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Editor’s Note – Monthly ticketIt’s a new DailyExpertNews Travel series that highlights some of the most fascinating topics in the world of travel. In April we set course for the multifaceted world of cruises. Whether you’re looking for travel inspiration or insider knowledge, Monthly Ticket will get you there.
(DailyExpertNews) — After two years of relentlessly navigating choppy seas, the cruise industry — one of the sectors of tourism hardest hit by the pandemic — is forecasting significantly smoother sailing ahead.
Facing ongoing pandemic pressures and increasingly pressing demands around climate action, industrial innovation and adaptation is the name of the game.
Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady made its debut in March 2022.
Gregg Wolstenholme/Bav Media/Shutterstock
CLIA predicts that passenger numbers will not only reach but exceed pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. more than 75 ships on order until 2027.
Industry insiders say the demand for cruisers is there.
“The industry was only active for two and a half months in 2020 and partially in 2021, so there are essentially more than 20 months of cruise passengers who haven’t gotten their vacation,” explains Monty Mathisen, editor-in-chief of Cruise Industry. News.
Cruising is definitely back, albeit with a slightly different look and feel. This is where the future of cruising currently stands for 2022 and beyond.
Continuation of pandemic-driven protocols
DailyExpertNews’s Natasha Chen reports aboard the Celebrity Edge, the first cruise ship to leave a US port in more than 15 months.
Cruise lines have implemented strict health and safety measures in response to the pandemic, which, according to CLIA spokesman Laziza Lambert, “are some of the highest levels of Covid-19 containment compared to virtually any other commercial environment”.
McDaniel says that consumer confidence is high as a result.
“Cruisers have been told that they feel more comfortable cruising than flying, staying in a hotel, attending an indoor event, and even attending a house party with some guests outside of their family,” the editor says.
Those measures include vaccination mandates, pre-cruise testing, advanced ventilation systems, deep-cleaning protocols and the elimination of high-touch surfaces (for example, buffets are now manned by crew rather than self-service). Some lines still need to be masked and social distancing encouraged through reduced capacity, though those policies are easing.
“I’ve heard a lot of positive comments about the ships being less than full and that has resulted in a better onboard experience,” Mathisen says, but adds, “That’s coming to an end soon.”
But some of the newer crowd-reducing measures are likely to remain and prove to be vacation value additions for travelers, such as more streamlined boarding at embarkation and the replacement of personal monster exercises with virtual ones.
Passengers check in for their cruise in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on June 26, 2021. Celebrity Edge was the first cruise ship to leave a US port since the coronavirus pandemic brought the industry to a standstill for 15 months.
“A lot of the pain points of the cruise experience were around the first day — checking in, collecting, etc.” Mathisen says, “And they all have a new look.”
Also notable is the ongoing impact of the pandemic on itineraries, given the patchwork of shifting international restrictions around cruise ship access. Promising for the industry, some key destinations will lift their cruise ship bans for the first time in two years by 2022, including Canada and Australia.
Many ports will still require proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 tests to disembark passengers – and port policies may shift with the ebb and flow of pandemic waves.
McDaniel says that because of such volatility, flexible cancellation policies are the number one consideration for potential cruisers. However, she advises, “Cruise lines are starting to change their cancellation policies from what we saw earlier in the pandemic, so it’s important to make sure you’re familiar with the policy of your choice before booking.”
Greener ship technology
Pioneering cruise lines are now pursuing a variety of new and more sustainable alternative energy sources to green their fleets, including electric batteries, biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells.
Norway-based Hurtigruten is behind the world’s first hybrid electric-powered cruise ship, the three-year-old MS Roald Amundsen; the company has since added two more hybrid ships, with three more to come, and has announced plans for a zero-emission ship by 2030. They banned HFO more than a decade ago and are currently experimenting with biofuels.
Hurtigruten’s MS Roald Amundsen in Duse Bay, Antarctica.
Asta Lassesen, CEO of Hurtigruten Expeditions, says the company hopes to lead by example, as “the only way forward for the cruise industry is a more sustainable one.”
“Unfortunately, we see large parts of the cruise industry dragging their feet, powering ships with polluting heavy fuel oil and inundating small communities by the thousands at once,” she adds.
Some like-minded cruise lines are joining the ranks, such as luxury line Ponant, which debuted an electric hybrid ship last year, and luxury Silversea Cruises, which has a hybrid ship lined up for 2023. Meanwhile, Italian mainstream line MSC Cruises has ambitions to ‘ the world’s first hydrogen-powered cruise ship.
CLIA reports that more than half of the industry’s new cruise ships will rely on liquefied natural gas (LNG). But industrial watchdogs like Marcie Keever of environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth warn that LNG is just a distraction and yet another major polluter.
“The cruise industry that switches to LNG is just going to lock them up in a failed fossil fuel technology for another 30 to 40 years,” she says.
The industry is also looking at mitigation measures through shore power connectivity, allowing ships to switch off their engines and connect in port. CLIA will have 174 ships with such connectivity enabled by 2027, although there are currently only 14 global ports with compatible infrastructure.
Even before the pandemic, cruisers showed an affinity for smaller, more intimate vessels, with a blessing of riverboats and expedition ships now on order.
Existing cruise lines such as Viking and Seabourn are expanding into the expedition market this year, while all-new brands such as Atlas Ocean Voyages and The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection expand the space for small vessels.
Viking’s two new expedition ships each have a luxurious Owner’s Suite.
While more expensive, these smaller ships offer a distinct appeal in a post-pandemic world, such as fewer crowds and access to more exotic bucket-list locations otherwise inaccessible to larger cruise ships.
“To put it very simply: size matters,” says Lassesen of Hurtigruten. “An expedition cruise ship has a smaller footprint than a mega ship.”
The pandemic has also accelerated a technology revolution aboard cruise ships, with newly digitized features enabling a more convenient — and contactless — onboard environment.
Smartphones and wearable technology such as bracelets or medallions now often serve as boarding passes and keycards; some portable devices even allow guests to track companions on board.
In restaurants, QR codes are replacing traditional printed menus, while cruise line mobile apps continue to evolve to help cruisers book meals, spa treatments, shows, activities and excursions at the touch of a button.
it comes down to
McDaniel believes the industry is well positioned to address any pandemic-related challenges.
“Based on trends we’ve seen around variants, their effect on bookings has a short shelf life,” she says. “So assuming similar patterns continue, we can expect the industry to be in a good position.”
But when it comes to sustainability, the industry still has a long way to go, say experts like Keever.
“Unfortunately, there is an incredible amount of greenwashing going on,” she says, adding that government regulation and oversight is needed “to force the industry to improve its environmental behavior and work to actually protect the communities and marine environment they travel to. “
What is certain is that there are major economic interests associated with the resilience of the industry.
Pre-pandemic, the cruise industry contributed $154 billion to the global economy, according to CLIA — that number fell by nearly 60% to $63.4 billion for 2020, leading to the loss of half of cruise-supported jobs around the world (a total of 576,000).


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Arbonne celebrated Global Day of Caring on July 14 by closing its Irvine headquarters and hosting multiple plastic clean-up events for its employees and executives.
One of those took place at Corona del Mar State Beach from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Arbonne employees and executives – including CEO Tyler Whitehead, Director of Corporate Responsibility & Social Impact Andrea Chase and Chief People Officer & Corporate Social Responsibility Fabienne Smolinski – took part in the cleanup.
Also participating in the CdM State Beach cleanup were members of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center of Laguna Beach.
This past January, Arbonne marked the one-year anniversary of B-Corp Certification, reaffirming its mission to put people and the planet first, while leading change in the wellness industry.
To further this commitment, Arbonne has set its sights on reducing its plastic packaging footprint 50 percent by 2025, starting with the new True Smooth Haircare Collection. As opposed to traditional haircare products that use mainly single-use plastic, True Smooth is packaged with cutting-edge recyclable pumps. This comes on the tail of recovering over 300,000 units of packaging through the ArbonneCycle program since B-Corp Certification.
Newport Beach Indy photographer Jim Collins was there at the CdM Beach cleanup and captured a few photos of the groups at work.

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Source: Media Outreach
Integrating the latest API technology to create a seamless online shopping experience, with instant credit approval and instant payment
HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – March 30, 2020 – Citi Hong Kong is extending its partnership with HKTVmall, the online shopping platform under the Hong Kong Television Network Limited, to launch the Citi HKTVmall Credit Card. Leveraging the latest API (Application Programming Interface) technology, the new credit card enables customers to apply, be approved and spend instantly at a single platform, without providing any supporting documents  . Every Thursday, cardholders of the Citi HKTVmall Credit Card can enjoy 5% discount off any online purchases of HK$500 or above made at HKTVmall. Every Monday, they will also be rewarded with 5x Citi Points whenever they spend at other merchants, bringing them online shopping fun and privileges.
Selected HKTVmall customers can apply for the Citi HKTVmall Credit Card at HKTVmall app. They only need to fill in basic information , without providing any supporting documents immediately, to receive instant approval on credit limit and to enjoy shopping privileges. From today onwards, selected customers will be given priority to apply for the Citi HKTVmall Credit Card, which is expected to be available in the market in May.
Lawrence Li, Head of Cards and Unsecured Lending at Citibank Hong Kong, said, “Technology innovations related to online shopping has developed rapidly in recent years, allowing customers to enjoy the fun of shopping anytime, anywhere. Citi Hong Kong has long collaborated with HKTVmall to enhance customers’ spending experience through Open API. The launch of Citi HKTVmall Credit Card allows HKTVmall customers to complete everything from card application to reward points conversion in a few steps, and to make purchases in the comfort of their own home. Citi is committed to innovation, thereby pushing forward the momentum of Smart Banking.”
Ricky Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKTV said, “The retail industry in Hong Kong is facing unprecedented challenge at the moment. With the changes in the social environment and technological advancement, Hong Kong consumers are now shifting their consumption habits to online shopping. While it is all about total customer experience for online shopping, every single detail in marketing and promotion, payment and delivery that counts. Citi HKTVmall credit card allows customers to purchase and at the same time to apply credit card to enjoy discount offers through API technology, is a true testimonial on applying technology to provide meticulous services.”
Successful applicants for the Citi HKTVmall Credit Card, who are also new cardholders of Citi, can receive up to HK$800 in welcome rewards. Terms and conditions apply.
First 10,000 successful applicants could have an limited edition of Citi HKTVmall Credit Card
Citi HKTVmall Credit Card
 Applicant is required to submit identity proof within 14 days upon instant credit approval in order to keep the card, higher credit limit maybe granted with income proof submission.
– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.


