MasterCard (And Gwen Stefani) Will Reward You For Using Apple Pay (AAPL) | ||
| | ||
Mastercard has enlisted the help of The Voice judge and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani to front a new campaign that will see the credit card company reward customers for using Apple Pay, Adweek reports. Stefani fronts a 30-second TV ad (watch it below,) created by McCann XBC, which sees her standing at the top of a tall building behind a cannon, firing gifts like handbags and concert tickets at MasterCard holders who use Apple Pay. The campaign extends into the real world, with MasterCard offering some lucky Apple Pay users prizes such as a meet-and-greet with Stefani and World Series tickets. It forms the next chapter in MasterCard's long-running "Priceless Surprises" series. (Stefani, of course, once did a series of ads for HTC's Windows Phones but seems to have defected to Apple.) The campaign comes at a key time for Apple Pay. While there has been a huge wave of PR surrounding the launch of Apple Pay, which allows users to pay for items in-store by using their iPhones, Apple has not supported the payments system with much paid-for advertising. As a result, not many iPhone users have used Apple Pay, and some don't even know it's there. Only 4.6% of iPhone 6 users transacted with Apple Pay on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, according to a survey conducted by InfoScout. Overall, just 9% of iPhone 6 users have ever used Apple Pay since it launched on October 20. Why did Apple Pay underperform? The two largest drivers were that 31% of consumers did not realize Apple Pay was accepted within the store, and 21% simply forgot to use it.
An education push on Apple Pay is clearly needed, which this MasterCard campaign — with its added incentives of prizes — will go some way toward doing. Here's the TV ad, starring a jubilant Gwen Stefani.SEE ALSO: Here Is The New iPad Ad Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
.png)
The US Military Is The Largest Buyer Of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel | ||
| | ||
The price tag for an entire barrel of this whiskey, approximately 250 bottles, swings from $9,000-$12,ooo since no two whiskey barrels have the same volume. "Over the entire span of when the program has existed, the US military is the largest purchaser. It has been represented by base exchanges, individual units, as well as other on-base military entities like Officers’ Clubs," Arnett told Business Insider in an email. Single Barrel whiskey was first sold in 1997 and was such a success that the distillery created the 'By The Barrel' program a year later, and ever since then the American military has been the top buyer. During a tour of the distillery in Lynchburg, Tenn., our tour guide said it is believed that Navy SEAL Team 6 bought a barrel after the successful raid on Osama Bin Laden. Although, we could not confirm, parent company Brown-Forman did share, "SEAL teams have purchased barrels before but we can't officially confirm Seal Team 6." At the distillery, only 1 in 100 barrels makes the cut for the select 94-proof Single Barrel whiskey.
In an average 53-gallon barrel, there are approximately 250 bottles-worth of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel whiskey.
Here's how the 'by the barrel' program works. A prospective whiskey barrel buyer is invited to tour the distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee and meet with an expert Jack Daniel's Master Taster and sometimes the Master Distiller, Jeff Arnett. A buyer samples whiskey from 3 handpicked barrels along with the expert. After the tasting, a buyer selects a barrel and then later receives the empty barrel along with approximately 250 bottles. The bottles are individually numbered and personalized with a custom metal hang tag. The top of the barrel is also engraved before it is shipped to the buyer. And in the distillery's Single Barrel room, the buyer gets their name on a special plaque.
Those who buy more than one barrel are given a medallion on their tablet. MacDill Air Force Base's plaque reflects the purchase of 7 barrels of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel whiskey.
According to Arnett, Jack Daniel's derives all of its' color and most of the flavor from the handmade charred oak barrels. Single Barrel whiskey sits on the highest level of the distillery's barrelhouses where temperatures can reach up to 120-degrees Fahrenheit, the fluctuations in temperature give this whiskey the most interaction with the barrel, and therefore a darker color and more robust flavor. The distillery's relationship with America's troops spans further with the creation of the Operation Ride Home program. Since 2011, approximately 1,200 service members have benefitted from free travel from their bases to homes in order to celebrate the holidays with their families. "The men and women of our armed forces have been some of the best friends of Jack Daniel’s over the years, and Operation Ride Home is a continuation of our longstanding support of our nation’s military," Arnett told Business Insider.
SEE ALSO: Here's A Tour Of The Jack Daniels Distillery Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
According to 
MasterCard (And Gwen Stefani) Will Reward You For Using Apple Pay (AAPL) | ||
| | ||
Mastercard has enlisted the help of The Voice judge and No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani to front a new campaign that will see the credit card company reward customers for using Apple Pay, Adweek reports. Stefani fronts a 30-second TV ad (watch it below,) created by McCann XBC, which sees her standing at the top of a tall building behind a cannon, firing gifts like handbags and concert tickets at MasterCard holders who use Apple Pay. The campaign extends into the real world, with MasterCard offering some lucky Apple Pay users prizes such as a meet-and-greet with Stefani and World Series tickets. It forms the next chapter in MasterCard's long-running "Priceless Surprises" series. (Stefani, of course, once did a series of ads for HTC's Windows Phones but seems to have defected to Apple.) The campaign comes at a key time for Apple Pay. While there has been a huge wave of PR surrounding the launch of Apple Pay, which allows users to pay for items in-store by using their iPhones, Apple has not supported the payments system with much paid-for advertising. As a result, not many iPhone users have used Apple Pay, and some don't even know it's there. Only 4.6% of iPhone 6 users transacted with Apple Pay on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, according to a survey conducted by InfoScout. Overall, just 9% of iPhone 6 users have ever used Apple Pay since it launched on October 20. Why did Apple Pay underperform? The two largest drivers were that 31% of consumers did not realize Apple Pay was accepted within the store, and 21% simply forgot to use it.
