NEWS FROM FOXY BINGO

FOXY LAUNCHES CELEB CALENDAR
Foxy Bingo enlists a host of TV’s top stars from Nanny Pat to Alex Reid to feature in his 2012 calendar

Foxy, bingo’s biggest bachelor and face of FoxyBingo.com, has teamed up with a host of celebs to launch his calendar for 2012. Stars of ‘The Only Way is Essex’ Maria Fowler and Nanny Pat, cage fighter Alex Reid, and the cast of Geordie Shore join Foxy in recreating various iconic images for the aptly named ‘Foxy And His Famous Friends’ calendar. The calendar is available exclusively through FoxyBingo.com.

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Cliff Richard, Kylie Minogue and Cheryl Cole, Foxy is the latest in a long line of beloved showbiz personalities to launch his own official calendar. In January, Foxy will be king of the world as he embraces Maria Fowler on the bow of the Titanic. Come spring, the cast of Geordie shore join Foxy suspended on a girder above the New York sky line and in May, Foxy fans will be treated to the sight of their favourite Essex gran, Nanny Pat, posing over a subway grate as Marilyn Monroe. Alex Reid also stands alongside Foxy and dons an afro wig as the pair give their take on ‘Pulp Fiction’.

Foxy said, “Shooting this calendar has been the most fun I’ve ever had. I’ve been covered in clay with Maria, put an afro wig on Alex Reid and I’ve seen further up Nanny Pat’s skirt than I care to mention. I texted Mark Wright and said, ‘I’ve got your Nan here looking foxy dressed as Marilyn.’ He wasn’t impressed. But she’s a lovely lady and I know all the Foxy fans out there will love the pictures as much as I do.”

Foxy Bingo is the most popular online bingo site in the UK with over one million people registered to play and chat together. ‘Foxy’s Famous Friends Calendar’ is available exclusively at FoxyBingo.com from Friday 18th November 2011.

ENDS


For more information please contact Katie Bawler or Paul Goodman on
020 7693 6999 / foxy@frankpr.it


Notes to editors

Shot List:
January: Foxy and Maria Fowler embrace on the Titanic
February: Foxy enjoys a date with a mystery beauty
March: Foxy and the Geordie Shore cast share a ‘high tea’
April: Foxy in his golfing gear
May: Foxy and Nanny Pat in ‘The Seven Year Itch’
June: Foxy and Alex Reid in ‘Pulp Fiction’
July: Foxy stretches in his gym gear
August: Foxy and Maria Fowler at the pottery wheel
September: Foxy at his grand piano
October: Foxy loses out to Alex Reid
November: Foxy lounging in his bachelor pad
December: Foxy and Nanny Pat celebrate V-J Day

About Foxy Bingo:
Foxy Bingo launched in 2005 and is now one of the biggest names in UK bingo with more than 40 game rooms to play in. Cards start from just 1p and a whopping £6,000,000 is given away each month. Foxy Bingo players can enjoy a range of instant win games with progressive jackpots up to £50,000.
About bwin.party:
bwin.party digital entertainment plc is the world’s largest listed online gaming company. The Company was formed from the merger of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG and PartyGaming Plc on 31 March 2011. Incorporated and licensed and regulated in Gibraltar, the Group has over 3,100 employees in offices in Europe, India, Israel and the US and generated total pro forma revenues of €724.1m and pro forma Clean EBITDA of €193.7m in 2009. bwin.party is also licensed in Alderney, France and Italy and commands leading market positions in each of our four key product verticals: online sports betting, poker, casino and bingo with some of the world’s biggest online gaming brands including bwin, PartyPoker, PartyCasino and Foxy Bingo. At the heart of our business, our proprietary software, online gaming platforms and a strong portfolio of games collectively differentiate our customer offer compared with our competitors.

NEWS FROM OCADO

Grocery pioneer Ocado is continuing its mission to deliver ‘on the go’ shopping to the masses by launching the UK’s first ever transactional supermarket app on BlackBerry.

A staggering 18.6 per cent of all Ocado checkouts are now attributable to mobile devices , little more than two years on from the arrival of an Ocado On The Go shopping app to Apple’s iPhone. Ocado, the first supermarket in the world to sell over iPhone, has since expanded its popular m-commerce platform to Android handsets and the iPad; and now extends it even further to BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

BlackBerry is a logical progression for the online grocer, given its reputation as the businessperson’s mobile of choice. Recent Ocado analysis of food shopping habits has found that orders made using the Ocado On The Go app are highest during peak travel times , in turn suggesting that mobile shoppers regularly use the daily commute to place their weekly shop. According to October 2011 data from Canalys, BlackBerry was the number one selling Smartphone in the UK .