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Retail war in store for CBD
IPSWICH shoppers will have a supermarket for the 21st century when the rebuilt Coles store opens for business next year.
The megastore will put its competitors Woolworths and smaller retail chains on notice as Coles makes a move to offer Ipswich consumers the complete shopping experience.
A Coles spokesperson confirmed yesterday the new store planned to replace the now demolished Limestone St site in Ipswich's CBD, would include homeware, electrical goods, outdoor merchandise and clothing.
The additional features will be on top of the full line supermarket in what will be the largest Coles store in Australia.
The spokesperson said it was too early to confirm what brands would be stocked in the 6000sq m store, but further details would be released as the store opening came closer.
Coles recently released budget clothing and accessories line Mix, which hit a limited number of stores across the country in August.
The model follows the likes of American giants Walmart and British chain Asda, which offer consumers groceries, electrical goods and home appliances.
The Limestone St site was levelled in October after flood water caused significant damage.
Mayor Paul Pisasale said the $25 million project has put Ipswich at the centre of Australia's retail industry future.
"It's risen from the flood waters like a phoenix. It's good for Ipswich and the CBD, everything we are going to do is going to be great. I'm working very closely with them," he said.
Cr Pisasale said Coles' decision to give Ipswich the state's first mega store proved the city has a bright future.
"It's leading edge stuff and Ipswich is at the forefront for Australia. One of the reasons they invested in the city is because of where we are going in the future.
"It will be great for Ipswich to have a retail hub and attract people from Brisbane."
He assured residents that while the city is looking to evolve it will not lose it heritage.


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Doctors have known for years that sitting on the toilet for a long time can up your chances of getting haemorrhoids, they advise against reading on the toilet for this reason and now it’s been suggested that people are spending longer in the bathroom playing games and texting from the toilet which could be storing up trouble for the future.
We wanted to know what the facts were, so we surveyed smartphone owners to find out if they really do spend time on the toilet playing Angry Birds.
Of the 1,034 responses to our survey, 82% indicated that they regularly or sometimes used their phone whilst on the toilet.
Those who answered “regularly” spent an average of 6 minutes on the toilet versuses 2.5 minutes for those who answered “never”.
Only 8% of those who used their phone from the toilet said that they made outgoing calls, but 17% said that they would answer an incoming call.
There was a small difference between the sexes with 7.49% of men and 8.46% of women making calls and 15.34% and 18.47% respectively answering incoming calls. The split was less pronounced for text messages with 97% of both sexes who used their phone on the toilet admitted to sending or reading texts.
32% of men who regularly used their phones on the toilet admitted to playing games, this figure was only 17% for women, but women caught up when it came to social networking – Of those who regularly used their phone on the toilet 57% of women accessed Facebook while only 52% of men logged on.
When we compared Iphone owners with Android and Blackberry owners we found that amongst regular phone-in-the-toilet users Iphone owners averaged a whopping 7 minutes versus 5.4 minutes for Android and 5 minutes for Blackberry
Only 6 people admitted to using video calls from the toilet, 5 of whom were men.


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Executive profiles from Apple's website:
Apple's new senior vice president of retail and online stores, Angela Ahrendts, will diversify the company's executive ranks when she starts in the spring of 2014.
The Burberry CEO, who's filling a spot that has been vacant for a year, will be reporting to Apple CEO Tim Cook.
Apple's top nine executive appear to be nearly all white men as per its website — not entirely surprising in the male-dominated tech industry, but interesting, nonetheless.
With Ahrendts, Apple's executive list will look a little more like its board of directors, which also includes one woman.


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On 25 August, the Iranian minister said his country would legally sue a recent decision by Apple for removing Iranian apps from its app store. However, that has not stopped Iranians from using Apple’s products and services.
There are now thousands of applications in Iran developed by start-ups which also provide services to Iranian users through App Stores outside the country.
Toward the start of the year, Apple pulled Iranian applications that prepared “exchanges for organizations or entities situated in Iran”, keeping in accordance with limitations that keep the organization from making any cash from the country. DigiKala offered in-app transactions, which is illegal according to US sanctions, as Apple would be taking a cut of all purchases made through the app.
Azari Jahromi said when an archenemy like the U.S. places such an embargo on Iranian technologies, Iran should grow investment on domestic start-ups.
The hashtag #StopRemovingIranianApps has been trending on Iranian social media in the past few days, after Apple removed at least 10 of the country’s most popular apps from its online store.
“Under the USA sanctions regulations, the App Store can not host, distribute, or do business with apps or developers connected to certain U.S. embargoed countries”.
Those now missing include Amazon-style shopping apps Digikala and Bamilo, ride-hailing apps Snapp and Tap30, discount store Takhfifan and a brunch delivery service called Delion. Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr confirmed that the message is true, but declined to issue further comments on the matter. So also, Iranian application programmers have joined to take a stand in opposition to the expanding limitations, making a Change.org appeal to turn around the expulsion, assembling very almost 6,000 marks, and utilizing the hashtag #StopRemovingIranianApps on Twitter.
“Since Apple takes a cut of all app store purchases, sales from Iranian apps generate revenue and are thus in violation of United States law”, Apple said. However, the two things are entirely different.
It remains to be seen how the situation will play out in Iran, but for now, it appears that Apple device owners in the country are in for troubling times.


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US fund reportedly follows up Merkur acquisition with purchase of shopping centres
Ljubljana, 13 July - US investment fund HPS Investment Partners, which has signed a deal to buy the retail arm of the insolvent hardware group Merkur, has reportedly also acquired 13 shopping centres where Merkur Trgovina operates. According to a report by business newspaper Finance, it paid EUR 49m for them.
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The Shandong Lingong Machinery Company (SDLG), the brand of Chinese construction equipment giant Lingong saw a record-breaking year in India last year with the double-digit sales growth in its wheel loader. The company witnessed the growth in its construction equipment sales on the back of rising infrastructure activities in India.
The Chinese brand entered in the Indian construction equipment market in 2008, in the nine years of its operation, last year its sales volume had jumped seven times from its first year. The growth in the sales of the SDLG products indicates the popularity of its machines is gaining in India.
The company expects the further growth and demand for road building equipment in India is expected from the road projects as Indian government target to achieve the ambitious goal of building 40 km of new road a day.
While talking about the future growth in India, Mr. Sanu George, Business Head, SDLG India, said, “SDLG machines have proven to be reliable and cost effective on road projects across India. The trust our road building customers have in us will most likely to transfer to other sectors. In future, we expect to see our machines used in quarries or other applications.”
The SDLG motor graders have helped the owners with low maintenance costs and fast return on their investment over the past several years; these machines have contributed to improving profitability for the owners. The SDLG’s 16-ton G9190 motor grader is a popular choice for Indian road building projects, claims the company.
Currently, SDLG sells three models of Wheel Loader in India, including its most popular model the LG958L; it is a perfect machine for the dockside applications, and also best use for mining and general loading duties.
To continue its strong momentum in India, last year SDLG unveiled two new machines a three-tonne Wheel Loader- L933, and a 12-tonne Motor Grader- G9138 at bauma Conexpo India in December 2016, and both received with enthusiasm by customers.
The L933 equipped with a Weichai WP6G125E331 turbocharged engine designed together with Deutz, the engine delivers 92 kW at 2,300 rpm which can manage a range of material handling tasks with ease. The overall working weight of this wheel loader is 10,200–10,250 kg, the machine can deliver up to 96 kN of breakout and traction force, while its steep 45-degree dump angle and high 45-degree bucket rollback allow for more efficient load carrying and quicker cycle times.
As India aims to expand its national road network, The G9138 meets the demand of smaller and lighter motor graders for narrower road construction. The G9138 is powered by a Deutz BF4M1013-15T3R/2 engine that delivers 111 kW at 2100 rpm and it’s complemented by a ZF 6WG 158 transmission. The machine has working weight of 12,100 kg and can reach maximum forward and backward speeds of 39 km/h and 24.5 km/h respectively. It can deliver up to 75.4 kN of traction force.
With these two additions, SDLG expects to maintain this success in 2017 too. Currently, the company has a dealer of 14 well-established partner companies to deliver on its commitment to provide machines and services to its customers across the country.
Source: Information has been obtained from SDLG


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Adidas is currently on a winning streak with the community. Following its launch of the Superstar Ravi’s – which garnered immense success – the multinational company are collaborating with yet another regional favourite for the season. Creative talent Dr. Azra, who’s also known for her unique approach to henna, teamed up with the sportswear giant to create three henna-patterned sneakers
Speaking of the collaboration, Dr. Azra shared on social media: “I was commissioned by adidas to design three sneakers using henna. It was a lot of fun using henna on leather, and actually quite challenging. Hope you like them, and please let me know if you pass by to see them at the new adidas Originals store in Dubai Mall!”
The shoes are part of a collaboration with UAE-based creatives, including Latifa Saeed, Christopher Joshua Benton and Hessa, and are available at The Dubai Mall.


