'Just Sayin' App created by Ricky Gervais

 











Add Ricky Gervais to the growing list of celebrities turned entrepreneurs. On Wednesday, Mr. Gervais will unveil a new app called Just Sayin', that lets people record two-way voice conversations and broadcast them to Twitter and Facebook.

He believes the world needs an app that lets people talk as there's no better way to express your own opinion than in your own voice. Gervais is a big advocate of free speech and believes that often offense is the collateral damage of that. But it should be an aim. We don't want to hurt people, attack people -- but anything that is honest, thoughtful, interesting and possibly funny should be allowed.

Twitter doesn't stop anyone from tweeting again and again, it just breaks us up into little sound bites, and 'Just Sayin' adds a new dimension to this social media world that we're creating.

Innovation in Africa

Safaricom Limited in partnership with M-Kopa launched the first ever GSM enabled pay-as-you-go solar solution in the world that customer pay for using mobile money. Using embedded Safaricom enabled sim cards, M-Kopa Solar allows a customer to enjoy the use of a d.light solar home system, while paying daily installments of Kshs. 40 (approx. £0.40) via M-Pesa for a period of one year. An initial deposit of Kshs. 2,500 applies (approx. £250), following which customers pay for usage at their convenience.

http://www.contagiousmagazine.com/2012/11/safaricom_m-kopa.php

Punam

National History Museum - Treasures: The Hunt

In the run up to the launch of its new Treasures gallery – a permanent display of 22 key exhibits spanning 4.5 billion years (yes you did read that right, 4.5 BILLION years) - the Natural History Museum has organised a London-wide treasure hunt.

YAY!

To take part, just download a map from its site and visit any or all of the 12 historically significant locations indicated. At each destination you'll find an obvious stand and a textured picture representing one of the gallery 22 treasures - 'all' you need to do is make a rubbing of the item. For each rubbing you make, you'll get one entry into a prize draw, and the chance to win an invitation for you and 25 friends (25? I'd struggle for 5) to attend a special party in the Treasures gallery in December following the launch on 30th Nov.

A little convoluted from a promotional mechanic perspective if you ask me but then who doesn't love a treasure hunt? All over London?? That involves rubbing???  

Check it out:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/galleries/green-zone/treasures/the-hunt/index.html

#NOTHINGMISSED

Wax Live's #NOTHINGMISSED campaign to promote the launch of Canon's EOS M is now live! We've taken over both the Canon Facebook and Twitter pages and are going to be constantly engaging online over the coming weeks to promote our experiential activity!

We've got two teams visiting various events, venues and creative landmarks in London, Leeds, Bristol and Brighton where consumers can come down, have a play and try out Canon's latest member to the EOS family, the EOS M. 

We'll be inviting bloggers down to our events to get involved and encourage write-ups on the activity and the EOS M, and over time all the events are going to be listed on sites including leCool, View London, Timeout and Spoonfed.

We'll be uploading everyone's photos taken on the cameras at the events onto Facebook for people to view and tag themselves in the photos they took, and these can also be used to enter our competition on Twitter to win a trip to TOKYO and an EOS M! By Following @CanonUKandIE and joining in our photo challenges, users will be in with a chance to have a trip to Japan! We'll have a creative photo challenge every week where users will be asked to  take a photo that best sums up the #tag theme.

This Saturday and Sunday kicks off the first of our events, a Bike Polo tournament in London Fields and Art Junky's Vintage Fair in Brighton. 

Be sure to go to Facebook.com/canonukltd and Twitter.com/@canonukandie to be kept up to date and miss nothing!

#NOTHINGMISSED

Domino's - Delivering movies

Domino's is offering a free movie with their pizza!

Customers will be given a movie download code when ordering a pizza online and can then start the movie stream via desktop computer, tablet or mobile device.

The Pizza Box Office promotion will offer films as soon as they are available to buy on DVD, which Domino's claims means that many titles will be available before they reach most other film subscription services.

That's my evening sorted.

Anna (aka the pizza monster)

Rekorderlig Swedish Winter Forest bar

Rekorderlig Swedish Cider created a pop up Winter Forest Bar at the Old Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, complete with pine trees, fairy lights and wild foliage.  There was Scandinavian food by Norse by Norsewest (including meatballs and Elk sausage rolls), top Swedish DJs and (of course!) lots of cider. Specifically the bar was promoting Rekorderlig's limited edition "Winter Cider" with apple, cinnamon and vanilla served hot or cold over ice with a slice of orange, or consumers could try a cider cocktail. Tickets were £5, including a Rekorderlig tasting tray. If you couldn't make it, the brand was also offering the chance to win the ultimate Beautifully Swedish winter experience at home, with goodie bags featuring winter cider and glassware, forest scented candles, blankets and an exclusive playlist.

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Covent Garden Soup Co experiential activity

Covent Garden Soup Co experiential activity

While passing through Covent Garden recently I spied a giant carton with a ladle propped against it. Upon further investigation, it turned out to be an experiential activity rig for the Covent Garden Soup company, and the ladle was actually a giant SLIDE! A selection of soups were being sampled too, so even if you didn't want to relive your childhood by whooshing down the ladle, you could still get involved.

http://now-here-this.timeout.com/2012/11/15/in-pictures-its-a-slippery-slope-at-the-giant-covent-garden-soup-slide/

Ever regretted that text you sent?

Ever left a voicemail, or sent a text, video or photo on a night out and regretted it?

Well, there’s now an ‘app for that!’

3 apps below that allow you to send messages and either set time limits before completely destroying them or being able to recall messages even after people have read them….All free to download on Apple or Android.

WICKR 
 Send free, secure & private self-destructing text, voice, video and pictures app to app worldwide, without leaving a trace.

 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/wickr-secure-private-self/id528962154?mt=8

Tiger Text

Used for businesses for secure information transfer – but is now also available to consumers.

http://www.tigertext.com/consumer/

Snapchat

A small team of four Stanford friends developed Snapchat – a new way to share photos with friends and family.

It’s based on the philosophy that great conversations are shared, enjoyed, but not saved.

http://www.snapchat.com/#

Punam

Tesco's Alessi promotion

Tesco are currently running a promotion until Christmas whereby for every £20 you spend, you receive a voucher.  5 vouchers entitle you to purchase Alessi cutlery worth £35 for just £5. 

http://www.tesco.com/direct/alessi-cutlery/

A really effective promotion that plays on people’s aspirational desires, and helps to drive loyalty.  

A Tesco consumer is unlikely to shop in Asda for one of their shops because they’ll miss out on a valuable voucher! And of course, no consumer is going to want just one set, they’re likely to keep on shopping for at least 4 or 5 sets!

Marie

Real Postcards from your phone

This is one of those simple 'why hasn't it been done before?' ideas.

Now you don't have to search for the perfect postcard from the giftshop, and pay over the odds for a stamp.

With the genius app called ' bypost' you can select your own holiday snap ( or any snap come to think of it) from your phone, write your own message to those back home and it's transformed into a real postcard, delivered to your loved one for under a quid.

A great example of 'old' & 'new' coming together in a really useful little app.


Phil P

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The Art Of Lettering

It's often forgotten that typography can make us 'feel' something just as much as an image.

Seb Lester designs beautiful type for brands and his work bridges the gap between art and copy, literally.


www.seblester.co.uk


Lovely stuff.

Phil P.