Launched this week, the Ocado On The Go app for BlackBerry is both touch-screen and roller-ball enabled, and offers a specially-designed interface compatible with over 30 different models and handsets. Upgrades, including barcode scanning and delivery slot syncing with phone calendars, will be implemented in the coming weeks.

Ocado’s move onto BlackBerry coincides with a progression onto Windows Phone 7 handsets, a platform given added momentum by Nokia’s deal with Microsoft to use its operating system in place of Symbian. Both apps will provide customers with great value – across Ocado’s entire 21,000-product catalogue - and basket-filling flexibility around the clock, whether price matching on thousands of Tesco products on the commute to work or finalising Christmas plans at the school gates.

Interestingly, further sales data has revealed that Ocado On The Go customers have a different palate to those who place their orders via Ocado.com. While webshop users stock up on indulgent treats such as home baking products, wine and butter , , those using the app tend to prefer healthier ingredients with fresh fruit, veg, fruit juice and salads top buys .

Jason Gissing, co-founder of Ocado, comments: “Ocado is proud to be a major innovator when it comes to mobile commerce.

“Ocado On The Go is the first BlackBerry app in the UK to support supermarket shopping and the app’s arrival on to Windows Phone 7 will widen our reach even further, which is hugely exciting.

“Busy workers and casual mobile users alike can now find everything they need to ensure their households run smoothly; over 21,000 great value and quality products in their pocket.”

Available to customers today, find Ocado On The Go for BlackBerry by visiting the BlackBerry App World through your handset; the Ocado On The Go app for Windows Phone 7 is available from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

NEWS FROM OCADO

Window Shopping...
Online supermarket Ocado hits the high street with pioneering new ‘shop’



November 04, 2011 OCADO, the award-winning online supermarket, has moved from computer screens to shop windows by taking residence on the high street this month with an innovative experiment in virtual shopping at Bristol’s Cabot Circus. It follows the arrival of Ocado’s great value, great quality delivery service to Bristol (and parts of South Wales and the South West) in March.

Live between November 4 and 10, Ocado’s integrated window display will let Bristolians purchase all their grocery essentials, and a few indulgent treats, on their mobile phones; all to be delivered direct to their kitchen table.

Ocado’s virtual shopping wall will offer household essentials ranging from tea bags and toilet rolls to pasta and potatoes – branded goods and quality Waitrose products alongside those from its fast-growing Ocado range; not to mention tasty treats from Ocado’s newly-stocked Reflets de France and Daylesford Organic ranges.

The Ocado virtual store at Unit 16 of Cabot Circus, between Ernest Jones and Wallis on Concorde Street, will be accessible 24 hours a day with customers able to shop in a few easy steps:

1. If you don’t have it already, download the Ocado On The Go app from the App Store or Android Market
2. Open the app and press the barcode symbol in the top right of your screen
3. Hold the camera screen over the barcode of a product until it recognises it
4. When the product appears on your screen, press ‘add’ to put it in your basket
5. Keep on shopping and then check out!

The online supermarket first hit the high street this August at the One New Change shopping centre in central London. It was the first time that Ocado, a strictly online business, had migrated from the internet to bricks and mortar. However, being a leader in online grocery retail - introducing the world’s first supermarket shopping mobile application on iPhone in 2009 and now, this month, launching onto Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 handsets - the company stuck to its digital technology roots with a distinctive spin on the future of high street shopping.

As of this October, mobile devices were used in a staggering 18.6 per cent of Ocado checkouts; an ever-increasing number of customers now regularly shop via the award-winning Ocado On The Go app.

Jason Gissing, Ocado co-founder, said: “Taking the virtual window shopping experience to Bristol is a natural move for Ocado, following a successful trial of this bold venture in London.

“Bristol is the perfect choice because, as of March, we started making our first deliveries here, and to people in the surrounding areas. The response since we arrived has been great. We hope that our loyal customers, and a few new faces, are just as excited to browse our innovative shop front, as we were to create it.”

Head down to Cabot Circus, Bristol from November 4 until the end of the week geared with your mobile phone to trial this unique window shopping experience.

-Ends-

For further information contact:

Estelle Boon, Frank PR Tel: 020 7693 6959 Email: estelleboon@frankpr.it
Francesca Hall, Frank PR Tel: 020 7693 6983 Email: francescahall@frankpr.it
Rochelle Collison, Frank PR Tel: 020 7693 7496 Email: rochellecollison@frankpr.it

Notes to Editors:

About Ocado:
Ocado (www.ocado.com) was established in 2000, started trading in 2002 and is now one of Britain’s leading online supermarkets. Ocado operates a centralised distribution model which means that it does not rely upon a network of stores from which to service customers – orders are fulfilled at a unique, high-automated Customer Fulfilment Centre in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, before being loaded onto delivery vans making local routes, or transported by HGV to vans stationed at a network of regional UK distribution spokes. Ocado delivers over 21,000 product lines including Waitrose goods and a growing Ocado own-label range. Last October it was named World E-tailer of the Year at the prestigious World Retail Awards and, earlier this year, won Consumer Initiative of the Year at the Grocer Gold Awards for its popular mobile commerce platform.