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Awareness about sustainably-farmed paper is relatively new among most corporations. Even the most progressive office supply companies, such as FedEx Office and Office Depot, only have environmental paper policies dating back to 2002. But that awareness is growing rapidly, thanks in large part to ForestEthics and the Dogwood Alliance’s Green Grades Report Card. In the third annual report card, ForestEthics praises both FedEx Office and Office Depot for their paper policies, while Amazon.com and PaperlinX are called out for their lack of progress in the sector.
FedEx and Office Depot have been working with ForestEthics for years, which explains their high grades of A- and B. FedEx, for example, takes pains to avoid sourcing paper from endangered forests, and the company recently announced that the majority of paper in its US copy centers will be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. And Office Depot has the most detailed paper policy out of all the companies surveyed.
“These companies are making huge strides forward,”according to Daniel Hall, the Market Solutions Director at ForestEthics. “It was a pleasant surprise. They have made a lot of progress in previous years, and we weren’t sure how much additional progress they would be able to make in this round.”
But where Office Depot and FedEx thrive, companies including Amazon.com, PaperlinX, and Costco fail, receiving grades of F from ForestEthics. A large part of this, Hall explains, is because they are part of categories (Wholesale/Distributor Sector and General Retail Sector) that are new to the ForestEthics report card this year. Paper also isn’t seen as an integral part of business for many of these companies. As time goes on, Hall and ForestEthics expect their ratings to improve.
“If the scorecard serves as a wake-up call, that’s great. We also hope it will serve as an invitation to talk to us,” Hall said. And of course, a little public pressure to change never hurt anyone, either.


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The lights are on
Nintendo has invited members of the press to a special hands-on event that will take place prior to the official commencement of E3 in Los Angeles next month.
As we reported recently, Nintendo has opted to forego their usual keynote address at the Nokia Theatre in favor of more intimate events. The company will still be holding an event for supply chain partners. As for the media, we've been invited to get early hands on time at the booth and hear remarks from famed developer Shigeru Miyamoto and Nintendo of America president and chief operating officer.
The remarks will only last 30 minutes in total. Play time is slated to begin at 11 AM on June 11, but with the show floor opening at 12 PM, things are going to get hectic after only an hour.
If you are interested in further opinion and analysis regarding Nintendo's decision to step away from a traditional keynote, I offered my thoughts and follow-up responses to reader questions.


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The link below is a video of a "Lost" promo using the Flip 3D interface. The blog entry points out that the average user may not realize that the Flip 3D effect has anything to do with Windows Vista. Of course, this is part of a broader campaign, including traditional 30- and 60-second television ads. But from this ad alone, the connection isn't necessarily obvious, even if Windows Vista is mentioned at the end. Either way, Microsoft's marketing team is obviously trying various approaches with the launch of the software giant's latest OS.
Windows 11 Beta Channel gets Taskbar, File Explorer improvements, and ISOs
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#MeToo and Time’s Up are upping celebrity cachet.
Stars who align with the Hollywood-led gender-equality movements are perceived as more relatable and trustworthy, according to an analysis by the Boston-based data and research firm Spotted, which helps brands make celebrity partnership decisions.
Part of the report focused on five actors who had associated themselves with #MeToo and Time’s Up: Reese Witherspoon, who revealed last fall that a director had sexually assaulted her when she was 16; Ashley Judd, an early Harvey Weinstein accuser who has helped lead the Time’s Up movement; Terry Crews, who disclosed in October he’d been sexually assaulted by a “high-level” male Hollywood exec; Natalie Portman, who said in a February interview she had experienced harassment throughout her showbiz career; and Kerry Washington, who helped deliver a group message about #MeToo at this year’s NAACP Image Awards.
Nearly six in 10 respondents (59%) viewed these “cause-driven” celebs as more trustworthy after reading about their stories, according to the survey of more than 200 U.S. consumers over age 18, while 52% saw them as more relatable. About half (51%) perceived them as cooler, and 45% viewed them as more attractive.
The report also surveyed consumer opinion on celebrities who are honest and open about mental health and/or addiction issues, including pop stars Demi Lovato, Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez; rapper Kid Cudi; and Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps.
While the women experienced bigger boosts in perception than men across the board, all were perceived more positively -- with 67% of people thinking they were more relatable after reading their stories, 64% viewing them as more likable, 60% viewing them as more trustworthy, 42% viewing them as cooler, and 38% viewing them as more attractive.
Some brands have been wary about aligning themselves with celebrities who are outspoken in these areas, Spotted CEO and co-founder Janet Comenos told Moneyish. But it “doesn’t damage your brand,” she said. “It actually helps you become a more relatable brand to consumers if you have an endorser who’s been outspoken about one of these issues.”
This positive association may be related to consumers’ heightened emphasis on social responsibility, said Emily Balcetis, an associate professor of psychology at New York University. Celebrities’ use of their power and platform can help give voice to marginalized people and normalize the experiences of sexual assault and mental illness, she suggested -- fulfilling a “social contract” for the greater good, in a sense.
“Individuals are finding companies, corporations, celebrities and brands that have the core value of social responsibility more attractive now than they have in the past,” Balcetis told Moneyish. Indeed, 66% of global consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable brands, according to a 2015 Nielsen report. And more than nine in 10 millennials would change brands to one linked with a cause, the 2015 Cone Communications Millennial CSR Study found.
“That’s what people are looking for now … another person who cares about helping others, helping society, helping our greater communities, when it could come at personal cost,” Balcetis said.
Celebrities tend to “pave the way for everyday consumers,” Comenos added. “They help destigmatize issues, and then it becomes more OK for consumers to speak out about those issues.” Plus, she said, talking candidly about sexual misconduct has become more acceptable over time.
“It’s a lot more accepted now than it was a year and a half ago or even six months ago,” Comenos said. “I think the tides are changing.”
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Revlon Shares are Up Over 50% As Retail Traders Look for Quick Profit
Ticker Symbol: REV
Revlon shares are up 50% in the morning trading session after jumping 91% on Friday and a further 62% on Tuesday. The shares in the beleaguered company were last trading at $9.42 per share, or roughly 700% above the low share price of $1.17 that hit on June 13th, after the company announced that it was filing for bankruptcy. The company’s market value at current stock price levels is roughly $500 million.
The giant makeup and cosmetics company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June 15th. Typically, the share price of companies that file Chapter 11 are delisted and trade down to $0 once court proceedings begin. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is considered a reorganization of business filing, which is different from Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In a Chapter 11, the company plans to work with its debtor to reemerge in a healthier state, while in a Chapter 7, the company plans to liquidate all its assets to pay debtors and cease all business operations.
As of March 31st, its’ last quarterly filing, Revlon had roughly $3.4 billion in debt. The company produced revenue of just $2.1 billion in the entirety of fiscal year 2021, and generated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of $300 million. However, the company recorded a net loss of $165 million. Revlon has not reported a profitable full fiscal year since 2016, and it has been hemorrhaging cash for the last 5 years.
New entrants into the cosmetics industry, such as Elf Cosmetics, Fenty and Blue Mercury, along with shifting demographics and customer preferences, meant that Revlon got left behind and could not compete. The company’s top line peaked in 2017 at $2.7 billion and has since slid even more with the pandemic. Its’ slide in market share was worsened by weak management and poor leadership at the board level.
Revlon’s stock rise mirrors those seen from previous troubled companies that were boosted, and in some cases, saved, by retail traders. Management at companies such as Hertz and AMC Entertainment have said that a rise in stock price is thanks to a large part of retail traders allowing them to list more secondary shares to generate cash and stave off more severe trouble.
In a company’s capital structure, common stockholders have the weakest claims on assets relative to lenders, bondholders, and preferred shareholders. Revlon did receive a potential lifeline on Friday when a bankruptcy judge allowed the company to access $375 million of new financing on an interim basis to help stabilize the cash-strapped company. The company had just $6 million cash on hand at the time of the hearing.
This content is provided for general information purposes only and is not to be taken as investment advice nor as a recommendation for any security, investment strategy or investment account.


