NEWS FROM NATIONALFIELD

As the Obama re-election campaign swings back in to action this autumn, NationalField, the private social network for enterprise and organisations that helped the US President to the White House, is launching in the UK.

With clients including the NHS, Ocean Sky, Kaiser Permanente and the 2012 Obama re-election campaign, NationalField has had a stellar start. The company has grown rapidly and became profitable in its first year, with firms buying into the unique management tool designed to streamline internal communications, communicate vision and capture real-time data.

Founded by Oxford and Sorbonne educated Edward Saatchi and entrepreneurs Justin Lewis and Aharon Wasserman during the 2008 Obama for American campaign, NationalField is advised by some of the world’s leading luminaries across the social, enterprise social and pure enterprise sectors – bringing a breadth of relevant experience to the table. These include Chris Hughes - a founding member of Facebook, Sam Lawrence – former CMO of Jive and Jay Rossiter – SVP at Yahoo and VP at Oracle.

NationalField is a management tool for the 21st century, enabling managers to filter key business metrics to different parts of the company, oversee projects wherever they and their team are and understand what’s going on in their business at any given time. The patented technology allows businesses to combine the ‘Facebook generation’s’ enthusiasm for social with enterprise resource planning systems already in place – creating a unique structure for internal communications and management.

The system allows employees to swap information and intelligence in real time whether they are sitting next to each other or out in the field. It also helps to address some of the disconnect that can be experienced across different levels in a company.

“NationalField has resonance with today’s workforce as it looks and feels like social networks such as Facebook,” says Saatchi. “But it also gives managers a chance to see exactly what is happening in their organisation at any given time.

“Employees of all ages are now used to updating their status and getting instant feedback in their personal lives. We’re giving them an outlet to show what they are contributing to their company every day – not just once a year in their annual review,” says Saatchi.

It was on the 2008 Obama campaign trail that Saatchi, Lewis and Wasserman recognised a significant gap in the way communication was managed on the campaign. NationalField was born as a tool to improve communication among field staff and managers, revolutionising the way the campaign was managed.

NationalField’s success during the Obama campaign led its founders to take it to the next level and roll it out as a standalone company in the post-campaign period. Since 2009 the company has taken corporate and political America - and now the UK - by storm with a number of high profile clients across a cross section of industries.

As the company embarks on a new round of fundraising in Silicon Valley, it has also set up its European HQ at The Hub in Kings Cross near to London’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’. “We’ve chosen The Hub in order to tap into the entrepreneurial buzz in the area and help us fulfil our goal of becoming the market leader in the emerging ‘global social enterprise resource planning’ sector by 2020” says Saatchi.

NationalField’s executive team includes Edward Saatchi, CEO, Aharon Wasserman, chief product officer and Justin Lewis, chief technology officer. To grow the EMEA business, Saatchi is working with former Obama campaign colleague and organisational expert Alex Lofton, who is the firm’s head of business development in Europe.

NEWS FROM THE FOOD NETWORK

World’s largest edible Taj Mahal sculpture unveiled by Food Network UK

A 3ft X 10ft X 5ft edible Taj Mahal sculpture was unveiled today, consisting of the nation’s favourite curry ingredients from pilau rice and poppadoms to Bombay potatoes.

The renowned and iconic white domes of the Taj Mahal were immortalised in Indian cuisine, outside one of the UK’s most famous landmarks, St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The spicy sculpture was commissioned by Food Network UK to celebrate the launch of its new series Reza, Spice Prince of India, starring celebrity chef Reza Mahammad, and consists of some of the most-loved ingredients used in Indian cooking:

- Pilau rice creates the structure of the Taj
- Poppadoms make up part of the garden leading up to the palace
- Green chillies were placed in the garden as trees
- Mango chutney was used as part of the garden
- Chipati bread forms main dome of the Taj

Nick Thorogood, Managing Director of Food Network EMEA says: “Our new show Reza, Spice Prince of India sees Reza exploring the magnificent palaces of Rajasthan, learning about the history and sampling local cuisine - so it’s only fitting that we created the most famous Indian palace out of food, giving people a unique taste of India here in the UK!”

Whilst the Taj Mahal took 22 years in total to complete and needed the help of more than 1,000 elephants and 20,000 North Indian labourers, this version, created by food artist Prudence Staite, took 5 days, 7 hours and 30 minutes to construct.

