(PRWEB) October 06, 2011

Finding out that Id become a member of the 10K club was very exciting, Karen Gardner of Reno, NV said in an interview today. Its an elite club that I never imagined Id be a part of. She was referring to her recent win at SweepstakesToday.com (http://www.sweepstakestoday.com) that put her into the exclusive club of winners there.

I came across SweepstakesToday.com by accident about six years ago, and havent left the site since, she added, talking of her always-free membership.

Gardner estimates that over that period of time shes won a total of about $ 30,000, mostly in small prizes.

The largest cash prize I won was a $ 900 Visa gift card shortly before my husband and I got married. We used the money to buy our rings, my dress, and rent his tuxedo, she laughed.

She has, she said, won small prizes in drawings and the like at local stores, but almost all of my prizes have come from Sweepstakes Today, she added.

Asked if she thought she was addicted to sweeping, Gardner said, I am not addicted to entering sweepstakes, but I do feel like Im missing opportunities when I dont have time to enter for a few days! Just entering gives you hope and the possibility of what if? What if I won a new car? Who would I take with me if I won this fabulous trip? How could I improve my life if I won a big bundle of cash? The possibilities are endless, and entirely feasible. My favorite,(was) a trip for two to the Galapagos Islands, (valued at $ 12,500) she concluded.

One of the things Gardner likes best about the website is it helps her keep track of the contests she enters. In case I forget about one, I can easily look it up on Sweepstakes Today to get all the information I need, she said.

Asked how she felt about winning, Karen said, its an awesome feeling. I feel excited and giddy, and want to share my win with anyone around me immediately. The big wins- those are few and far between, so the feeling is much more amplified.

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Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) October 06, 2011

Today, advertising agency 22squared and The Costa Rica Tourism Board kick off Costa Ricas Million Dollar Gift of Happiness campaign. From October 6, 2011, to February 5, 2012, Costa Rica will give away $ 1 million worth of gifts of happiness in the form of weeklong Costa Rica vacations to people in the United States and Canada. The campaign will promote Costa Rica as the happiest country in the world and inspire travelers to enjoy the countrys natural beauty and adventure, and share their experiences with their friends via social media platforms.

Costa Ricas welcoming, happy culture is infectious and inspiring, and visitors leave as passionate advocates for the countrys heritage, ecological diversity and adventure, said John Stapleton, chief creative director, 22squared. The Gift of Happiness campaign will amplify visitors vast, positive word-of-mouth to encourage tourists in the United States and Canada to experience all Costa Rica has to offer.

For the Gift of Happiness campaign, 22squared created work across print, digital and social media platforms. Gifts of Happiness will be given away via Costa Ricas official Facebook page, where fans will be greeted by the countrys new mascot, a particularly laid-back sloth. In addition, 22squared and The Costa Rica Tourism Board will comb Twitter, Facebook, blogs, news outlets and other online sources for people who could benefit from a gift of happiness, who share Costa Ricas values and who demonstrate the countrys belief in Pura Vida everything good in life.

The Gift of Happiness campaign reflects Costa Ricas Pura Vida culture, added Allan Flores, Minister of Tourism, The Costa Rica Tourism Board. Through creative, innovative advertising from 22squared, well highlight our countrys unique and diverse destinations and increase travel to our beautiful country.

Recipients of a Gift of Happiness will select one trip from a group of five themed Costa Rica travel packages: Adrenaline Happiness, Adventure Happiness, Authentic Happiness, Romantic Happiness and Wild Happiness. These trips are designed to give visitors a taste of everything Costa Rica has to offer and will feature experiences like zip-lining, surfing, wildlife encounters, interactions with indigenous communities and visits to volcano-fueled hot springs. Fans of Costa Rica can preview each of these trips via five themed videos on the countrys official Facebook page.

