Domino's Pizza Huyton Does Foursquare - FREE Pizza Every Week For The Mayor

Is there only me entering these Internet Competitions or what?

Well I was more than excited earlier this week to see my name on a Tweet from @doritosuk telling me I'd won a small prize in a competition I'd entered the previous week - a case of Doritos and Odeon cinema tickets.

Well, after last week's £100 of Pizza Express vouchers (see the video of our visit here), and being unable to decide if I am incredibly talented, just plain lucky or if there were so few entrants that a prize was inevitable, I have decided to undertake some further research.

Are there companies out there so desperate to grow their online following that they offer prizes that exceed the norm, and if so, where can I find out about these competitions?

I will report back, so watch this space.

Let's have a winning start to the week. Simon Pickles, Christine Wilson, @kevinwj , Sarah Wittington, Andy McKay and @beffff Congratulationsless than a minute ago via webDoritos
doritosuk

Naples' Pizzeria Ovens Fuelled by Wood From An Unusual Source

You couldn't make it up!

Oh how we laughed this morning when we saw a story in The Daily Telegraph about Neapolitan Pizzerias using wood from coffins in their traditional ovens.

Read it here.

And if you still fancy a trip to the home of pizza this summer then why not read our posts about The Best Pizzeria in Italy or The Best Pizza in The World?

Election Night Party at Pizza Express Millbank Nearly Graced With Presence of Renowned Pizza Blogger

Mrs Pizzasand Stuff and I are big fans of Pizza Express so we are more than excited about winning a competition recently on Twitter for a Meal for Four at their Flagship Restaurant at London, Millbank close to the Headquarters of the UK's main political parties.

Congratulations @simonpickles for winning his own seat at tonight's Election night at Millbank!less than a minute ago via webPizzaExpress
PizzaExpress

However, as we live nearly 200 miles away we were kindly allowed to transfer our prize to a restaurant nearer our home, and below is a short video about our visit.

To those of you who cannot sit through 42 seconds of pizza porn, the upshot is that we had a great time, were looked after superbly and ate the best quality food.

Guys, you rock!

Domino's Pizza Huyton and St Helens - The Lunch Specialists

Domino's Pizza St Helens and Huyton specialise in Lunch Orders. Whether they are big or small, for personal or business customers, we can assure you that our years of expertise will go to making your order go as smoothly as possible.

You can order by telephone or over the internet.

Using only fresh ingredients, each order is individually hand-made and can be customised to your requirements.

We can provide cups for your drinks, napkins, paper plates and dips to make your meal go as smoothly as possible and mean there is minimal mess to clean up.

For more information please phone the shops on 01744 733 566 or 0151 449 0449

TOP THAT – DOMINO’S UK CROWNED FASTEST PIZZA MAKERS IN EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

Three Domino’s pizza makers from Bristol, London and Leicester have beaten off stiff competition from across the globe to scoop the title of Domino’s Fastest Pizza Makers in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The two-day competition, which took place in Amsterdam this week, saw Vijay Chauhan from Bristol, Pali Grewal from London and Prem Singh from Leicester competing against Domino’s pizza makers from all over EMEA in a bid to clinch the title. Each country has been holding their own heats with the fastest eight going through to the EMEA finals.

To take part, each pizza maker had to make three large pizzas from scratch – stretching the dough, saucing and cheesing them and then adding toppings of pepperoni and mushrooms. All the pizzas had to be made to standard in as fast a time as possible. Pali scored a blisteringly quick time of 50 seconds, closely followed by Vijay with 53 seconds and Prem with 63 seconds.

Pali and Vijay will now compete against the 12 fastest pizza makers chosen from 9,000 Domino’s stores across the globe in the world final taking place in Las Vegas in July.

Pali Grewal said: “We’ve been practising hard for the competition and for us to scoop the EMEA title is a fantastic achievement. Vijay and I can’t wait to get to Vegas. The world final is going to be a great event and we’re leaving a space in our suitcases so we can bring back the trophy!”

How to Reach Out to Your Customers In The Digital Age

As part of my extensive and ongoing research into the various ways that companies use to communicate with their customers, especially in the Digital Age, I came across the website, Facebook Page and Twitter Account of Peppadew.

Peppadew Peppers are a range of whole, sweet, piquante peppers, with a mild, hot and golden variety. They are unlike anything you will have tasted before and totally addictive. Domino's Pizza currently use them as a topping on The Big Smoky.

You may have seen them on the shelves of the major supermarkets, though sometimes they are hidden away. You can usually find them near the olives.

The innovative nature of the Peppadew Online Presence, in my opinion, is how they are trying to get their customers to interact with their brand and thus become Word of Mouth Promoters. Several years ago it would have been unheard to ask your customers to send in a video of yourself using that product. But now it seems as if this will be the future.

Here is the Tweet from Peppadew, promoting their competition to find The Face of Peppadew

Check out our new competition: upload your Peppadew picture or video and win! http://bit.ly/bujpdMless than a minute ago via TweetDeckPeppadew
peppadew_uk

Indeed in our online, connected world, businesses will come to rely on Word of Mouth communication more and more as traditional methods of broadcast media go into decline.

Doritos are in the final stages of judging their King of Ads Competition, where customers make an advert for the tasty corn snack, and Peppadew, as mentioned, are asking customers to send in a video of their favourite recipe that contains the eponymous Sweet Chilli Pepper.

And no longer is it necessary to own an expensive handheld Video Camera and have a degree in Media Studies from Skelmersdale Poly in order to make a video worthy of praise. The iPhone 3Gs and many other Smartphones all contain Video Cameras that will deliver more than acceptable results.

Couple that to iMovie or MovieMaker Software on your Computer and within minutes you can produce finished videos, with text, special effects, voiceovers and the like that cannot fail to impress your friends, colleagues, or in this case, judges.

Gone are the days of "Answers on a Postcard" competitons. In our online connected digital word it's all about interaction!

And long may it stay that way.

Below is my effort for the Peppadew competition. I would be surprised if it makes it to the shortlist, however it took only about 30 minutes to edit. The footage was shot while I was doing what I would have been doing anyway, and lots of fun was had along the way, as well as lots of wine being drunk, due to that particular shot needing about 17 retakes!