An education push on Apple Pay is clearly needed, which this MasterCard campaign — with its added incentives of prizes — will go some way toward doing. Here's the TV ad, starring a jubilant Gwen Stefani.SEE ALSO: Here Is The New iPad Ad Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
China auto sales up 2.3% in November: industry group | ||
| | ||
Shanghai (AFP) - Auto sales in China, the world's biggest car market, expanded 2.3 percent year-on-year in November, an industry group said Wednesday, the slowest for any month this year. The number of vehicles sold in November reached 2.09 million, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a statement, added that production and sales remained "relatively stable". The figure marked a marginal improvement from 1.99 million units in October and 1.98 million units in September. Passenger car sales rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 1.78 million vehicles for the month, according to the association. Sales of all vehicles -- both commercial and passenger -- increased 6.1 percent to 21.08 million units for the first 11 months of the year, it said, compared with full-year sales of 21.98 million units for 2013. A recovery in Japanese brands, which were hit by a political row between Tokyo and Beijing over disputed islands, helped sales last year but analysts have said slower economic growth and a government-led graft crackdown are expected to hurt 2014 sales. Foreign brands continued to record solid sales performance due to Chinese consumers' perception of better quality. US auto giant General Motors said its China sales jumped 10.1 percent year-on-year to 3.18 million units in the first 11 months, already surpassing its 2013 full-year sales of 3.16 million units. Competitor Ford also reported a 20 percent surge in China sales to 1.01 million vehicles for the January-November period. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
10 Things In Tech You Need To Know Today (AMZN, AAPL, MSFT) | ||
| | ||
Good morning! It's going to be a pretty clear day in London. Here's the tech news you need to know to start your day. 1. San Francisco and Los Angeles are suing Uber. They say that the company isn't doing enough to protect passengers. 2. The Pirate Bay is down after police raided its servers in Sweden. Police took servers and computers from a server room in Stockholm. 3. The boss of Amazon's publishing division is leaving after a year in the job. Daphne Durham was at the company for 15 years. 4. Apple is building a huge research and development center in Japan. A formal announcement is expected soon. 5. SoundCloud is raising money at a $1.2 billion valuation. The company is reportedly looking to raise $150 million. 6. iPod Classics are being sold for huge sums of money. Apple has stopped selling the devices, so people are turning to secondhand markets. 7. New emails revealed in the Sony hack show a heated exchange over the Steve Jobs movie. Hackers have published a trove of emails online. 8. HTC is releasing a new wearable device - and it's not a watch. It's going to be revealed early next year. 9. Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen is donating $100 million to help investigate human cells. The goal of the research is to find out how diseases emerge. 10. Apple is starting to recruit employees with a knowledge of fashion to help it sell the Apple Watch. It wants people with a background in fashion to come and work in Apple stores. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Airlines' profit forecast rises as oil prices plunge | ||
| | ||
Geneva (AFP) - Global airline association IATA on Friday raised the sector's profit forecast to $19.9 billion for 2014 and $25 billion for 2015, as plunging oil prices drive down costs. "Lower oil prices and stronger worldwide GDP growth are the main drivers behind the improved profitability," IATA said in a statement. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
China General Nuclear shares surge on Hong Kong debut | ||
| | ||
Hong Kong (AFP) - Shares in China's largest nuclear power producer surged almost 20 percent on its debut in Hong Kong Wednesday, after raising more than US$3 billion in the city's biggest initial public offering this year. China General Nuclear Power Co. (CGN) soared 19.06 percent to HK$3.31 (US$0.43) slightly short of an intra-day peak of HK$3.48. The company's IPO raised US$3.16 billion last week, with analysts saying it had a strong appeal to investors as global warming and air pollution in China have increased demand for cleaner energy. Shenzhen-based CGN currently generates an estimated 9.4 gigawatts -- around half of China's nuclear energy output -- according to documents filed in September. China has ambitious plans to expand its nuclear industry -- there are currently 21 operational nuclear reactors and 27 reactors under construction in the country, according to the World Nuclear Association. The world's second largest economy regards nuclear as a key area for energy expansion as it desperately seeks to lower its dependence on pollution-causing coal. It has set its emission targets, hoping that carbon dioxide emissions will peak in around 2030. CGN recorded a 5 billion yuan (US$810 million) profit in 2013, a two percent rise from the previous year, according to the preliminary prospectus. It also has a string of partnerships with international energy companies, including France's EDF and Areva. Beijing is also keen to export its own nuclear expertise abroad, with Chinese nuclear companies announcing partnership deals in recent months to build new reactors in Argentina and Romania. Earlier this year China won the right to own and operate new nuclear power stations in Britain. -- Dow Jones Newswire contributed to this report -- Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