About 22squared

22squared is an 89-year-old independent agency with a startup mentality. We help our clients cut through the grey of complexity with a black and white perspective by encouraging brands to choose an enemy that gives them a potent and provocative reason for being, one that consumers can get behind and talk about. We apply this approach and other proprietary conversation strategies to create exponential ideas for Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, The Costa Rica Tourism Board, Floridas Natural Growers, Publix Super Markets, Inc., Shoe Carnival, Southeast Toyota Distributors and other iconic brands. If youd like people to start talking about your brand, check us out at 22squared.com. Were looking forward to the challenge.

About The Costa Rica Tourism Board

The Costa Rica Tourism Board, created in 1955, is responsible for promoting Costa Rica as a tourism destination nationally and internationally; establishing tourism norms, regulations and incentives; and certifying Costa Ricas hotels, travel agencies, rental cars and other tourism service providers under its world-renowned Certification of Sustainable Tourism program. For travel information about Costa Rica, contact the Costa Rica Tourism Board directly at 1-866-267-8274, visit VisitCostaRica.com or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

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Tucson, AZ (PRWEB) November 28, 2011

As motorists turn to the Internet to locate and research auto repair options, auto service shops that once relied solely on drive-by traffic and phone book ads are quickly realizing the importance of developing a comprehensive online presence, and of making certain that people searching in their area can easily find them. However, for auto repair shop owners, choosing the right tools to help them acquire and retain customers can be an overwhelming and potentially expensive experience. With AutoVitals’ newest release of its web-based marketing platform “Vital Connect” Precision Inc Honda & Acura Automobile Service experiences increases in lead count as well as the numbers of current and prospective customers.

Chris Klinger, owner of Tucson, Arizona auto repair shop Precision Inc Honda & Acura Automobile Service, had already taken steps to get his successful auto repair shop noticed on the Web, but realized that spending time creating Web solutions took away from focusing on his business. We know how important the Internet is in our overall sales and marketing strategy, and had launched several online marketing initiatives ourselves, with varying levels of success, said Klinger. Given the level of complexity involved, we determined that it made more sense for us to find a professional provider rather than to keep going down the DIY path. We talked with others in the auto repair industry and heard that AutoVitals.com may be exactly what we needed.

AUTOVITALS HELPS PRECISION INC HONDA & ACURA TAKE CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS FURTHER

Klinger signed on with AutoVitals and was immediately convinced hed made a smart choice. Integrating AutoVitals with our existing shop management software was easy, and learning how to use it was a breeze, because it fit in with what we were already doing, Klinger said. For the first time, we can now have the customer relationship we’ve always worked towardone where they see us as a partner in their car care efforts, and where they think of us before the next problem happens. Connecting with our customers through social media and the Internet lets us be of service to them year-round, recommending preventative maintenance services to help them avoid issues and repairs in the future.

This enhanced relationship has not only had a positive impact on our customersour retention rates have always been good but AutoVitals has certainly given them an extra boostbut our profitability has also skyrocketed, Klinger explained. We think of AutoVitals as helping us amplify or extend the value of the experience that customers have when they’re here at the service counterin essence, it allows us to further our relationships with customers in an easy-to-implement and easy-to-scale way.

AUTO REPAIR SHOP PROFITS SHOW NOTICEABLE INCREASE

Within 6 months of implementing AutoVitals into the customer communication workflow at his Tucson auto repair shop, Klinger could see his AutoVitals investment paying offboth in customer feedback and in hard numbers. I will admit to having high hopes when we started with AutoVitals, but the results that we’ve been able to achieve have surpassed even my highest hopes, said Klinger. Having done some online marketing on our own, I know how quickly you can blaze through an online budget without much to show for it. Our work with AutoVitals continues to deliver–weve seen increases in service appointments, noticeable increases in our profitability over the prior year period, and big increases in customer satisfaction.

Klinger credits AutoVitals.com’s Total package with the company’s online success. We’re currently working with AutoVitals on a complete website revamp as part of our package, but that work in progress hasn’t slowed us down. By taking advantage of AutoVitals’ lead generation module, along with its innovative Facebook add-ons, we’ve been able to increase our lead count as well as increase the numbers of current and prospective customers who are connected with us online, Klinger said. And I anticipate that things will get even better when we launch our new website!