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Black Student Accused Of Fraud After Buying $350 Salvatore Ferragamo Belt At Barneys
June 16, 2018
A black college pupil who had saved up money from his part-time job to buy a designer belt at Barneys department retailer was pounced on by police ‘as a result of he could not afford to make such an costly buy’, based on a new lawsuit.
Trayon Christian, 19, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday for unspecified damages against the Madison Avenue store and the NYPD who wrongly accused him of fraud.
Mr Christian, who lives along with his mom in Queens, had decided to splash out on a $320 belt by designer Salvatore Ferragamo after seeing one in every of his favorite music stars, Harlem rapper Juelz Santana, sporting the accessory.
Trayon Christian, 19, has introduced a lawsuit against Barneys and the NYPD after they wrongly accused him of fraud when he bought a designer belt
Barneys division retailer is dealing with a lawsuit after a 19-year-outdated black scholar claims he was wrongly grabbed by retailer detectives due to his coloration and accused of stealing a designer belt
Nevertheless as soon as he had paid for the belt and had left Barneys on April 29 this 12 months, the trend-loving teen was grabbed by undercover officers on the road.
In response to the civil rights lawsuit, the 19-12 months-old was asked ‘how a younger black man resembling himself could afford to purchase such an costly belt’.
– Parents have their very own teenage daughters arrested for… Police officer picks up tab for groceries a determined mother…
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Harlem rapper Juelz Santana (pictured right) wearing the belt coveted by his teenage fan
Mr Christian’s lawyer Michael Palillo advised the brand new York Day by day Information: ‘He’s by no means been arrested.
‘His only crime was being a young black man buying a $300 belt.’
A Barneys store worker had asked the 19-yr-old for ID when he used his Chase debit card to purchase the belt. Mr Christian confirmed the clerk his state ID.
The store cashier then subsequently referred to as the police to assert that the acquisition was a fraud, in accordance with the lawsuit.
Officers took the teenager, who’s an engineering freshman on the NYC College of Know-how, to a neighborhood precinct.
Mr Christian as soon as again confirmed his ID, debit card and receipt for the belt.
Officers still refused to imagine the teenager.
‘Despite producing such documentation Christian was informed that his identification was false and that he could not afford to make such an expensive buy,’ the go well with states.
Finally Chase bank was contacted who verified that the debit card belonged to Mr Christian.
It was solely then that he was allowed to go after spending two hours in a holding cell, the go well with claims.
The NYPD denied this and said the scholar was solely held for forty two minutes.
The student, who has no historical past of arrests, said that he won’t ever shop at Barneys again following the incident.
The teenager, who now works at Target, advised the News: ‘I introduced the belt again to Barneys just a few days later and returned it. I got my money again, I’m not procuring there again. It’s merciless.
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The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 offers NFC, as confirmed by a reader comment below.
- Amazon offers US$10 credit to customers who pay by palm
- Moscow Metro launches public biometric ticketing trial
- Australia and England let residents store Covid-19 vaccination certificates in their digital wallet
- Australian health insurers let customers make contactless claims from Apple Wallet
- Sofia rolls out open loop contactless ticketing on public transport network


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Moments ago, Zunzi’s chicken sandwich The Conquistador finished in the top 3 out of 30 finalists from across the country on Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America on the Travel Channel. The winner was the Roast Pork sandwich from DiNic’s in Philly.
Click here for today’s Savannah Morning News piece about Zunzi’s. I mentioned Zunzi’s in yesterday’s City Talk column, which is linked in a feed about halfway down the right sidebar >>>>>>>>>>
Savannah makes a lot of lists for the “Best this” or “Best that”, and clearly any such honors have an arbitrary nature to them — especially when they seem mainly designed to drive page views and ad sales.
Nevertheless, what a great honor tonight for a great business!
Congrats to owners Gabby and Johnny DeBeer, who opened Zunzi’s in 2005 and have made thousands and thousands of folks happy in the years since.
Here’s part of the segment of Adam Richman’s Best Sandwich in America on the Travel Channel that introduced the nation to The Conquistador at Zunzi’s on York Street here in Savannah:


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8 months ago
Date: 17 Aug 2022 - 12:14
PRESS RELEASE 8211 Dubai UAE 17th August 2022 Chainwirebitcoinblack has become a popular choice for millionaires and billionaires worldwide who want to join an exclusive club that provides them access to the worlds most exclusive nolimit black crypto credit card. The luxurious credit card which has no spending limits allows users to use crypto to make purchases instantly in USD wherever credit cards are accepted.bitcoinblacks popularity has grown due to its ease of use and ability to provide users instant access to their money. As more highnetworth individuals continue to join the club bitcoinblack is quickly becoming the goto choice for those wanting to use their crypto to make purchases.bitcoinblack CEO Prakash Chand says that people with a lot of wealth in crypto need an easy way to spend their crypto and to be rewarded for it. He notes that bitcoinblack is accepted in over 140 countries and that members can load up their crypto through the web app or soon to launch iOSandroid app to spend their crypto with the best conversion rates and high limits.bitcoinblack members enjoy a host of premium benefits. They have a no spend limit wherever credit cards are accepted globally and receive rewards of up to 10 back in exclusive SPND tokens. The SPND tokens can then be redeemed in the Haute Living Luxury Marketplace a curated online boutique that includes luxury watches purses cars charter jet deals private mansion access and exclusive events.The Haute Living Luxury Marketplace is a joint venture between Haute Living Magazine and bitcoinblack. Only members have exclusive access to the marketplace which features products from some of the worlds most prestigious brands and events with some of the worlds biggest celebrities.Some upcoming events for bitcoinblack members in September include private functions with NFL star Tyreek Hill fashion influencer Olivia Culpo NBA star Carmelo Anthony pro golfer Bubba Watson and worldrenowned Michelin star chef Alain Ducasse.bitcoinblacks crypto credit card is becoming HighNetWorths 1 choice for crypto to fiat conversion8221 said CEO Chand. 8220We are committed to providing our members with the best possible experience including exclusive access to the worlds most luxurious products services and luxury events.8221bitcoinblack membership is by invitation only. To request access please visit bitcoinblackcreditcard.com.About bitcoinblackbitcoinblack is the worlds most exclusive cryptopowered black credit card. Backed by the cardholders bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies bitcoinblack opens up a world of freedom and luxury that includes highlimit purchases and opulent membersonly rewards powered by the SPND token.The post bitcoinblacks Crypto Credit Card Is Becoming Top Choice for Crypto to Fiat Conversion appeared first on CryptoPotato.Read in the source
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Crypto News Show morenavigate_next
Sharyn Alfonsi a journalist and 60 Minutes correspondent interviewed Mike Peterson one of the people who funded the Bitcoin Beach project and encouraged crypto adoption.
Bybit one of the fastest growing crypto exchanges announced today the integration of over 35 Chainlink Price Feeds into its spot trading platform on the Polygon mainnet.As per the announcement the integration now gives Bybit access to highquality decentralized price data feeds for highvolume spot trading pairs. Notably Chainlink Price Feeds help add decentralization and dependability when calculat
The post Crypto Crash Decoding the Possibility Of Microstrategy Liquidating bitcoins With Margin Call on the Horizon appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech amp Cryptocurreny News Media Crypto GuideThe immediate trigger for the crypto crash appears to be a massive selloff by investors amid heightened inflation fears. The global Crypto markets crashed heavily following the announcement that U.S. infla
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk Teslas CEO and the new owner of Twitter have addressed suggestions that the social media platform should have less anonymity. Clinical psychologist Dr. Jordan B. Peterson is among the users who want less anonymity on the platform while Dorsey believes it would be a big mistake to impose a policy allowing less anonymity.Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey Discuss
A new audit report revealed that the two entities behind the Terra ecosystem LFG and TFL 8211 collectively spent more than 3.4 billion between May 8th12th 2022 to defend the peg of the fallen stablecoin.The main objective of the audit was to bring 8220transparency8221 into the peg defense activity and dispel reports of fund misappropriation embezzlement and theft.Technical Audit ReportLuna Foundat
Singapore April 11 2022 8211 TiTi protocol announces a successful fundraising round of 3.5 million led by Spartan Group with participation from SevenX Ventures Incuba Alpha DeFi Alliance Agnostic Fund Fourth Revolution Capital 4RCapital Solidity Venture and other institutions as well as other individual investors including 0xb1 Fold Finance Tascha and Nipun Alpha Venture DAO and Michael Fantom. Th
Americas media central bankers and bureaucrats continue to debate the rising inflation in the U.S. that has raised the cost of living and increased the prices of goods and services nationwide. Senator Rand Paul RKy. believes the inflation is only going to get worse and he published a report on the issue and blamed excessive coronavirus relief spending by Congress. Furthermore a new decentralized m
The post Pentagon Finds Major Security Loop Holes in Bitcoin Blockchain appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech amp Cryptocurreny News Media Crypto GuideThe price of cryptocurrencies just fell wiping out hundreds of millions of dollars. The solvency of numerous tokens has been questioned after the Terra crisis. Record outflows and liquidations indicate a lack of confidence in the cryptocurrency marke
The BSV association and SDA will collaborate through the new blockchain academy in Riyadh to provide blockchain learning and development resources.
The ghost of the highest inflation since 1981 gets traders pricing in three more 0.5 rate hikes by October.
U.S. Congress issued another letter to the Environmental Protection Agency EPA on Thursday with more educational material on proof of work. This time however it came with a positive spin and was cosigned by a handful of crypto bulls rather than skeptics.The Promises of Proof of WorkThe letter calls on the EPA to pursue a comprehensive analysis when attempting to understand the environmental effec
Cathie Woods crypto investment firm ARK Invest has reportedly sold more than 1.4 million shares of Coinbase Global COIN. As of Tuesdays closing price the shares amounted were worth around 75 million.Offloading Coinbase SharesAccording to a Bloomberg report this is the first time that funds controlled by the investor had dumped COIN this year. Notably the average cost at which ARK Invest had purcha
LinkedIn crypto scams typically start off with unsolicited token listing offers from LinkedIn users claiming to be from reputable crypto exchanges.
The post Do Kwon There Is No Investigations Against Him Or Terra By S.Korean Officials appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech amp Cryptocurreny News Media Crypto GuideCryptocurrencies started the year 2022 on a decent note but things changed in the month of May with a collapse of the Terra network. This incident had the worst effect on the whole crypto space as the network lost more than 40 billion
An Islamic scholar Irshad Ahmad Ijaz has asserted that digital currency is not fake currency and that it should be legitimized once certain conditions are met. Ijazs viewpoint is echoed by other scholars that attended a seminar examining the status of digital currencies from the perspective of Islamic law.13Use of Crypto in the Digital Age13An Islamic scholar or Mufti Irshad Ahmad Ijaz recently ar