NEWS FROM SODASTREAM

SodaStream Sparkles with New Naturals Range

New range of ‘better for you’ flavours for the whole family

Everyone knows the importance of natural goodness in your family’s diet but it doesn’t have to be boring, as SodaStream have proven with their brand new range of all-natural flavours.

The Sparkling Naturals range is available in three flavours; Lemon & Lime, Blackcurrant & Pear and Pink Grapefruit, with a sub-range of Sparkling Naturals for Kids also available in three flavours; Apple, Strawberry, and Orange & Peach. All six are free from artificial flavours and made from all-natural ingredients and bursting with flavour, enabling fizzy families to create their own delicious sparkling drinks at home with water straight from the tap.

Each of the Naturals flavours will be available in 750ml bottles priced at £3.99, which creates six litres of sparkling soft drink, offering a cost-effective and environmentally-friendly alternative to other carbonated soft drinks. Plus, kids will love being able to create their own fruity flavours, whilst having some fizzy kitchen fun!

This ‘better for you’ range has no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners, simply using cane sugar and natural fruit juices to create the great taste. Parents can rest assured that this fruit fun is also providing sparkling goodness, as the Sparkling Naturals for Kids range gives 100% RDA of Vitamin C per serving.

SodaStream also helps to reduce bottle waste; its reusable carbonating bottle lasts up to three years and is estimated to save 2000 bottles. There are also fewer empty bottles or cans to discard or recycle and less energy wasted by transporting billions of litres of ready-to-drink soft drinks. This enables families to practice ‘precycling’ - reducing waste before recycling is necessary.

Each Sodastream drinksmaker also comes with a full CO2 gas cylinder and a one-off ‘user licence’ entitling you to use the cylinder throughout the life of your Sodastream. When the gas in the cylinder is used up, you just exchange the empty cylinder for a full one, paying only the cost of the gas refill.


So with this new range of great-tasting fruity flavours for your SodaStream, why not stock up on Naturals and start having some ‘good for you’ family fun in the kitchen!

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

Whole Foods Market, the world’s largest retailer of natural and organic products will be exclusively stocking the Naturals Kids range in their Kensington store until the end of October. Both the adult and kids’ ranges will be rolling out to other key retailers towards the end of the year and are also available from SodaStream online.

SodaStream drinksmakers, and gas are available from John Lewis, Selfridges, Comet, Argos, Robert Dyas, Lakeland, Harvey Nichols, The Range, Maplin, Curry’s Megastores and selected Sainsbury, Asda and Homebase stores. SodaStream drinksmakers cost from £49.99 and 500 ml flavour concentrates from £3.29.

The 750 ml bottles of Naturals flavour syrups are available in Blackcurrant & Pear, Lemon & Lime, and Pink Grapefruit, priced at £3.99 each

The 750 ml bottles of Kids Naturals flavour syrups are available in Apple, Orange & Peach, and Strawberry, priced at £3.99 each

About SodaStream:

SodaStream manufactures home beverage carbonation systems, which enable consumers to easily transform ordinary tap water instantly into carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water. Soda makers offer a highly differentiated and innovative solution to consumers of bottled and canned carbonated soft drinks and sparkling water. Our products are environmentally friendly, cost effective, promote health and wellness, and are customizable and fun to use. In addition, our products offer convenience by eliminating the need to carry bottles home from the supermarket, to store bottles at home or to regularly dispose of empty bottles. Our products are available at more than 40,000 retail stores in 41 countries around the world.

Gas refills & cylinders:

SodaStream drinks makers work by dispensing CO2 from a gas cylinder in the back of the drinks maker, into fresh tap water to make your sparkling drinks. When you buy your SodaStream drinks maker, a full CO2 gas cylinder is included under licence, entitling you to use the cylinder with your SodaStream. When the gas in the cylinder is used up, you exchange the empty cylinder for a full one, paying only the cost of the gas refill. You can exchange your empty cylinder for a new one either in store or through our direct delivery system. For full details on the gas exchange process, see http://www.sodastream.co.uk/gbretail/Exchang-Programme.aspx

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.

-Ends-
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.

-Ends-
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