ABOUT PRECISION INC HONDA & ACURA AUTOMOBILE SERVICE

Established in 1984, Precision Inc Honda & Acura Automobile Service has become recognized as “THE Alternative to the Dealership” for more than 30 years. As Tucson’s local leader of Independent Honda and Acura Automotive Service, Precision guarantees that we will service your car efficiently, cost effectively and never take our eyes off of your safety or customer satisfaction. Precision is not affiliated with American Honda Motor Company in any wayinstead, we choose to offer our services independently and directly to the publicsaving everyone time and money, while still offering original equipment parts and professional workmanship and superior customer service. For more information, please visit http://www.tucsonprecisionservice.com.

About AutoVitals.com

Founded in 2009, AutoVitals.com helps busy auto repair shop owners and service advisors to develop and nurture customer relationships via both online and offline channels. Using the AutoVitals platform, service managers can identify opportunities to further connect with the customer, and can take immediate actionwith the ability to track and report on the success of specific activities and the overall impact on the bottom line. Integrating with the shop’s existing management system, AutoVitals seamlessly fits into the shop workflow, helping retain existing customers, find new customers, and build stronger customer relationships–all while increasing customer satisfaction and shop revenues. For more information, visit http://www.AutoVitals.com.

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San Jose, California (PRWEB) October 07, 2011

Follow us on LinkedIn – Years of research and product developments in automotive electronics space have allowed consumers to experience same kind of entertainment that they get from home entertainment systems, in their vehicles and when on the move. Modern day vehicles come equipped with state-of-art entertainment systems, which allows users to play audio or video in their vehicles, thereby enhancing the user experience while driving or when being driven. In-car entertainment is big business with several new automobile models coming equipped with factory fitted high-end entertainment systems, as vehicle manufacturers re-focus on these systems as effective tools for product differentiation in a saturated automobile market. From car audio systems, gaming consoles to the convergence of information and entertainment, infotainment, the market over the last couple of decades has witnessed sea changes in technology development, and evolution. The upcoming years will witness not so common technologies like navigation systems, video systems, integrated cellular, satellite technologies and mobile gaming, evolving into bundled equipment integrated in the automobiles of the future. The rapid technology developments in consumer electronics especially in the field of mobility, has played instrumental roles in influencing consumers preferences for mobile entertainment.

A key guiding design goal for car audio systems is integration. Products with bluetooth connectivity, integration ability with popular consumer media devices, such as, iPods, built-in USB drives, are forecast to score maximum gains in the upcoming years. For instance, integrated models of in-dash DVD players with SD (flash storage) slots, GPS navigation and digital-TV with touch screen, USB ports, and Bluetooth technology are rising in popularity. Miniaturization of speaker systems is especially crucial in car audio systems with consumers preferring thinner speakers and shallow sub-woofers. With the Internet emerging into a vehicle for music proliferation, thanks to the vast library of both freely downloadable music, and pay per song services like Apple’s iTunes, consumers currently demand anytime, anywhere network connections, and access to favorite music.

The MP3 format marked the first step in easy music portability between devices. However, CD/DVD players supporting MP3 require cumbersome transfer of music onto CDs/DVD discs and currently new generation audio systems are designed to directly connect to the network to eliminate compatibility issues with multiple Internet audio formats i.e. WMA, and MPEG versions. Additionally, car audio systems with USB drive eliminates the need for MP3 formatted CDs and allows the user to directly load music from the PC through a pen drive. Also in vogue are car audio systems with Wi-Fi connection that enables the user to directly upgrade hard drive configurations.

As with any other industrial sector, the global automotive entertainment industry had its own initial hurdles, and suffered a setback due to the recent economic recession. While decline in vehicle production hurt demand for in-vehicle entertainment systems in the OEM market, postponements of aftermarket purchases of dispensable aftermarket fittings and accessories including infotainment/entertainment solutions resulted in decline in demand in the aftermarket as well. Expensive aftermarket electronic installations have been especially impacted by the recession as in-vehicle entertainment systems turned extremely unattractive among target vehicle users, given the tight financial conditions. The prolonged recession interestingly induced a long-term shift in consumer perception towards performance, price and value offered by products, which is expected to linger on even into the post recession period.

