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The growing appeal of apps as a marketing tool has been picked up by the insurance industry with the launch of an Australian iPhone application to make it easier to get an insurance quote.
A number of web services have appeared over the past three years offering online policy quotes from a range of insurers, and a Sydney company hopes having a phone app will help brokers drive business to insurers.
David King, founder of privately owned application developer Omnium, said the iPhone app’s development changed the way brokers used technology to sell policies.
At the same time, he said, consumers were already showing an interest in the free app, using it in downtime while travelling on public transport.
Omnium has released four applications that allow brokers and consumers to get real-time policy comparisons for life, total and permanent disability, income protection and comprehensive insurance quotes, with 12 more awaiting approval from Apple.
“We started as a research house with 20 years’ experience in the life insurance market,” Mr King said. “Instead of going online, we have decided to go to the phone market.”
The apps did not offer insurance advice, but were simply tools to allow brokers and consumers to compare premiums for more than 120 insurance products from 12 major insurers, including AMP, Axa, GIO and others.
“We are not selling insurance — we are a lead-generation tool,” he said.
So far, interest in the application has been spread 50-50 between brokers and consumers.
Source: The Australian
Blood testing for human growth hormone will be implemented immediately in the minor leagues, Major League Baseball announced creating a landmark stride in the anti-doping world even if the actual test has netted just one positive result.
“If you don’t do any testing, you have a license to cheat,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, which partners with MLB and the NFL on the Partnership for Clean Competition. “Now, there’s a risk you’ll be caught.”
The random testing of minor leaguers for the performance-enhancing substance was hailed by Commissioner Bud Selig as “a significant step in the detection of the illegal use of human growth hormone,” credited with increasing strength. Selig was allowed to install the testing on the heels of a positive result given earlier this year by a British rugby player because minor leaguers are not represented by the powerful MLB Players Assn.
“The union’s position on HGH testing remains unchanged: When a test is available that is scientifically validated and that can be administered safely and without interfering with the players’ ability to compete, it will be considered,” union Executive Director Michael Weiner said in a prepared statement. “[The commissioner's office has] not shared with us the specifics behind their decision to begin blood testing of minor leaguers. We look forward to further discussions.”
Baseball officials said the importance of Thursday’s announcement was to put “a system in place,” with the goal being to implement more effective testing as it develops. Currently, there is no certified urine test to effectively detect HGH.
Anti-doping experts such as Los Angeles scientist Don Catlin assess that the test to be first used by baseball will probably generate a positive result only if an athlete has used the substance within 24 hours of providing the blood sample.
“I wish I didn’t have to be so skeptical,” Catlin said. “I don’t have great expectations for it, but it’s all we have right now.”
Authorities in England are working to finalize developments on another HGH test that Catlin said will be able to establish use three or four weeks before the sample being taken.
“Right now, the window [between use and providing a sample] is narrow, but this is not likely to be the last test we use,” said Gary Green, Major League Baseball’s medical director.
Source: Los Angeles Times
After a whole week of stress, who doesn’t look forward to the weekend? Those three days are a gold mine for unwinding, relaxation, and quality time with family and friends. But between Friday night hangouts and a quick Saturday weekend getaway, it’s almost impossible to find the time to sit down as one family and unwind.
Sunday nights are usually the last chance for family bonding and relaxation before going down the road of five-day stress. The best way to amp up the energy for another week is with a bowl of popcorn, a comfy couch, and your family tuned in to Star Movies.
As the perfect week-ender, Star Movies presents Sunday Mega Movies: Hollywood Box-Office Hits, which showcases the most anticipated movies to hit TV screens.
For August, Sunday Mega Movies kicks off at 9 p.m. with Night at the Museum: Battle of Smithsonian, a comedy starring Ben Stiller as the former night guard Larry Daley. In this second installment, Larry faces an even bigger adventure with his nocturnal friends on display.
Catch this Hollywood Hit on Star Movies this August 1!