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There are new signs for the times on one of Garstang’s main car parks – and they signal a welcome changes to council charging policies.
Motorists can now park on ALL of the the Windsor Road car park by Booths and the YMCA Leisure Centre free for three hours.
In recent years the town centre car park, with spaces for around 300 cars, has been run as two separate parks by Booths (200 free for three hours spaces) and Wyre Council (100 charged for spaces).
The ending of the confusing two-tier system, which has operated since 2011, has been welcomed by motorists, townsfolk and traders.
Coun Roger Berry, cabinet member with responsibility for car parks at Wyre Council, said: “The legal agreement with Booths over the lease of Windsor Road car park has been completed and the new arrangements – free short stay parking for shoppers – are now operational and very much welcome.
He continued: “I’m pleased we’ve been able to reach an agreement with a private retailer which not only gives shoppers free parking and boosts the town centre, but at the same time retains a revenue stream to support the council’s car parking service throughout the borough.”
Booths had wanted an all free parking area next to its store since its new building opened .
It had previously offered the council a deal to make up for lost parking income.
The council had rejected Booths’ plans saying that “the criteria was too restrictive and not in the best long-term interests of the Garstang community.”
A spokeswoman for Booths said: “Booths lease the car park near their Garstang store from the council and are delighted to provide free parking to both shoppers and visitors to the town centre for up to three hours.”


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Top Business Stories from the U.S.
Updated: 4 hours 3 min ago
Talisman Energy will appoint nominees of Carl Icahn to its board as part of an agreement with its second-biggest shareholder.
A recent report details how a new class of micro-preneurs is balancing numerous jobs and income streams.
If the Fed's still not worried about inflation, they really ought to take a look at dancing ladies and leaping lords.
Online shoppers got a head start on Cyber Monday. But the holiday buying season got off to a rather tepid start.
The key issue for Mexico's oil reform isn't privatization, it's whether it will open the industry to international companies, says Dan Yergin.
Comcast is testing new ad technology that inserts up-to-date commercials into past episodes of TV shows that are available on demand.
Insurers say the systems that are supposed to deliver consumer information to them still aren't working.
Dow identified the commodity chemicals businesses it would sell or spin off as part of a plan to sell assets worth $3 billion to $4 billion.
Bank of America said it settled all claims with Freddie Mac arising from mortgages sold through the end of 2009.
While you may not be able to get Google Glass this holiday season, there are other wearable tech products on the market.
China has punished almost 20,000 officials in the last year for breaching rules to curb bureaucracy.
Investors poured $31.6 billion into equity mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in November.
Pilots are becoming so reliant on the computers that on the rare occasions when something goes wrong, they're sometimes unprepared to take control.
With the holidays and New Year's quickly approaching, 'tis the season to toast with bubbles that don't burst.
In an era of chastened Wall Street egos, the chief of Citigroup has cultivated a workmanlike demeanor out of the spotlight. The NYT reports.
US financial regulators are turning their sights on private equity firms, the Financial Times reports.
A sharp rise in U.S. equity prices could be leading to a dangerous bubble, according to one of the three Americans who won the 2013 Nobel prize for economics.
BP is expecting a surge in compensation payments over the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The FT reports.
This week, the largest-known private collection of memorabilia from the Lord of the Rings films will be auctioned in Beverly Hills.


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2022 and 2023 have been tumultuous years for Tesla investors. In 2022, Tesla’s stock price fell by as much as 70%. This was equivalent to more than $700 billion being wiped out from Tesla’s market cap.
A couple of main reasons contributed to Tesla’s decline in 2022. The first is a higher interest rate environment which has shifted money from stocks to bonds. This has caused a lull in the entire stock market with the worst affected being growth stocks with higher multiples. There isn’t much Tesla can do about this.
And the second reason for the massive fall in Tesla’s stock price was Elon Musk’s deal to buy Twitter. Arguably, this might even be a bigger contributor to the fall in Tesla’s stock price than higher interest rates.
Elon Musk has recently admitted that his Twitter deal was particularly painful as it forced him to sell billion of dollars worth of Tesla stock. And Musk says that contributed to the massive fall in Tesla’s stock price in 2022.
In addition to directly contributing to the fall in Tesla’s stock price by selling billions of dollars in TSLA shares, Musk’s involvement in the social media platform has also negatively affected Tesla due to the polarizing political nature of Twitter and sentiment that Musk is distracted by his obligations at the social media platform.
Tesla's stock price performance this year has also been mixed, with the stock rising leading up to Tesla's Investor Day presentation on March 1st, 2023. The event was themed around Musk's "Master Plan 3," which is a long-term plan toward sustainability that involves electric cars and other clean energy products.
The most “concrete” announcement from the event was Tesla's plan to build a new Gigafactory in Nuevo Leon, Mexico to produce its next-generation, cheaper electric vehicles. It will be Tesla's fifth car manufacturing facility in the world. Musk also introduced his leadership team to the public and most of them for the first time.
Tesla, at the event, also unveiled its third-generation vehicle platform. The Gen-3 platform is a radical rethink of the final assembly of vehicles, and along with Tesla's advancements in battery cells, structural battery pack, and drive train efficiency, will enable the company to reduce the cost of building vehicles by 50%.
Personally, I found Tesla’s step-by-step walkthrough of how they plan to cut down the cost of building a vehicle extremely fascinating. However, Wall Street was more disappointed by the lack of new product announcements and Tesla’s stock price started to fall back once again.
This decline was further exacerbated by Tesla’s less-than-stellar Q1 2023 financial results announced on April 19. Although Tesla’s business has grown in so many ways, the EV maker also reported a substantial decline in automotive gross margin, operating gross margin, and free cash flow.
This coupled with earlier concerns about waning demand for Tesla vehicles and substantial price cuts for the company’s products, Tesla’s stock price fell sharply following the earnings report.
Since then, Tesla’s investor base has been in a bit of a raucous, with arguments breaking out on whether Tesla should start advertising in order to drum up demand, whether Tesla should cut the price of FSD to improve uptake, and whether the overall direction the EV maker is heading in is correct.
And in an apparent attempt to calm the discontent in the Tesla community, Farzad Meshabi, from the namesake YouTube channel wrote on Twitter saying “There was a 4-year period of time, between 2015 and 2019, where being a $TSLA investor was absolute hell. I used that time to retest my thesis every day. The last few quarters, and likely the following quarters, are very reminiscent of that time. Don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable.”
Musk responded to Farzad’s tweet writing “There have been several extended periods of flatness, followed by rapid rises to new plateaus.”
There have been several extended periods of flatness, followed by rapid rises to new plateaus— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2023
Musk’s response appears aimed at reminding the retail Tesla investor base of the stock’s massive gains over the years. For any investors whose belief in Tesla’s continued growth has been shaken by recent stock performance, Musk also showed the pattern Tesla’s stock price moves by pointing out the rapid rise, and extended plateau phase of the stock.
Musk’s advice appears to be geared at promoting long-term thinking when investing in Tesla stock. And Musk's advice is supported by the data. Ignoring all the ups and downs and the drama involved in Tesla, if we go back to the IPO, we see that Tesla is up 12,800% in the past 13 years.
To put this into perspective, a person who invested $10,000 at the IPO will now be worth an incredible $1.28 million. And this is after the more than 60% decline in Tesla’s stock price since its peak in November 2021.
Although not financial advice, currently, it appears Musk is correct and is wise to invest in Tesla for the long haul. Having said that, we will keep you posted on the company’s growth and execution going forward.
Until then make sure to follow our site torquenews.com/Tesla regularly for the latest updates.
So what do you think? Do you agree with the direction Tesla is heading as a company? Also, do you support Musk’s advice to take a longer-term view of Tesla’s stock price? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Image: Courtesy of Tesla
For more information check out: ARK Invest & Cathie Wood’s New Research Gives Tesla A $6.3T Market Cap
Tinsae Aregay has been following Tesla and The evolution of the EV space on a daily basis for several years. He covers everything about Tesla from the cars to Elon Musk, the energy business, and autonomy. Follow Tinsae on Twitter at @TinsaeAregay for daily Tesla news.


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Millions of people have started buying vegetable boxes and food direct from the farm because of the coronavirus pandemic, suggests a survey.
Some 42% of people say the pandemic has changed the way they view food – with 42% valuing it more as an essential.
The finding is contained in a YouGov survey that was commissioned by the Royal Society for the Arts (RSA) and the Food Foundation.
Sue Pritchard, of the RSA Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, said the survey raised important questions about agriculture and the food supply chain.
“How we value food is changing; we’re cooking more from scratch and sourcing our food from different places,” she said.
“Three million people have tried a veg box scheme or are buying direct from farm – both to get what we need and to support the local community.”
The speed at which the coronavirus pandemic had caused people to adapt reflected in part how brittle parts of the food system had become, said Ms Pritchard.
“Farmers and others in food industry are now ‘key workers’ – but our supply chains leave little wriggle room, and most of our farmers rely on very few routes to market.
“If those fail, they can’t sell their produce, and consumers and producers lose out.
“The sight of dairy farmers having to throw milk away, while some families are struggling to afford enough of the nutritious food they need is, rightly, shocking.”
Food security at a national level is a strategic priority for the government and the UK has the capability to become a world leader in healthy, sustainable food production, she said.
“Farmers can be a force for wider economic, public health and environmental benefits,” added Ms Pritchard, who suggested new investment is needed.
“Local supply networks and community groups are making what could be lasting changes with scant infrastructure and resources.”
She added: “The crisis was providing the opportunity to reconsider what and how we value the part farming and the countryside plays in our lives, and in keeping us well. And more than that, to check – and reset – our compass.”