Going forwards, demand will be driven by recovery in GDP growth, employment rates, incomes levels and discretionary incomes, and rise in consumer confidence. Proliferation of Internet radio in automobiles will continue to gather steam in post recession period, and mirroring this trend is the rising number of in-dash Internet radio systems offered by various OEMs and third party providers.

As stated by the new market research report, Europe and Asia-Pacific together accounts for a major share of the global Automotive Entertainment Systems market in the OEM segment. By segment, Standard Audio Players is the largest contributor to revenues of Automotive Entertainment Systems market in the OEM segment. Conventional AM/FM car radio systems are being largely displaced by digital/satellite radio systems. Add on amplifiers, subwoofers, and speakers are loosing flavor given the growing availability of fully integrated full line audio/video systems. Satellite Radio is forecast to be the fastest growing segment within the Automotive Entertainment Systems market. Global market revenues for Satellite Radio in aftermarket segment are expected to surge at a CAGR of 14.8% over the analysis period. Opportunities in the aftermarket currently stem from upgradation of older vehicles in use.

Major players in the global marketplace include Alpine Electronics of America Inc., Audiovox Corporation, Bose Corporation, Blaupunkt GmbH, Clarion Corporation of America, Continental Automotive GmbH, Delphi Automotive LLP, Harman International, JVC America Inc., Kenwood USA Corporation, KVH Industries Inc., LG Electronics Inc, Magnadyne Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America Inc., Myron & Davis, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc., Sirius XM Radio Inc, Sony Corporation, Visteon Corporation, RaySat Inc., among others.

The research report titled Automotive Entertainment Systems: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections (US$ Million) for major geographic markets including the United States, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Rest of World. Market Analytics are reported both at OEM and the Aftermarket Level. Product segments analyzed include DVD Players, Standard Audio Players, Satellite Radio, and Others.

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit

http://www.strategyr.com/Automotive_Entertainment_Systems_Market_Report.asp

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a leading publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company currently employs over 800 people worldwide. Annually, GIA publishes more than 1300 full-scale research reports and analyzes 40,000+ market and technology trends while monitoring more than 126,000 Companies worldwide. Serving over 9500 clients in 27 countries, GIA is recognized today, as one of the world’s largest and reputed market research firms.

Follow us on LinkedIn

Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Telephone: 408-528-9966

Fax: 408-528-9977

Email: press(at)StrategyR(dot)com

Web Site: http://www.StrategyR.com/

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North Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) October 31, 2011

New research on immune based therapies for cancer presented at the SITC 26th Annual Meeting & Associated Programs

Understanding the local immune responses to cancer

Macrophages are important cells that reside in tissues and play a role in immune responses. When macrophages are in immunostimulatory (M1) form they promote protective immune responses, if macrophages are in immunosuppresive form (M2) they diminish protective immune responses. After exposure to certain substances, macrophages can shift from one form to the other. Tumor cells can release factors that shift M1 macrophages to M2 cells, diminishing an anti-tumor immune response and allowing the tumor to survive an immune attack. A study presented today at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 26th Annual Meeting & Associated Programs set out to determine how macrophages decide whether to adopt one functional state or another when they encounter a tumor.

Yishan Chuang from Northwestern University and colleagues treated and analyzed macrophages with different immune signaling molecules found at the tumor site to determine their resulting functional states. One particular tumor-derived signal (Interleukin-10) was found to govern the outcome of this decision-making process in a manner that was not overcome by the addition of previously-identified immunostimulatory molecules. In some circumstances, both M1 and M2 macrophages were found to exist simultaneously, suggesting that macrophages may essentially flip a coin to decide whether to adopt one functional state or another, and the probability of choosing an immunosuppressive state is increased when Interleukin-10 is present.

This study sheds new light on our understanding of local immune responses and should help identify novel therapeutic targets and strategies for the treatment of cancer and other diseases involving chronic immune dysfunction.