Though he left the low-paying job as night guard to become the inventor of Daley Devices infomercial products, Larry is drawn back to the Museum of Natural History where he once had the most magical adventure during graveyard shift. He finds some of his old friends Jedediah (Owen Wilson), Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), and Octavius (Steve Coogan) ready to be shipped off to the archives section. Newcomers have also entered the exhibit scene, including the Egyptian ruler Kahmunrah (Hank Azaria) and his three henchmen, who are plotting to take over the museum. Now it’s up to Larry to thwart their plans and save the day (and night) and his museum friends before the stroke of dawn.
If you happen to miss the action of Night at the Museum: Battle of Smithsonian this Sunday, Star Movies: Lunch Pass features a replay at 12:30 p.m. on August 2, Monday. Lunch Pass showcases the freshest blockbuster movies every day in time for your lunch break.
Aptly themed Championing the Filipino MSME Franchise, the The Filipino Franchise Expo 2010 is a one-stop shop of homegrown franchising and business opportunities specifically catered to small and medium enterprises, as well as to established companies wanting to grow their business through franchising.
This anticipated event scheduled on September 16 to 19 at the World Trade Center Pasay aims provide good news to aspiring entrepreneurs. Expected participants include successful local franchisers engaged in new and promising franchise concepts consisting of food, retail, service, systems and technology.
Join the expo to receive a rare opportunity of meeting franchisers and learning the tricks of the trade of the business. Interested participants may contact Trade Net Events Management International at telephone numbers (632) 534- 1332; (632) 5343615 or e-mail info@tradenetevents.com.
Wikipedia defines outdoor advertising as “essentially essentially any type of advertising that reaches the consumer while he or she is outside the home.” There are several types of outdoor advertising, the most common of which are the billboards. These spots give brands the opportunity to deliver advertising messages to people who are on the go.
Donatos Pizza
However, the abundance of these outdoor messages has turned more into a clutter, rather than an effective way of communicating with the market. It is now the advertiser’s challenge to come up with a beautifully created and well-executed out of home advertisements.
Playboy Brazil
Pop displays or point-of-sale (POS) display is a specialized form of advertisement that aims to promote new products or special offers. POS ranges from supermarket stands to product packaging. Shown above is a pop display by Playboy Brazil, encouraging potential customers to light up a matchstick.
Posted above is the campaign of the 2012′s film release in Brazil. Action in the subway Cantagalo, in Copacabana – Rio de Janeiro, where a patch of about 45m on each side simulates a flood the subway.
Photo Source: http://adsoftheworld.com/
Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore have gone on the super-strict ‘Master Cleanse’ diet together to tone their bodies.
The eating plan, which has been put to use by popstar Beyonce in the past for her role in Dreamgirls, features a weight loss drink that consists of maple syrup, lemon water and cayenne pepper, Us magazine reported.
“This is about health!!!” she wrote on micro-blogging website Twitter.
“2nd day of master cleanse and off to hike with hubby and the dogs. 2nd day better than the 1st! Let you know if I make it to day 4(sic!),” she said in another post.
Kutcher is also working hard to tone himself with the diet, sacrificing his favourite delicacies.
“9 hrs into the master cleanse. I want a steak, a beer, and a blow-pop. Hmmm this is gonna be rough(sic!),” the 32-year-old actor wrote on his page.
Source: NDTV.com
Below are some quick weight loss diet methods that have gained buzz in various media channels worldwide.
Atkins Diet: Severely restricts carbohydrates, allows a lot of protein and fat, and encourages meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese and low-carb vegetables.
Lemon Detox Diet: No solid food for up to 10 days and live on a juice of lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Detoxers must also drink a litre of sea salt water every morning and a detox tea each night.
Cabbage Soup Diet: Involves eating as much of the soup as possible, incorporating a different solid food each day, including milk with bananas, steak and fruit.
Grapefruit Diet: Based on the theory that the enzymes will make you lose weight,dieters eat half a grapefruit before meals.
Gabriel Method: A “non diet” approach to weight loss that uses the power of the mind through visualisation and positive thinking to turn off the body’s “fat switch”.
(Source: New Zealand Herald)
Some people (even popular Hollywood celebrities) have attested to these diets. However, it is still best that one seek advise from professional health care experts for a suitable weight loss method that will fit your body.
ATLANTA — An experimental diet pill helped about half the people who tried it lose some weight and keep it off a year later, without the heart problems that some earlier drugs caused, a study found.
