Although normally only 12% of our New Year’s Resolutions succeed, British dieters have found an effective method to incorporate their resolutions in their lives. A hefty 84% of people who have joined the JENNY CRAIG programme in 2012 are still sticking to their diet plans, and on average, they have lost 5.58lbs during the first 3 weeks of the year.

Independent research shows that in 2011, exactly half of all British adults thought of themselves as overweight.  40% of British men felt this way about themselves, versus 59% of British women. What’s even more shocking is the way people dealt with their worries about their weight and health. The same research showed that 39% of the female and 23% of the male population said that they were trying to lose weight most of the time, and 14% of all Brits admitted that they often skip a meal in order to lose some weight.

Jacqui Morrell, JENNY CRAIG dietician, says:  “Skipping meals actually works against weight loss. Your metabolism will slow down if you don’t eat, which makes it more difficult to lose weight. On the JENNY CRAIG programme, we encourage people to have 3 meals and 3 snacks throughout the day.”

In 2007, the British psychologist Richard Wiseman studied 3000 people in the UK and discovered that 88% of our serious New Year’s resolutions are abandoned prematurely. Since the most popular New Year’s resolution is weight loss, it’s impressive that 84% of people who made the New Year’s resolution to lose weight with Jenny Craig are still going strong.

Jacqui Morrell says: “The key to JENNY CRAIG’s success is our very personal approach. If you’re on JENNY CRAIG, we prepare and deliver portion and calorie controlled food which spans a range of cuisines and is also incredibly tasty.   Clients have their own personal consultant who calls at a convenient time every week to discuss how it’s going and to inspire you to keep up the good work as you successfully lose weight. And if you have any questions throughout the week, clients can always get in touch with one of the consultants.  It really is one of the ultimate weight loss programmes – you’ll never look back!”

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Note to editors:

One of the leading weight management programmes in the US, JENNY CRAIG’s unique Mind-Food-Body approach combines delicious home delivered food with weekly one-to-one consultations. JENNY CRAIG has had more than 5 million clients over the past 10 years in US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and launched in the UK in April 2010.

JENNY CRAIG costs from £11 per week.  For more information contact 0800 088 2034 or visit www.jennycraig.co.uk.

Fore more information contact JENNY CRAIG UK PR Manager Sam Westcott at sam.westcott@uk.nestle.com.

Scary spice Mel B is currently appearing on UK TV screens in ads for the JENNY CRAIG weight loss programme.

Mel B joined the JENNY CRAIG Programme in Australia – where the ad campaign originally launched – where she was working as a judge on X-Factor.  Now, Mel has already passed the halfway mark to her goal and there’s no stopping her!

Mel B hits UK TV Screens

“I am so excited I’ve passed my halfway.  My humps and bumps are still there but they’re a little bit smaller and I’m loving it“ Mel B said.

“Being halfway on my weight loss journey means I’m happier and healthier.  I still don’t get much sleep at night thanks to Madison, but with my new found energy I’m able to be a better mother.

Mel B is fronting JENNY CRAIG’s latest campaign with huge success, appealing to mothers to invest in themselves.

“Like all mums, I sometimes feel a little guilty taking time out for myself.  But this is about my health.  I think mums are the centre of their universe, so it’s just something I just had to do,” says Mel B.

In true Mel B fashion, she also had a more personal reward for when she finally reached her goal weight.  “I cannot wait until I reach my goal weight – I can, not, WAIT!  I’m gonna get my ‘thong on’!!  Woot Woot!”

Mel B acknowledges JENNY CRAIG’s 30 years experience as leading weight management experts and providing a support system second-to-none with individual consultants and tailored eating plans.

“Let’s face it, it’s really hard to lose weight by yourself…I hate diets – they don’t work, they’re confusing. JENNY CRAIG is not a diet, it’s a healthy eating plan that makes losing weight easy. I get everything figured out for me and I get supported every single week by my own consultant. I get my breakfast, lunch, and dinner already set, already planned, and my snacks. Brilliant!’” said Mel B.

