Our 2 Degrees crew have been working alongside the guys at Dick Smith Electronics stores up and down the country to promote a great 2 Degrees Jeep giveaway. Everyone who purchases a 2degrees SIM card and tops up within 24 hours, or buys a new 2 Degrees USB modem and activates it, is in with the chance to win a Brand New Jeep worth $47,990. There are also 5 x Nokia 5230 3G mobile phones up for grabs so if you’re looking for more value out of your mobile, there’s no better time to switch! Full details and terms and conditions are online at 2degreesjeep.co.nz and you’ve got until Sept 30 to get in the draw.

ABE’S Sweet Bagel Bites are the perfect snack for both kids and adults. In fact, we know lots of parents will feel guilty that their child’s lunch-box is bereft of bagel crisps as they nibble them with their morning coffee. Baked then sliced and packaged into snack-sized packs, there are two scrummy flavours, Chocolate Chip and Honey Raisin. Our teams were out and about in the school holidays sampling in a range of locations.

The mix it bar out at Auckland Airport’s DFS Duty Free was dedicated to the new Absolut Berri Acai from the middle of June until just recently for our bartenders to mix up three tempting cocktails for travellers to try.  Absolut Berri Acai has a soft berry aroma, a pure and slightly sweet taste, and a long, smooth, fresh berry finish.  It’s perfect for mixing and travel retail exclusive so get an order in if you know someone who’s heading away. Once you have a bottle in your possession, here’s our favourite cocktail to try – enjoy responsibly!

The Mercury Energy Movie Club recently celebrated the Toy Story 3 movie release and we had staff in character as Buzz Lightyear and Woody to welcome and entertain guests of the club. There was a lot of buzz (ha ha) and excitement in the air and the guys had a blast with the eager kids, posing for photos and reciting the well know line - “To infinity and beyond!”

The new Envy apple from Enza combines the best features from the Braeburn and Royal Gala varieties in one single apple. To match this apple’s natural beauty, seductive looks and enticing sweet taste, our staff dispensed with normal supermarket garb and complemented their long aprons with elegant dresses as they hit the aisles.

In June we began a long-term placement of brand ambassadors in JR Duty Free at Auckland Airport for Pernod Ricard. Brand ambassadors Danielle and Andrew received extensive training across the Pernod Ricard portfolio to understand not only the taste, but also the origins and distilling process behind each brand.  They are in-store during peak times to make sure you find a product suited to your taste preferences so be sure to seek them out on your next international flight.

We’ve been hitting the streets with new Mountain Dew Code Red as part of the Don’t Dew This at Home campaign we’re working on with Colenso, OMD and Raydar. Check out the campaign site here and the Dew facebook page we run here.

When does research become marketing and marketing provide real valuable parental help all delivered by a furniture megastore?

I have to love the fact that IKEA tell us that 73% of kids prefer to play with their Mum and Dad versus 11% who’d rather watch TV and 14% who’d rather play on the Internet. Ignoring the fact that the internet out does TV and ignoring the fact that another insight was that we spend 45% more time with our kids today then we did in 1975 despite popular belief, the fact that a retailer stands up and commissions this type of research is genius.

We’ll talk about this research, we’ll even act on it and we’ll repeat it more times than we would any ad they could have made. So is research, and social based research, the new marketing tool? Thank you IKEA for doing something cool, useful and viral all at the same time. It made our Insights guy proud to be an Insights guy. Check it out here - facebook.com/playreport

I could write a really detailed explanation of this rather cool effort but it’s waaaaaaaaaaaay more impactful to watch the video (it’s only 2 minutes).