Arena Pharmaceuticals’ lorcaserin is one of three drugs that are boosting hope for a new generation of more effective weight-loss medicines. One gets a Food and Drug Administration review on Thursday and the others, later this year.
Choosing the right diet pill may seem very challenging as different bodies differ in reactions. One should be aware of his or her needs in order to find the most suitable and effective brand.
Below are some useful tips in choosing your diet pill:
Finally, a real promo for real men!
Cell phones and other gadgets are cool prizes to win but for tough guys, nothing beats those that involve two of their interests: women and wheels. That’s why Colt 45 – the strong beer for real men – is now giving men nationwide a chance to live out their dreams.
The “Colt 45 Vava-Vroom Real Man Promo” is giving away the chance for one winner to go on a weekend getaway in Boracay with dreamy Cristine Reyes and another winner to drive home a dream 4×4 tough truck – tax free!
Joining is easy: simply collect ten (10) Colt 45 silver crowns, enclose in an envelope with a piece of paper with your name, birth date, contact number, email address, home address and signature on it and drop it at any 2Go outlet. Draw date will be held on September 30, 2010.
All real men out there would definitely find this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity hard to resist. So hurry and send as much entries as you can to up your chances!
Cases of long-term health problems like obesity, cardiovascular ailments, and insulin resistance have been increasing year after year. These have prompted medical professionals to look beyond medical treatments and seek effective preventive measures. Infant nutrition, particularly protein intake during the early stages of infancy, has been identified in strengthening or weakening a person’s long-term health.
Controlled random examinations in preterm and term infants cited by the research paper, “Early origins of cardiovascular disease. Is there a unifying hypothesis?” by Lucas Singhal, proved that “early nutrition has a major impact on long-term health including cognitive function, bone health, and risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”
Dr. Atul Singhal, a professor of Pediatric Nutrition and deputy director of the University College London, explained in a forum that the long-term growth and development of infants depended not just on the quantity of nourishment they receive but on the quality as well. He also heads the Clinical Trials and Cardiovascular Nutrition group at the MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre’s Institute of Child Health at University College London, which researched on “The Importance of Protein for Long-term Health.”
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An award winning franchise, Kendlebell is actively looking for franchise owners who are keen to capitalise on the company’s experience, support and success to build their own thriving Kendlebell businesses.
Originally founded in the UK in 1997 and brought to Ireland in 2006 by business partners David Kelly and Tom Shanahan, Kendlebell franchise owners provide virtual office services to small and medium-sized businesses throughout their exclusive territories. The services are aimed at business owners ranging from professional photographers and driving instructors through to property consultants and entrepreneurs, who are too busy to constantly deal with customers but want to retain their professional image.
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When OutKast started making records back in the mid-’90s, André “3000” Benjamin and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton looked like ordinary dudes.
“The budgets weren’t that big at the time,” Big Boi says today. “So a clean pair of socks, flip-flops and tracksuits was the attire.” As OutKast became legendary, their fashion sense grew more ambitious.
The duo’s last great album, 2003’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, featured a song called “Bowtie” that summed up the transformation: “Crocodile on my feet / Fox fur on my back / Bow tie ’round my neck / That’s why they call me the gangsta mack.” So when Paste decided to run a spread on bow ties, we knew who to call.
“When you have on a bow tie, the bow tie commands respect,” Big Boi says. “And if you got a bow tie on, you gotta be a bad motherfucker to have a bow tie on. Especially if it’s not a clip-on and you tied it yourself.”
Nick Mariano
Paste Magazine
Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc. (CMPI), a leading imaging company, has launched its local efforts supporting the worldwide Canon Green campaign.
The campaign, dubbed Canon GreenNation, is a sustainable environmental program that focuses on the proper disposal of Pixma and Selphy ink cartridges and toners. It aims to instill caring for the environment a part of the lifestyle of every citizen of Canon GreenNation.
GreenNation’s first project is an ink cartridge collection program, which was also launched alongside the campaign. With this, Canon Selphy and PIXMA users can simply place their empty printer cartridges in designated recycling bins inside Canon concept stores in malls.
Look for the Canon Green Nation Recyling Bins
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