Tesco Backed 'Artisan' Coffee Chain

When it comes to coffee shops North London's Crouch End has it's fair share, but new arrival 'Harris and Hoole' has sparked controversy. The branch which also has stores in Amersham, Uxbridge, Ruislip and Southgate is up to 49% owned by the high-street giant Tesco.

The coffee industry is lucrative, last year Costa Coffee made £36.1million pre-tax profits. It is a well known fact that Tesco make £1 out of every £8 spent on the high-street and the organisation already have brand extensions including banking, clothing. dvd rentals, electronics and mobile phones. Tesco's ever-increasing power in the marketplace is what is making people unhappy about the coffee shop.

In reality, Harris and Hoole is family-owned by Australian siblings Nick, Laura and Andrew Tolley. The family own the majority of shares in the business and have total control over the way it is run. Tesco invested in the venture and have no say in the business strategy. Unfortunately, the association with Tesco has not done Harris and Hoole's reputation any favours and has resulted in extensive negative media coverage. The next few months will show if this is enough to put people off the chain or if it will thrive as well as the other high-street coffee chains.

The 36 Rules of Social Media

Bodyform responds

Pretty late on the bandwagon here but I love this video by Bodyform - it shows how having a bit of fun with people's tweets can be really successful.

Another example of this is when O2 found themselves in a twitstorm crisis after their mobile network went down. O2 took a humorous approach to some of their responses which took everyone by surprise and resulted in thousands of retweets in favour of O2...

It's important for companies to take a friendly and human tone on Twitter where appropriate - everyone likes a funny guy.

Best and worst times to post on Facebook

According to these figures the best time to post on Facebook to get the most reads is at 10pm on a Saturday night and the worst is at 4am on a Tuesday morning.

A visit to Bishops Park: Film location from The Omen

 

After to watching The Omen, my boyfriend and I decided to visit the park where priest 'Father Brennan' gets impaled by a lightening conductor on top of a church. As it's the weekend before Halloween it seemed like a fitting time to go.

The park is about a 5 minute walk from Putney Bridge tube station, it's tree-lined path runs alongside the Thames. This is where Robert Thorn (played by Gregory Peck) meets Father Brennan...

Robert Thorn and Father Brennan meet

Where Robert Thorn and Father Brennan meet by the Thames

In the park is All Saints Church, this is where Father Brennan famously gets impaled by a lightening conductor. Luckily there was no lightening whilst we were there - but I did get a bit scared when the wind picked up.

Where the priest is impaled

'

All Saints Church, Fulham

Unlock the 007 in you. You have 70 seconds!

This ad by Coke Zero is a really creative way of promoting the new Skyfall film.

EBay unveils new logo

EBay's logo and site have undergone a makeover to reflect it's new style of business model. The site has realised the proportion of customers who are now browsing using smart phones and tablets and have changed the site to suit their needs. EBay's website says:

"We’re delivering a cleaner, contemporary look and feel; a more intuitive, convenient way to browse, decide and buy – both globally and locally; and a new personal way to curate your own shopping experience and discover items perfect for you."

The new logo has already attracted criticism. Many saying they don't like it and one blogger claiming that it hurts your eyes. I personally don't like it, but nobody likes change - I'm sure as with everything else that changes on the internet we will all shut up about it in a matter of weeks.