New approach to treating Mantle cell lymphoma

NORTH BETHESDA (Friday, November 4, 2011) – Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive form of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is incurable. High dose chemotherapy with stem cell transplant eliminates the vast majority of tumor cells, but a small minority of chemo-resistant cells ultimately grow and cause relapse. According to researchers at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 26th Annual Meeting & Associated Programs, one possible approach to treatment is using a novel, personalized approach called immunotransplant to amplify the immune response of anti-tumor white blood cells.

J. Brody, MD from Stanford University, and colleagues developed the immunotransplant maneuver which uses anti-tumor immune cells (T cells) to eliminate lymphoma cells that persist post-transplant. The anti-tumor T cells are originally generated by treating the patient with an individualized lymphoma vaccine, then cryo-preserved and re-infused into the patient immediately post-transplant. A phase I/II study of immunotransplant was initiated for 24 newly diagnosed MCL patients to test the hypothesis that immunotranasplant amplifies anti-tumor T cells as seen pre-clinically.

Researchers found that immunotransplant not only restored the anti-tumor immune cells, but actually amplified their numbers significantly in 83% of patients tested.

This study suggests that anti-tumor T cell amplification through immunotransplant could improve clinical outcomes for people with mantle cell lymphoma and other forms of cancer.

Using redirected T cells as a new form of cancer treatment

NORTH BETHESDA (Friday, November 4, 2011) – Recent studies have shown that human T cells can be re-directed to attack cancers with specific surface markers. For example, significant remissions of chronic lymphocytic leukemia have been reported using T cells engineered to express an antibody molecule on their surface. These specialized antibody-based molecules are called chimeric antigen receptors (CARs). According to research presented today at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 26th Annual Meeting & Associated Programs, these designer T cells could represent a new approach to treating certain forms of cancer such as pancreatic cancer or ovarian cancer

The antibody domains that are used to create CARs are often developed in mice and therefore contain mouse regions. When these CAR T cells are injected into the human body, the immune system recognizes the mouse portions as foreign material, and reacts against the CAR T cells, a phenomenon called transgene immunogenicity. This immune reaction can potentially lead to rejection or inhibition of the activity of the transferred anti-cancer CAR T cells, and represents a potential limitation to the CAR approach.

Evripidis Lanitis, BS and colleagues from the Powell lab at the University of Pennsylvania, constructed and evaluated a fully-human anti-mesothelin CAR that contained an antibody domain of human origin, called P4 which can redirect T cells to attack and destroy tumor cells that express mesothelin. Due to its full human composition, the new CAR reduces the likelihood of inducing transgene immunogenicity, thereby allowing CAR T cells to exert their full anti-tumor function. Human T cells expressing the P4 CAR release an array of anti-cancer molecules when they encounter mesothelin-expressing tumor cells. They also mediate the direct killing of mesothelin-positive cancer cells, as well as surrounding cancer cells that do not express mesothelin. The mesothelin protein is also secreted from tumor cells and presents in a soluble form in the serum of patients. However, this soluble form of mesothelin cannot prevent the new P4 CAR T cells from binding to mesothelin expressed on tumor cells and subsequently eliminating these cancers.

Researchers evaluated the effects of the P4 anti-mesothelin CAR T cells in a preclinical model of human ovarian cancer, where infusion of CAR T cells resulted in robust anti-tumor activity and regression of large, established human tumors in mice, even in the presence of high serum mesothelin levels.

The results of this study describe for the first time the generation and preclinical evaluation of primary human T cells engineered to express a CAR that is fully-human and that reacts against the cancer antigen, mesothelin, which is over expressed on a number of human cancers, including mesothelioma, pancreas cancer, and ovarian cancer.

Founded in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (formerly the International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer; iSBTc) is a non-profit organization of clinicians, researchers, students, post-doctoral fellows, and allied health professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development and application of cancer immunotherapy through interaction, innovation and leadership. For more information about SITC, please visit the Society website at http://www.sitcancer.org.