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Today has not been a great day for Microsoft after the company made Windows 8.1 update 1 available on their servers to allow employees to update to the new version it was leaked to the public too. Microsoft intended to keep the public away from this update by labelling the files with non obvious filenames. Unfortunately for them people were able to access these files with a simple software tweak that fooled Microsoft’s servers into thinking they were internal Microsoft employees.
Microsoft have since patched this vulnerability meaning you can no longer download the files directly from their servers. However the damage has already been done, those who managed to download the files have released them to various file sharing services allowing anybody to download and install the update on their systems.
Windows 8.1 update 1 is not officially supported by Microsoft yet and even though Microsoft released the RTM version on Wednesday which is a good representation of the final product it’s worth noting that some hardware specific drivers and services may not be fully compatible yet. If you do decide to search out the update online you should proceed with utmost caution as with any unsupported software there will likely be issues.
As we mentioned on Tuesday Microsoft will be officially releasing Windows 8.1 update 1 on April 8th, about a week after their Build developer conference. Our advice would be to hold off until then rather than risk installing this released build from unofficial sources. For more information about Windows 8.1 update 1 check out our post from earlier this week.


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Digital Marketing Is Taking Over Healthcare: Here's How
It’s a David and Goliath story. With massive marketing budgets of 10% of revenue, large medical institutes and hospitals are out spending physicians, but here’s now to fight back. The majority of this ad spend goes to mass media - TV, radio, and billboards. In a day and age where most people have their faces glued to their iPhones, it’s no wonder the conversion on these types of mass media is horribly low. A potential patient/lead acquired from these sources converts at 1.7%. And on top of that, the ability to adjust mass media campaigns is virtually non-existent along with a lack of reporting and trackable results.
For years, the majority of physicians relied on insurance companies and personal referrals to drive their businesses and marketing wasn’t considered necessary to grow their practices. Any form of advertising they chose to do was simply an add-on and not considered mission critical for the survival of their business. But in 2018, things are much different, even if a patient finds a doctor through an insurance company, they’ll still Google them, read patient reviews, and visit the practice website before deciding to schedule an appointment.
A Deloitte study found that 52 percent of consumers search online for information about treatment options to learn about health concerns, symptoms or care providers. Someone that does online research is 44% more likely to make an appointment when done over mobile. Patients are just more informed than they used to be since the ability to get any kind of information from the web is at the tips of our fingers.
Enter digital marketing.
Not only is digital trackable with Google and Facebook analytics, but it is also extremely targeted. No more trying to compete for everyone in your geographical location by arbitrarily spending your ad budget on things no one is paying attention to. Through a multi-channel digital advertising approach, we can target patients on multiple platforms where they’re attention really is - social media platforms. The average person spends 2 hours a day (A DAY!) browsing social media. Facebook reported March 2017 saying the social network had 1.4 billion users login month over month and 1.25 billion people who do so via mobile. That’s a lot of attention.
With this tactical approach to driving leads and sales, we are now able to step in the ring with the large health and medical institutes who mistakenly buddy up with holding companies like WPP, and MediaLink that push the profitable products for themselves. Because of this disservice to their clients, the cost passed down to them goes through the roof with an average of $147 PCM (100 impressions) for traditional advertising as opposed to $5 CPM for digital, which is clearly the winner of this week’s cage match.
Creating a digital marketing plan can be daunting for anyone, especially if you aren’t familiar with the full range of channels that are available today -- from landing pages and social media to Facebook messenger and online advertising. Fortunately, here at Metaphase Marketing, we have you covered. Drop me a message and we’ll put together a custom plan that you can immediately implement to see results in your business.


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McBride raises full-year earnings outlook on higher demand for cleaning products
- McBride raises earnings outlook as COVID-19 fuels demand for cleaning products.
- The British manufacturer expects robust trading in November and December.
- Primark estimates £430 million hit to sales this autumn due to the COVID-19 crisis.
McBride plc (LON: MCB) raised its guidance for annual earnings on Friday as the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic fuelled demand for cleaning products in recent months. The COVID-19 crisis has so far infected more than 1.6 million people in the United Kingdom and caused over 60 thousand deaths.
The current market consensus for McBride’s pre-tax profit in the year to conclude on 30th June 2021 stands at £25.2 million. The British manufacturer, however, expects its full-year pre-tax profit to come in at least 10% higher than estimates.
Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis? Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.
McBride’s performance in the stock market
McBride opened roughly 8% up in the stock market on Friday. On a year to date basis, it is 20% down in the stock market despite a 25% recovery since the first week of April. In comparison, McBride had performed fairly downbeat in the stock market with an annual decline of roughly 30%.
At the time of writing, McBride is valued at £129 million and has a price to earnings ratio of 19.35.
The owner of prominent brands like Hospec, Clean N Fresh, Ovenpride, and Surcare, said on Friday that trading in November and December was expected to be better than in the same months last year. In November and December of 2019, McBride’s performance had remained under pressure.
According to the London-based company:
“This improved revenue performance combined with continued factory efficiencies, limited operational impact from COVID-19, lower than expected operating costs and input costs for certain raw material year on year improvement in first-half earnings.”
In the previous fiscal year, McBride had seen a 33% decline in annual earnings attributed to weaker demand for the company’s laundry products.
Primark estimates £430 million hit to sales this autumn
In separate news from the United Kingdom, Associated British Foods (LON: ABF) estimated an upwardly revised £430 million hit to sales at its fashion subsidiary, Primark, this autumn due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
The company, however, expressed confidence that phenomenal trading in the period before Christmas will help offset the COVID-19 related hit to sales. AB Foods said last month that its full-year earnings were 40% lower due to the COVID-19 disruptions.
On a year to date basis, Associated British Foods is currently 8% down year to date in the stock market. At the time of writing, the British multinational is valued at £18.76 billion and has a price to earnings ratio of 41.15.


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Quirky online retailer Zappos hopes to make noise and sell shoes through its newest ad campaign: More than Shoes!
The ads, strategically shot throughout New York City, feature naked women in nothing, but shoes. According to The New York Times, the ad campaign will focus heavily on digital ads and the use of QR (Quick Response) codes. Zappos's target audience is fashion-forward women who are frequent online media users and tech-savvy.
Interested readers should pick up August issues of Harper's Bazaar, Cosmo, InStyle and Lucky. They can also visit Zappos.com for a more intimate look at the marketing kick.
What are your thoughts on the ad campaign? Vote HERE!