Reza Mahammad, TV chef and host of the show comments: “Whilst filming the show in Rajasthan, we visited the most extraordinary royal palaces, all which took years to complete, so it was incredible to watch this beautiful, edible Taj Mahal being constructed with such detail, and even better to taste it!”

Reza, Spice Prince of India premieres on Food Network UK on Monday, 24th October at 6.30pm. The show follows Reza Mahammad, as he embarks on an unforgettable journey around India’s residences to discover the fascinating traditions of Rajasthan food and royal feasting, with Reza offering his own contemporary take on traditional Indian dishes.

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For further information please contact the Food Network UK team at Frank PR on foodnetwork@frankpr.it or call 0207 693 6977

NEWS FROM PREMIER INN

IS THIS THE DREAM JOB?
Meet Premier Inn’s new Director of Bed Bouncing



Most people dream of spending their working day reclining on a comfortable bed, but for Natalie Thomas it’s a reality in her job as The Director of Bed Bouncing [DOBB] for Premier Inn, the UK’s biggest budget hotel chain.

In her role as DOBB, Natalie Thomas, aged 39 and ironically from ‘Bed’fordshire, is tasked with testing how comfortable each of the hotel chain’s 46,000 beds are every six months to ensure every guest gets a good night’s sleep guaranteed.

Natalie was appointed as DOBB due to her unique ability to feel even the smallest lump or bump in a mattress. With Natalie spending up to eight hours a day bouncing her botty on beds she has to take extra special care of her derriere, with regular moisturising and being careful not to wear any hard wearing materials, like denim.

So important is Natalie’s sensitive behind to being an expert at her job, that Premier Inn may well follow in the footsteps of J-Lo, who famously insured her bum for £18 million[i], with the budget hotel chain already in talks to insure Natalie’s bottom for up to £4m.

With almost two thirds of Brits* admitting that they have suffered a bad night’s sleep as a result of an uncomfortable mattress and 63% of Brits admitting to having suffered neck and back pain as a result of a bad mattress, Premier Inn made the decision to appoint a Director of Bed Bouncing to check the comfort levels of all their beds across their 602 hotels. And with 62% of the nation citing that they would like mattresses at hotels to be checked regularly to ensure maximum comfort, this was quite simply something the budget hotel chain could not ignore.

Natalie comments: “I absolutely love my job and really can’t imagine doing anything else now! I work with an excellent team of ‘bouncers’ and we work together to bounce on every part of the bed, before testing how comfortable it is to lie and sleep on. Whilst we have lots of fun bouncing on beds, we take our job very seriously as making sure every guest gets a good night’s sleep is of paramount importance to us all.”

Claire Haigh, spokesperson for Premier Inn said, “We’re thrilled with the work our Director of Bed Bouncing and her team are doing and we hope their hard work ensures our guests continue to have a good night’s rest on our comfortable beds.”

As DOBB for Premier Inn, Natalie travels 1000’s of miles a year across the UK visiting every one of the 602 hotels. Since being appointed at the beginning of the month, Natalie and her team of dedicated ‘bouncers’ have tested an average of 7200 beds and they plan to have tested all of them by the end of February 2012.

Premier Inn bosses are then planning to give Natalie’s bottom a rest and have provided her with a special support chair to use for a two week break before she will then hit the road to start the next round of mattress testing.

Premier Inn offers all guests the unique ’Good Night Guarantee’ – which means if you are not 100% satisfied with your stay you will get a full refund.

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For more information, imagery or an interview with DOBB, please contact
Frank PR on 020 7693 6999 / premierinn@frankpr.it
Notes to editors:
*Research carried out by One Poll for Premier Inn, 2,000 respondents were surveyed in September 2011
Award-winning Premier Inn is the UK’s biggest hotel brand with over 600 budget hotels and more than 46,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland. Premier Inn bedrooms feature en-suite bathrooms, TV with Freeview, and WiFi internet access. All Premier Inns feature a bar and restaurant; situated inside the hotel or adjacent, offering a wide range of food choices.

Premier Inn has hotels in Dubai and India. On a domestic front, Premier Inn aims to be the largest provider of budget hotels in London (within the M25) by 2012.

Premier Inn is currently offering rooms for just £29 (restrictions apply). Visit www.premierinn.com for full terms and conditions.

Premier Inn supports WaterAid, the international charity whose mission is to overcome poverty by enabling the world's poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education.

[1] Jennifer Lopez insured her bottom for £18 million - one of the largest insurance premiums placed on a celebrity body part. http://tinyurl.com/6lx2fut