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE:

Friday, November 4, 1 p.m. ET

Contact: Jennifer Warren (jwarren(at)sitcancer(dot)org)

Ph: (414) 271-2456

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Lawrenceville, GA (PRWEB) November 22, 2011

In partnership with Mobile Real Estate, The Real Estate Book expands advertising packages to include new mobile marketing tools at no additional cost.

Text messaging with lead generation, QR codes and single property mobile pages are now part of the basic advertising package offered by The Real Estate Book through their collaboration with Mobile Real Estate ID.

Our partnership with The Real Estate Book is in perfect alignment with our mission, to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers. Using QR codes and text codes in print drives more consumers to mobile sites.- This is a partnership that helps make print come alive and I jumped at the chance to be a part of it. says John Lim, President and CEO of Mobile Real Estate. Text messaging and QR Codes continue to gain adoption within marketing and advertising, through this partnership our technology will now allow buyers to interact further with the printed advertisement.

Recent studies show that 25% of home buyers are visiting real estate-related websites from their web enabled mobile devices or smart phones. Print advertising helps consumers find and access these mobile websites whenever and wherever they happen to be — allowing them to see more information about the property, additional photos, maps, pricing, details, etc.

In addition to advertisements The Real Estate Book, REALTORS

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San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 6, 2011

Today Adgregate Markets, the leader in secure social commerce solutions, announced that Crutchfield, a leading online retailer of electronics, has selected Adgregate’s ShopFans to enable secure social shopping on the retailer’s Facebook page. The company is the first major electronics retailer to enter the social commerce space on Facebook. Crutchfield is enlisting ShopFans to enable its Facebook Fans to shop directly within in the Facebook environment. Crutchfield is ranked #108 in the Internet Retailer’s Top 500 List and 2nd within the list’s computers/electronics category, with over $ 145M in 2009 online sales. Crutchfield’s more than 23,000 Facebook Fans will be able to virally promote and share products while they shop, all through the social ‘hooks’ within Facebook.

“Crutchfield’s product presentations are the best in our industry,” said Online Community Manager Jeff Kitchen. “We’re glad we can make them more accessible to our fans. ShopFans gives them more to do and more to share during a visit to our Facebook page. And it makes our Facebook presence a much more compelling business proposition for Crutchfield.”

ShopFans is the world’s most trusted social commerce technology, the only solution publicly endorsed by McAfee, the exclusive security provider for Facebook. Crutchfield will leverage ShopFans, a fully functioning native Facebook application, to showcase Crutchfield’s various product categories, giving Fans access to all available items.

“A customer’s value is measured not only by how much money they spend, but these days especially, in their power of referral,” said Henry Wong, CEO of Adgregate Markets. “Through ShopFans, Crutchfield will be able to measure this customer engagement within Facebook, while gaining insight on product recommendations, purchase intent and conversion rates, all of which will help sharpen their social strategy for years to come.”

Social commerce involves understanding the ways in which users engage with a page. ShopFans tracks conversations that are occurring, ultimately revealing how the conversion funnel appears within Facebook. Unlike existing social commerce solutions offered in Facebook, ShopFans has won the public endorsements from both security and privacy heavyweights McAfee and TRUSTe.

About Crutchfield

Crutchfield Corporation, which celebrates its 36th anniversary in 2010, is one of the nation’s leading catalog and Internet retailers of consumer electronics products. Since its introduction in 1974, the Crutchfield catalog has been a respected authority on car and home entertainment products, winning many awards for quality, design, and usefulness. For more information, visit http://www.crutchfield.com.

http://www.facebook.com/Crutchfield

http://www.twitter.com/Crutchfield

About Adgregate Markets

Adgregate Markets is the leading provider of secure advertising and social commerce solutions. ShopFans turns social shopping on Facebook from conversations into conversions and is the only secure social commerce solution in the market. ShopAds guide prospective customers from the point of discovery to the point of purchase entirely within innovative online and mobile ads. SecureAds are the world’s most secure ads for customer engagement. Adgregate is a privately held company based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is venture-backed by leading investors. Adgregate has received numerous industry awards for its innovative advertising technology, including ad:tech’s White Hot Company, TechCrunch50 Finalist, and AlwaysOn OnMedia 100 Winner, recognizing the top private companies in digital media and advertising. For additional information, please visit http://www.adgregate.com.