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Chrysler Q3 profits surge to $611M but per-unit profits troubleThu, 06 Nov 2014 14:17:00 EST
Chrysler Group has announced its third-quarter financial results a little later than its crosstown rivals at General Motors and Ford, but the company has reason to celebrate thanks to strong numbers across the board.
The biggest attention-grabber from the automaker is that its net income was up 32 percent in the third quarter to $611 million, compared to $464 million over the same period last year. Modified operating profit was also strong at $946 million – a 10 percent gain. Furthermore, net revenue grew as well to $20.7 billion – 18 percent higher Q3 2013.
Growing sales pushed the strong financials. Chrysler Group sold about 711,000 vehicles worldwide for the quarter, up 18 percent from a year ago. Things looked especially good in the US, where its market share grew to 12.3 percent, versus 11.2 percent in Q3 2013.
While those figures all look rosy, some analysts aren't completely convinced. According to The Detroit Free Press, there is concern that Chrysler Group only has a 4.6-percent profit as a percentage of its sales here, versus 9.5 percent for GM and 7.1 percent for Ford. The Auburn Hills automaker maintains that the discrepancy exists because it sells fewer vehicles than its competitors and therefore spends comparatively more per vehicle on marketing. While Chrysler Group and GM both showed strong financial results for the quarter, Ford posted a 34 percent dip in net income.
Scroll down to read full press release from Chrysler about its Q3 results.
CHRYSLER GROUP REPORTS THIRD-QUARTER 2014 NET INCOME OF $611 MILLION, UP 32 PERCENT FROM A YEAR AGO
MODIFIED OPERATING PROFIT WAS $946 MILLION, UP 10 PERCENT FROM THE PRIOR YEAR; FREE CASH FLOW WAS $412 MILLION
Chrysler Group reported net income of $611 million in the third quarter, up 32 percent from a year ago
Net revenue for the third quarter was $20.7 billion, up 18 percent from a year ago
Modified Operating Profit(b) grew 10 percent to $946 million for the quarter, from $862 million a year earlier
Free Cash Flow(e) for the quarter was positive $412 million, up from negative $343 million a year ago
Cash(d) at Sept. 30, 2014, was $13.6 billion
Net Industrial Cash(f) at the end of the quarter was $680 million, up from Net Industrial Cash of $331 million at June 30, 2014, and Net Industrial Debt(f) of $888 million at Sept. 30, 2013
Worldwide vehicle shipments were 700,000 for the quarter, up 18 percent from 593,000 a year ago
Worldwide vehicle sales for the quarter were 711,000, up 18 percent from 603,000 a year ago
U.S. market share was 12.3 percent for the quarter, up from 11.2 percent a year ago; market share in Canada was 14.9 percent for the quarter, up from 14.3 percent a year ago
Full-year 2014 guidance is confirmed
November 5, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler Group LLC today reported preliminary financial results for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2014, including net income of $611 million for the quarter, up 32 percent from $464 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Adjusted Net Income(a) for the first nine months of 2014 was $1.7 billion, up from $1.2 billion in the first nine months of 2013. The Adjusted Net Income of $1.7 billion excludes the unfavorable effects of infrequent items recorded in the first quarter of 2014, related to the Company's prepayment of a note held by the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust (VEBA Trust Note) and a charge for commitments associated with the January memorandum of understanding signed with the UAW. Including the infrequent items, net income for the first nine months of 2014 was $540 million.
Net revenue for the third quarter was $20.7 billion, up 18 percent from $17.6 billion a year ago. Net revenue for the first nine months of the year was $60.1 billion, up from $50.9 billion a year ago. The increase in third-quarter year-over-year revenues was driven by higher shipments, in particular from the all-new Jeep Cherokee and all-new Chrysler 200.
Modified Operating Profit was $946 million in the third quarter, or 4.6 percent of net revenue, up 10 percent from $862 million in the prior-year period. The increase was mainly the result of higher shipment volumes, improved net pricing and purchasing efficiencies, partially offset by higher industrial costs due to vehicle content enhancements and higher warranty costs, principally due to recall campaigns. Modified Operating Profit for the first nine months of 2014 was $2.5 billion, or 4.2 percent of net revenue, up from $2.1 billion in the first nine months of 2013.
To read the full financial results release, please click on the pdf to the right.
About Chrysler Group LLC
Chrysler Group LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA), designs, engineers, manufactures, distributes and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, and the SRT performance vehicle designation. The Company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. With the resources, technology and worldwide distribution network required to compete on a global scale, FCA builds on Chrysler Group's culture of innovation, first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925, and Fiat's complementary technology that dates back to its founding in 1899.
FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total vehicle sales in 2013, is an international automotive group engaged in designing, engineering, manufacturing, distributing and selling vehicles and components and production systems. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."
By Chris Bruce
See also: Mopar maneuvers into SEMA with a multitude of modified models, Fiat Chrysler quietly sends Pentastar logo out to pasture, Is Chrysler's 'America's Import' campaign outdated or offensive? [w/poll].


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Despite the ongoing pandemic, both PlayStation and Xbox are pulling all the stops to release both their new consoles by Christmas. The finish line for the next-gen console race is just around the corner and if you’re planning to just pop by a store on release day, you’ll probably end up disappointed.
Sony first announced that its retail partners will only accept online orders when the console officially goes on sale on November 12th. Following suit, Best Buy has also announced that it will not be accommodating walk-in customers who want to purchase next-gen consoles, be it the PS5 or Xbox.
The company released a blog post noting that its stores will not have either console on-hand. They jokingly say that there will be no need to “camp out at your local store” since it won’t be available anyway.
Instead, the company is pushing interested customers to order online through its official website. Customers will then have the option to pick up their consoles through store pickup or even contactless curbside pickup. For those who have already pre-ordered their units, they simply have to pass by their local stores or at their confirmed appointment time.
In doing this, Best Buy will be relieved of the release day commotion which would most likely draw big crowds. Of course, those kinds of gatherings are no longer safe due to the ongoing pandemic. Best Buy will also still be requiring both its customers and employees to wear face coverings when inside the store. Customers can bring their own but the company will supply those who don’t have one.


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Microsoft has spent that last month frantically fixing bugs in Windows 10’s October 2018 Update. But, if you’re one of the millions of people who installed the update when it was available, you haven’t actually been getting those bug-fix updates!
Update: With the re-release of the October 2018 Update on November 13, early adopters can now get these fixes through Windows Update. Just head to Settings > Update & Security > Check for Updates. Your Windows 10 PC will automatically download and install them, too.
Windows 10’s October 2018 Update had quite a few important bugs that needed fixing, even after the original file deletion bug. The .zip file data loss bug was pretty bad, but it’s not all. The Task Manager shows incorrect CPU usage details. And the October 2018 Update has compatibility issues with device drivers, antivirus software, and virtualization tools that can cause your PC to blue screen.
But Microsoft has been fixing them, right? Well, yes, kind of—but millions of PCs haven’t received those fixes yet. Here’s what Ed Bott says over at ZDNet, in a piece about Microsoft’s refusal to communicate with its customers:
Microsoft says all of those issues were fixed in cumulative updates that were released on October 16 and October 20, respectively. But if you were one of the enthusiastic souls who downloaded and installed version 1809 in the first week that it was available, you have not received those updates. To get the fixes for what are undeniably serious bugs in a version of Windows 10 that was released through public channels, you have to add your device to the Windows Insider Program and choose the Slow or Release Preview Ring.
That’s not right. Customers who are running an officially released version of Windows should not have to sign up as beta testers to get critical fixes.
Millions of Windows PCs installed the October 2018 Update and haven’t received those fixes. You’d have to sign up as a Windows Insider to get them. Beta testers have a more stable operating system than millions of early adopters. And Microsoft isn’t communicating with its customers, so no one knows this.
It isn’t just Windows geeks who installed these builds—anyone who clicked the “Check for Updates” button in Windows before Microsoft pulled the October 2018 Update received it. No wonder millions of people installed it!
These bug-fix updates are so critical that Microsoft won’t release Windows 10’s October 2018 Update without them. So why won’t Microsoft actually offer them to existing users?
Microsoft needs to start communicating with its customers and fix its broken Windows development process. It’s now holding the entire PC industry back, and the recent file association bug and Windows activation problem just make Microsoft look even worse.
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Australia’s advertisers are attempting to persuade website owners to more than double the file size of display ads to allow for more interesting creative executions.
The campaign – known as The 100kb Project – is being led by The Communications Council’s digital committee, which is chaired by Amnesia Razorfish ECD Iain McDonald.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau, which represents Australia’s major online media owners, recently amended its guidelines on web ad standards, to allow creative of a file size of 40kb rather than 30kb, This put it in line with other IABs around the world.
But McDonald told Mumbrella that advertisers wanted more.
He said: “We’ve got an NBN on the way so we’re not going to be hampered by file sizes forever. Australia has a great opportunity to start showing the world what we can do.”
However the issue for site owners is that larger files take longer to load, which can be frustrating for users and also hurt ranking within Google.
But McDonald argued that it is relatively easy for sites to detect a user’s connection speed and serve a smaller size ad to those on slower connections.
He also argued that a major problem at the moment is that agencies create files that are too big, leading to delays in creative going online as they battle to reduce their size. He said: ‘Increasing to 100kb would increase the likelihood that content will be delivered on time.”
Pointing out that a total page size including the rest of content often amounts to 1300kb, he said: “This would only be an increase of six to seven per cent in actual size.”
IAB CEO Paul Fisher told Mumbrella that he had already met with the committee to hear the proposal. he said: “We remain to be convinced that the most efficient way of achieving the goal of better quality of creative is with a larger file size.”
He pointed out that as well as increased load times, media owners would potentially face bigger bandwidth bills and advertisers might pay more for their adserving.
However, he said that the IAB was interested in a cost benefit analysis, with the aim of showing if larger files, or bigger page formats increase brand recall. A trial by one or two of IAB’s members could then rapidly follow.
Fisher said: “I cannot see why we couldn’t consider this in weeks rather than months
Also on the Communications Council’s digital committee agenda are development of standards for measuring IPTV, drafting of digital pitch guidelines to help clients select digital agencies and the creation of guidelines for agencies on ethical use of social media.
The digital committee’s members are: Heather Albrecht (Digital Connections), Justin Baird (Google), Charles Clapshaw (Tequila), Nic Chamberlain (303), Graham Christie (Big Mobile), Craig Galvin (The White Agency), Nic Hodges (Mediacom), Aden Hepburn (IdeaWorks) Simon Morgan (Publicis Mojo), Ruud Spierings (Facebook), Stephen Von Muenster (Von Muenster Solicitors), and Mike Zeederberg (Zuni).