Read more about Mel B’s weight loss journey at her blog or see her before/after video

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For more information visit www.jennycraig.co.uk

or contact sam.westcott@uk.nestle.com – 07585 909541

Leading online health supplements retailer Totally Nourish http://www.totallynourish.com

13th December 2011, Many people, whose primary need is a care need, do not realise that they could qualify for continuing care which means the NHS covers the costs of your care. This is because when a person needs continuing and ongoing health care, the NHS are, in some instances, obliged to pay for the person’s care.

Because this has been ill-advertised, many people are paying for the fees themselves. Sometimes, these fees are hefty (£500 a week) and families may need to sell their homes just to afford the payments for their relative in care. Anyone in care or paying for someone’s care must recognise the need to review your medical bill arrangements, and where necessary seek expert financial advice to be sure that you are not paying what the NHS should be covering for you.

Some companies like Cheselden, a care claims specialist, can help people to work out whether they should have qualified for continuing care and then assist them in claiming back any wrongly paid care fees to date. In some cases, you may be partly eligible. This means some costs will be covered, with the rest being funded by yourself. Companies can help you to figure out how best to raise these funds and what steps need to be made in order for you to stay financially stable.

For those people that are partly or fully eligible and have been paying their care fees themselves already, a rebate may be possible. Cheselden can help you to win back this money by conducting all of the necessary paperwork for you and acting on your behalf. They have onsite clinical experts and exceptional working relationships with Primary Care Trusts (PCTs); the organisation that is responsible for Continuing Care assessments.

The important thing is not to panic, but indeed to act quickly. The sooner you seek expert advice, the quicker you can manage and control your financial situation to secure the best possible care for your elderly relative with all of their bills accounted for.

Depending on where you live, Primary Care Trusts work differently and the process of claiming back your fees may differ. Experts who are trained in this kind of legal and complex work will be able to help, advise and guide you on the best course of action as well as handle your entire claim from start to finish, ensuring that you and your elderly relative receive the help you deserve.

Cheselden Continuing Care Limited
Courthill House,
60 Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AJ

Tel: 0800 118 5138

In response to an exciting new product launching in Spring 2012, Sudocrem has announced their latest campaign to find a suitable name for a new character, a rather friendly moose. The winning entry will collect £500 worth of Toys R Us vouchers and personalised Santa sack, just in time for Christmas!

Sudocrem launch Twitter & Facebook pages for a new, mystery product launching in Spring 2012 and to celebrate they are running a competition to name the mystery products mascot, the Sudocrem Moose. The winner will received £500 worth of Toys R Us vouchers and a personalised Santa sack.

COMPETITION DETAILS:

It’s simple all you have to do is ‘Like’ the new Sudocrem Mousse Facebook page and then enter your suggested mascot’s name. One lucky winner will be picked on the 18th December 2011 and receive their prizes shortly afterwards.

Competition Start Date – 18th November 2011
Competition Finish Date – 17th December 2011
The Prize: £500 worth of Toys R Us vouchers and a personalised, handmade Santa sack worth £150.

Notes to Editors:

The product being promoted has not yet been released and the identity of it will be revealed in spring 2012.

For further information:

Orbital Media Network
Tel: +44 (0) 203 411 9111 (Ext 901)
E-mail: sahc@orbitalmedianetwork.com

Bupa International has announced the launch of a new video detailing its international private medical insurance (IPMI) product.

Bupa International, a global health insurance provider which gives its members access to more than 7,500 medical facilities around the world, has released the video to show how customers can use its flexible Worldwide Health Options insurance to create a healthcare plan that suits their unique situation and needs. Rather than produce a text-heavy brochure, the company decided to launch a video giving an overview of what the product offers.