http://www.facebook.com/Adgregate

http://www.twitter.com/Adgregate

Adgregate Media Contact:

Jessie Morgan

(408) 838-0143

media(at)adgregate(dot)com

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St. Petersburg, FL (PRWEB) January 12, 2011

Festivals of Speed is expanding the annual high-end automotive event weekend in St. Petersburg. The 8th Annual Festivals of Speed St. Pete, will return April 1-3 with the best in luxury lifestyle as well as an increased display of rare vintage & contemporary aircraft, exotic cars, custom-created motorcycles, and high performance boats and yachts.

Thanks to the tremendous success and local support we had in 2010, we will be expanding the main event area to include a yacht hop and powerboat showing, as well as an additional display area for exotic vintage and contemporary vehicles, stated Joe Sabatini, the founder and CEO of the Festivals of Speed. We are also pleased to announce a partnership with The Florida Powerboat Club to amplify the display for event goers and participants.

The Festivals of Speed weekend will once again begin with the Luxury Lifestyle Jet Port Reception set for April 1. The evening, staged in an actual aircraft hangar, will showcase the worlds finest in aircraft, art displays, watercraft, and automobiles for a lavish reception.

The main event on Sunday, April 3 will be held in beautiful North Straub Park, and expand into Spa Beach and The Renaissance Vinoy Marina in Downtown St. Petersburg. Featured will be an extremely rare, multi-million dollar display of vehicles, a salute to the 50th anniversary of the Jaguar E-Type, motorcycles, and watercraft. Also, to heighten the day, there will be a Yacht Hop and Display as well as a Poker Run and Powerboat showing hosted by The Florida Power Boat Club. Collectors and guests will also enjoy luxury lifestyle displays from our sponsors while reveling in live entertainment, fine wines, champagnes, and culinary delights. Guests who appreciate the VIP lifestyle can purchase tickets to a beautiful pavilion section to indulge in an array of fine foods and premium alcohol.

Tickets for the Festivals of Speed St. Petersburg receptions and Sunday main event VIP pavilion can be purchased in advance at http://www.festivalsofspeed.com. Sunday main event general admission tickets, are available either online or on-site at North Straub Park April 3.

About Festivals of Speed

Headquartered in Eustis, Florida, Festivals of Speed was founded as the ultimate luxury lifestyle showcase for discerning enthusiasts with a passion for all forms of transportation. With a series of extremely special events scheduled throughout the year, Festivals of Speed joins the very best in automotive, aircraft, marine and motorcycle transportation with the finest culinary, wine, spirits, and fashion for the ultimate luxury experience. For more information, please visit http://www.festivalsofspeed.com or telephone 305-814-2367.

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San Jose, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) January 20, 2011

Car rental forms a vital part of the global travel and transportation market worldwide and hence business opportunities in this market is largely tied to the fortunes of air travel industry, as a significant chunk of the markets revenues are derived through rentals at airports. Demand responses to economic ups and downs are typically amplified in this industry highlighting the level of sensitivity to the broader economy. Therefore, the slowdown in tourism as a result of the financial crisis led world economic recession has had a negative impact on market prospects for car rentals. Tourism industry, which is largely upheld by the level of consumer confidence, took a hurting blow as consumer confidence and sentiments weakened across the globe. Rising levels of unemployment, reduction in household wealth, loss of corporate travel coverage/allowances, falling disposable incomes have together led to a sharp decline in travel and tourism across the world. Global air travel, especially, took the deepest dive as reflected by the reductions in air passenger traffic, large-scale cancellation of flights and reduced number of flight trips, thus impacting airport car rental business. Since about 50% of the revenue of the car rental industry is generated from airport locations, the business suffered in line with the air travel decline. Volatile fuel prices have also resulted in consumers renting cars for shorter period of time and this coupled with the reduced average number of vehicle miles traveled, and overall decline in per capita automobile travel, made the going tough for non-airport car rental business.