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Drone technology advances rapidly and so does the industry for unmanned aircraft. Around the world, people are finding new purposes for this emerging technology and new manufacturers are entering the market. However, in this case, we’re not talking about consumer or commercial drones, such as a Phantom or Matrice. No, we’re talking about armed drones for which the Middle East has a growing appetite and that Chinese drone manufacturers seem eager to fulfill.
The Middle East has a growing appetite for armed drones
Today, in the Economist an article was published that says:
As America holds back, China is cornering the market.
Armed drones have become ubiquitous in the Middle East… America has jealously guarded the export of such aircraft for fear that they might fall out of government hands… America has also been constrained by the Missile Technology Control Regime, an arms-control agreement signed by 35 countries, including Russia, that restricts the transfer of particularly capable missiles and drones.
China, which is not a signatory, has stepped in. It has few hang-ups about human rights and no pesky Congress to block deals. It has sold missile-toting drones to Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“We are seeing Chinese replicas of American [drone] technology deployed on the runways in the Middle East,” growled Peter Navarro, the White House’s trade adviser, last year.
America wants to muscle its way back into the market. In April 2018 the Trump administration began loosening export rules to let countries buy armed drones directly from defence companies rather than through official channels. Drones with “strike-enabling technology”, such as lasers to guide bombs to their targets, were reclassified as unarmed.
American drones are costlier and require more paperwork than Chinese models, but are more capable. On average, Chinese drones cannot fly as high or carry as much. Nor can they plug into American or European communication systems.
In April 2018 the UAE sent a Chinese drone to assassinate a Houthi leader in Yemen. Manned warplanes might have been used for any of these missions, of course. But drones are cheaper to fly, attract less attention and can loiter above targets for longer. Their use is bound to grow.
You can read the entire article here.
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text: Windows Phone posted the largest year-over-year growth worldwide of any of the leading operating systems, a result primarily driven by the support of Nokia. By itself, Nokia accounted for 93.2% of all the Windows Phone-powered smartphones shipped during the quarter, marking a new milestone in the company’s short history on the Microsoft platform. Participation from other vendors, meanwhile, still seemed a mixed bag with more vendors participating from a year ago, but volumes still far behind Nokia’s own. iOS, despite seeing its total volumes increase and reaching new record third quarter volumes, saw its market share decline during Q3 2013, most likely due to soft demand in the weeks leading up to the launch of iOS 7 smartphones. Still, if the 9 million units sold during the last week of September is any indication of future adoption, iOS stands to reap another record quarter in terms of volumes, market share, and year-over-year growth.


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ProgrammableWeb tracks the latest API news to keep you on top of the API economy
Searching: No Search Term , Filtered By Category: "Events", Category: "Music", Category: "Mapping", Category: "Engagement"
Google recently informed Maps Coordinate users that the service will deprecate in January 2016. Google wants to migrate business users to the Maps for Work portfolio.
Amazon recently released Amazon Maps API version 2.0. The mapping API has long enabled developers to add maps to their apps for Amazon’s Fire Tablets and the Fire Phone.
Twitter’s #Music app was pulled from the App Store in April 2014, just a year after its launch. The company has partnered with Saavn for a related product.


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CHANDIGARH: Ahead of Diwali
, food safety teams
have intensified sampling of food products by daily collecting 100 samples on an average.
To check inter-district and inter-state transit of sub-standard sweets, paneer
and khoya, special checkpoints have been set up across the state. Besides sampling, the food safety
teams have also launched a drive to sensitise the food business operators (FBOs) about maintaining good manufacturing and hygiene practices.
Tandrust Punjab Mission director Kahan Singh Pannu said a special emphasis is being laid on the quality and quantity of the permissible food grade colours that may be used for the preparation of sweets.
The sweet shop owners have been instructed to avoid synthetic colours in the manufacturing of sweets and maintain proper hygiene during bulk preparation on their premises. They have also been asked to either prepare khoya for their requirement on their own or buy it from trusted sources with proper bills/invoices, said Pannu.
Inspections have led to conviction in six cases and fine to the tune of Rs 1.5 crore imposed in 850 cases on the erring food business operators.
More than 350 awareness camps have been organised to help FBOs improve the hygiene and quality of food products. The FBOs have also been sensitised to abide by the laws mandated under the Food Safety Act and the guidelines of FSSAI. They are also being made aware to procure necessary licence/registration.
In Punjab, there are over one lakh food business operators of which a large number are working without mandatory licence. For encouraging FBOs to apply for licence, the government has already launched an online initiative.
As per the norms, licence is issued to the FBO having an annual turnover above Rs 12 lakh, while registration certificate is mandatory for an FBO with an annual turnover under Rs 12 lakh.


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Ignore the temperature outside. Pumpkin Spice Latte season is upon us.
After teasing fans for days, Starbucks has begun pouring its extraordinarily popular drink, but not everywhere.
Officially, say employees at some Starbucks locations, the “PSL” won’t go on sale until Tuesday. (Starbucks’ corporate office has not made an official announcement and did not immediately return a phone call.) But several stores have decided to ignore that date and began offering the fall favorite earlier today.
In 2016, the PSL—a coffee drink topped with pumpkin pie flavor and seasoned with cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg—went on sale Sept. 1 at most locations, even though the “official” availability date was Sept. 6. Early availability has been more sporadic this year, though. That means that while some of the sweet-toothed caffeine-faithful are celebrating, others are more than a little miffed.
Adding insult to injury? Starbucks customers in Canada were able to pick one up with no trouble.
The reveal of the launch date certainly hasn’t been a quick one. Starbucks has kept fans since waiting about 11am ET with a multi-hour livestream on its Facebook page that channeled April the giraffe, the zoo animal who became a pop culture phenomenon earlier this year when the zoo livestreamed her pregnancy and birth. Hundreds of thousands of people watched the stream obsessively.
The PSL livestream included vague signs, such as “pumpkins are born hairless and blind,” a pumpkin sitting in a nest, and an employee dressed as a farmer trying to “play fetch” with the pumpkin by rolling a ball against it for roughly 30 minutes. (No, really.)
Starbucks plans to push the PSL in new ways this year. The company announced earlier this month it would begin selling ready-to-drink pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin spice-flavored ground coffee to grocery chains this year.


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After months of negotiations with the Federal Ministry of the Economy, Tesla has decided not to receive billions in funding from the Second European Battery Cell Program (IPCEI). The US automaker could have received just under 1.14 billion euros for the planned battery plant, which the company has declared is the “world’s largest facility” of its kind. He heard from the ministry that nothing stands in the way of the decision.
Then on Friday afternoon, a sudden turn emerged: Tesla doesn’t want the money. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has now confirmed this. The financing was well suited to the concept of European financing – at first glance.
As of August 2021, the Federal Ministry of Economics announced in the monthly publication “Schlaglichter der Wirtschaftsppolitik” that the volume of investment in the production of Tesla battery cells in Grünheide will amount to “about five billion euros”. From this, the stock support of the mentioned size can be calculated as reasonable.
Planning was of strategic importance to Tesla. Tesla’s battery plant in Grünheide was supposed to be the first in the world to produce the new cells that company president Elon Musk introduced in fall 2020 on the occasion of Battery Day. They should provide a larger range in a more compact size, moreover, they are manufactured in a way that is much more environmentally friendly than the processes currently in use. Tesla also applied for and obtained pre-approval to begin early construction at Brandenburg in January 2021.
As it turns out, that appears to be the problem. Time and time again, Tesla boss Elon Musk has commented on approval processes in Germany that, in his view, were too slow. Now he appears to be following the criticism into action.
Therefore, one of the financing requirements, and therefore a condition for the inflow of funds, is the first use of the financed technology in the plant to be financed. According to the original layout, this should have been the serial production of 4,680 cells in Grünheide. In addition, a research unit has been set up as a prerequisite by the ministry in order to prevent government funding from simply establishing an “extended working table” (quote from Federal Minister for Economics Peter Altmaier, CDU) in Grünheide.
Now it does not appear that Musk is ready to delay the “first use” of the technology as long as European financing terms require him. Given the total amount in the room, this would be a powerful move and an expression of the entrepreneurial self-image that is rarely seen these days.
From a purely economic point of view, Musk will have to see such huge advantages in early deployment elsewhere in the world that more than 1 billion euros could be forfeited. In any case, the battery plant will be built in Grünheide – only now without tax money.
Tesla has always been of the opinion that all subsidies should be eliminated, but that massive oil and gas subsidies should be included.
For some reason, governments don’t want to do this…
– Elon Musk November 26, 2021
Incidentally, Musk used the media turmoil over the waiver to make clear via Twitter that Tesla is generally against any kind of support. But this should also apply to gas or oil subsidies. In other words: Tesla generally accepts subsidies as long as competition distortions may result from others doing so, but not its company.


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Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies and managing company Circuit Sport have launched a new interactive website, humanpoweredhealth.com, the latest element of a four-year campaign designed to inspire and support healthy, active lifestyles using the Human-Powered Health™ brand. The site leverages innovative social media technologies and features many of the team’s partners, who will provide a series of giveaways for contributors.
“We created the Human-Powered Health™ brand as a way to inspire individual accountability in maintaining a healthy lifestyle.” said Charles Aaron, managing director of Circuit Sport. “Over the years, the men and women of Optum Pro Cycling have served as fantastic ambassadors of the brand. The new site celebrates everyday people, athlete or not, who practice healthy decision making in their day-to-day lives.”
Launching alongside the team’s new short film, titled “Calories”, the site will serve as a creative hub for people to share how they pursue Human-Powered Health in their own lives. Any post on Instagram or Twitter with the hashtag #humanpoweredhealth will dynamically integrate into the website’s colorful mosaic. It aims to spotlight parallels between professional cycling and everyday healthy lifestyle choices.
Each month, a contributor will be selected to receive a prize from one of the team’s partners. The first giveaway, scheduled for May 22nd, offers up either a men’s Diamondback Insight II or women’s Clarity II to the winner. Circuit Sport will select a new prize partner each month, with SRAM, HED, Acura, Challenge Tires, Park Tool, Borah Teamwear, Proferrin Sport, and others offering contributions.
“Our team reaches a lot of people who love cycling and embrace a healthy lifestyle, but our goal with humanpoweredhealth.com is to provide a forum for people who may need some encouragement and incentive getting on the right track,” said Circuit Sport Creative Director Sam Wiebe, “Human-Powered Health™ is a simple, powerful concept that we truly believe in. We want people to be creative in sharing how it applies to their everyday lives.”
Humanpoweredhealth.com and “Calories” were a collaboration between Circuit Sport’s creative team and Solve, their longtime branding agency of record.