth of recreational activities. Surfing, snorkeling, visiting ecological and archaeological parks, whale watching, shopping for locally made items….Mexico has it all!
Tourism is Mexico’s number one industry. Millions of US citizens safely visit Mexico each year, according to the US State Department. The Mexican government has engaged in an extensive effort to combat criminal organizations that are primarily located near the border towns. The majority of tourist areas are safe and secure. The Mexican Government has also stepped up to add more security. As in any circumstance, whether domestically or internationally, you should be aware of your surroundings and exercise caution in unfamiliar areas. If there were civil unrest in New Hampshire, would you avoid travel to New Mexico? That’s just how large Mexico is.
Mexican people are widely known for their genuine warmth and desire to serve the needs of others. You won’t find better service levels in hotels, restaurants or any tourism destination anywhere in the world. Second only to service is the amazing value afforded by all the hotel properties. Especially enticing are the “all-inclusive” resorts, a meeting or event planner’s dream. They allow you know up front what all of your costs will be and better assist you in managing your overall budget. While “all-inclusive” properties were once suspected of having low quality food and watered down drinks, nothing could be further from the truth today. There are dozens of five-star properties that fall into this category now. Guests love them, especially not having to sign a check every time they turn around, and many hotels have eight or more restaurants so that there is always a wide selection of choices.
We have been taking groups from 40 to 400+ to Mexico for many years, and as recently as a few months ago, and have more planned for early in 2012.
Do your homework but don’t bypass this amazing destination for conferences, meetings or incentive trips.
Mexico is celebrating 200 years of independence. Go and celebrate. Viva Mexico!
Posted on Wed, Nov 16, 2011
The Best Friends Animal Society is currently running a model social good campaign. For their Invisible Dogs Campaign that aims at getting the thousands of pets kept in city shelters adopted, the non-profit employs the full range of virtual tactics for the tricky task of mobilizing people to take action beyond a mouse click.
To make the campaign traceable around the WWW, Best Friends not only tweets, but uses the campaign’s Twitter hashtag #InvisibleDogs all the time and everywhere. There is a Facebook page that, like the Best Friends website, hosts a DogWall where people can “upload a video, or that great photo that speaks 1,000 words, or actually write those words in a text post then, share the wall with friends.”
A Best Friends YouTube channel shows the campaign ad and other videos. And for that real-world action, the Best Friends website asks people to take the online pledge to help shelter animals through adoption, volunteering, or similar efforts. For additional efforts beyond a mouse click, Best Friends invites everyone to get together via Meetup.com and Foursquare for a “pup crawl.”
Posted on Mon, Nov 07, 2011
Mixing Pandora’s box with Genie in a Bottle, Nivea has created an app that lets consumers “interact with Rihanna in a one-of-a-kind augmented reality video experience.” By buying a tin of Nivea Creme or, even easier, printing out the tin cover starring Rihanna from Nivea’s website, everyone can make Rihanna perform “California King Bed,” the soundtrack of Nivea’s new television campaign, in their own four walls. After buying or printing, tin or cover have to be held in front of a webcam, and the magic happens.
The app is a follow-up to Nivea’s “Co-Star with Rihanna” Facebook campaign from last summer, when users had to “hit the Like button to get closer to Rihanna” by editing themselves into a short music video with the star.
Rihanna is the spokesperson of Nivea and the brand’s “100 Years of Skincare for Life" campaign, and Nivea was the sponsor of Rihanna’s Loud tour earlier this year.
Posted on Fri, Nov 04, 2011
Next week, two Castle food clients have great events in New York and Boston that are focused on issues of sustainability and, of course, eating well.
Pete & Gerry’s Organics LLC, the first Certified Humane® egg farm in the country, will host screenings of the new public television special “Heirloom Thanksgiving” – one on Saturday, November 12 at Anthology Film Archives inNew York, the other on Monday, November 14 at Harvard University.
“Heirloom Thanksgiving,” created and hosted by food blogger Carole Murko, aims to preserve the tradition of heritage foods and recipes, and will feature Pete & Gerry’s signature Heirloom Eggs in the preparation of distinctive Thanksgiving recipes. In addition to the screening, Carole will join a panel to discuss Thanksgiving traditions. The panel will be followed with a reception including Jim’s Organic coffee, custard made with Pete & Gerry’s Heirloom Eggs, cookies from Dancing Deer Baking Company and Stonyfield yogurt.
NEW YORK INFORMATION:
WHEN: Saturday, November 12, 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m
WHERE: Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue New York, NY
TICKETS: Tickets are on sale for $25 at the Food Bank For New York City’s website www.foodbanknyc.org/heirloom
Ticket sales in New York will benefit the Food Bank For New York City.
BOSTON INFORMATION:
WHEN: Monday, November 14, 5:30 p.m.- 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Harvard Law School, 1563 Massachusetts Avenue, Austin Hall, Room 100 Cambridge, Mass.
TICKETS: Admission is free. To reserve a seat, please contact ken@peteandgerrys.com
On Sunday, November 13, Lovin’ Spoonfuls Inc. will host The Ultimate Tailgate Party at Sam’s (above Louis Boston). The event will include food from Boston’s finest chefs and restaurants, a pig roast and silent auction, all to benefit Lovin’ Spoonfuls work that aims to close a gap in our local food system by delivering fresh, wholesome foods from retailers and restaurants to shelters and soup kitchens to feed hungry people.
WHAT: The Ultimate Tailgate Party to Benefit Lovin’ Spoonfuls
WHEN: Sunday, November 13, 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Sam’s, 60 Northern Avenue, Boston
WHO: Participating chefs and restaurants include:
- A pig roast with Jamie Bissonnette of Toro & Coppa and Will Gilson, Boston’s Pop-Up Restaurant King
TICKETS: Tickets for the main event are $100
VIP tickets are available for $250, including early access from 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m., a meet and greet with the chefs, early access to fabulous silent auction items, specialty cocktails and oysters from Island Creek Oysters. Purchase tickets at http://www.lovinspoonfulsinc.org/donate/