Additionally, tight corporate budgets and liquidity concerns have resulted in companies halving expenditures on business travels. As a result of cost rationalization and green IT initiatives, companies resorted to videoconferencing and other such forms of business meetings to reduce expenses incurred on business trips. The emergence of Green IT as an efficient and natural solution to reduce energy costs and improve corporate environmental credibility has resulted in enterprises implementing energy efficient logistics through virtual and flexible communications, such as videoconferencing. Adoption of video conferencing has led to slimmer and leaner corporate travel budgets. Growing popularity of video conferencing, as companies search for the most cost-effective way to increase employee collaboration across time zones and geographies, will continue to challenge the car rental industry even in the post recession period.

Widespread employee layoffs undertaken by businesses to tackle rising costs stemming from redundant staff has made available pool cars for existing staff use thus eliminating the need for renting cars for ad-hoc business travels. The lull in business resulted in idling of auto rental fleets. And fleet downsizing to achieve higher utilization rates, carried out by fleet owners stranded with large auto fleet bases, resulted in flooding the used car market since one of the major suppliers of used cars is the car rental companies. This in turn brought about a sharp decline in used car prices and the ensuing increase in used car purchases created a less urgent need for renting or hiring cars. The financial hardships faced by automakers reduced the popularity of repurchase programs, forcing fleet owners to dispose used cars in the used car market, making new fleet acquisition a costlier affair. With fleet financing hard to come by, new vehicle additions and replacements in existing fleets took a blow as fleet owners focused squarely on surviving the crisis by reducing costs, rationalizing fleet sizes, shutting down non-critical location points and by increasing rental prices for leisure travel.

However, with the recession now at its tail end, the market is exhibiting early signs of recovery with Asia-Pacific leading the way, as stated by the new market research report on Car Rental Business. The rise of recession tourism, a direct fallout of the economic crisis, which encouraged a shift in preference for holiday hotspots away from popular generic retreats to low-cost countries/regions, has resulted in major car rental players focusing on developing markets such as China, India, Australia, and the Middle East. Cheap low cost tourism in developing countries like India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, among others, witnessed growth over the last two years. The United States, which pioneered the car rental business, is the largest regional market in terms of revenues generated. Faced with stagnating opportunities in the car rentals space, fleet operators in the domestic market are foraying into the car sharing market. Companies are also toying with the idea of introducing no-show fees in the country, a concept that is already widely popular in the European market. The upcoming years will witness steady recovery in growth patterns in line with the recovery in the airline industry. The US market for airport car rental is forecast to cross US$ 10 billion mark in the next few years.

Europe, the second largest market, also witnessed decline in revenues during the recession, leading to market players curtailing their fleet size. However, tourist declines did not decrease in proportion to the decrease in fleet sizes, leading to shortage of rental fleet at many popular tourist sites, particularly in countries such as Spain and Portugal. This resulted in almost doubling up of spot prices for rentals, a positive development for the beleaguered players. European market for leisure car rental is projected to reach US$ 6.9 billion by 2013.

Major players in the market include Avis Budget Group, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Enterprise Holdings, Europcar, Payless Car Rental, Rent-A-Wreck of America, Sixt Aktiengesellschaft and The Hertz Corporation.

The research report titled Car Rental Business: A Global Strategic Business Report announced by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., provides a comprehensive review of market trends, issues, drivers, company profiles, mergers, acquisitions and other strategic industry activities. The report provides market estimates and projections in US$ Million for major geographic markets including the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East. Segments analyzed include by rental locations (airport and non-airport), and by sectors (Leisure, Business and Insurance Replacement).

For more details about this comprehensive market research report, please visit http://www.strategyr.com/Car_Rental_Business_Market_Report.asp

About Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

Global Industry Analysts, Inc., (GIA) is a reputed publisher of off-the-shelf market research. Founded in 1987, the company is globally recognized as one of the worlds largest market research publishers. The company employs over 800 people worldwide and publishes more than 1200 full-scale research reports each year. Additionally, the company also offers thousands of smaller research products including company reports, market trend reports, and industry reports encompassing all major industries worldwide.

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