The video gives examples of people who have moved abroad following retirement, individuals who travel around the world for work and families who have relocated to another country. By using characters based on real-life stories, the video conveys the flexibility that the product offers and shows customers how they can tailor their international health insurance to fit their own unique situation.

Customers who purchase Bupa’s IPMI can choose as many Worldwide Health Options to add to their cover as they wish, or they can simply stick with the core cover. Options include cover for doctor consultations, medicines, screenings, evacuation and treatment in the United States. Additionally, customers can also apply for cover for pre-existing conditions.

Bupa Worldwide Health Options allows customers to combine modules to create the best solution for each individual or family.

About Bupa:
Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives.

A leading international healthcare group, Bupa offers personal and company health insurance, runs care homes for older people and hospitals, and provides workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.

With no shareholders, Bupa invests its profits to provide more and better healthcare.  The company is committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.

Employing nearly 52,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.

For more information, visit www.bupa.com.

PR Contact:
Kristian Polack
Bupa International
Palaegade 8
1261 Copenhagen K
Denmark
45 33 15 30 99
www.bupa-intl.com

The Annual Cost of Dying Report: Sun Life Direct’s fifth annual survey

·        Cost of dying increases to £7,248, equivalent to three months average pre-tax UK salary

·        A quarter of people have not made ANY end of life plans – including a will. Many say they have made a plan, when in fact all they have done is told someone!

·        44% of people have not planned funeral payment because they expect family and friends to organise and fund it

Sun Life Direct, the expert in the cost of dyingResearching  funeral and end of life costs for eight and five years respectively, has today announced the results of its fifth Annual Cost of Dying Report.

In the UK today, the cost of dying (including death-related costs such as probate, headstones and flowers) has increased to an average of £7,248, representing a dramatic increase of 20% since 2007 and over £400 since last year. Specifically, the costs of funerals have increased 61% over the past seven years, which Sun Life Direct believes will continue for the foreseeable future. The report also reveals that this increase in costs has been met with surprise and concern from those who have responsibility for such arrangements53% of respondents said end of life costs were more than they expected, up from 36% in 2009 – only 7% said the cost was lower than anticipated.

Despite these rising costs, a quarter of the UK population aren’t making adequate provision for end of life, including not only funeral costs and estate administration but also the preparation of legal documents such as wills and Lasting Power of Attorney’s and costs relating to long term care. This leaves many individual’s final wishes unfulfilled and confusion for those left behind. The UK is becoming a nation dependent on their families in their final years; 44% of people indicated that they had not planned for how their funeral would be paid for because they expected family and friends to organise and fund it. Similarly, apart from when writing a will, telling family and friends is the most common way in which respondents prepared for the end of their lives.

Sun Life Direct’s research not only highlights confused attitudes around end of life planning but also feeds into a broader concern; that society is facing three interrelated later life issues. Firstly, the UK’s ageing baby-boomers means the volume of elderly people living longer will result in a progressive surge in demand on the state over the coming decades. Secondly, this and other recent reports (Dilnot https://www.wp.dh.gov.uk/carecommission/files/2011/07/Fairer-Care-Funding-Report.pdf) highlights that the population faces rising end of life costs and blurred ideas as to who is responsible. Thirdly, the Sun Life Direct Cost of Dying research shows that many people do not provide and plan for the end of their lives. This includes the organisation of, and payment for, funerals and estate administration as well as the preparation of legal documents such as wills and Lasting Power of Attorney’s and finally end of life care.

Simon Cox, head of life planning for Sun Life Direct, comments:

“Many people are sleepwalking into a financial nightmare, leaving their end of life plans to either their families, the State or no-one at all. As a nation we need a wake-up call. Our research indicates that although there is indeed some openness in talking about death, action is still greatly lacking. Steps need to be taken to avert the sort of distress and concern experienced by the nearly one in five (100,000 people) who struggle with funeral costs.”

Dr Kate Woodthorpe, lecturer in Sociology, University of Bath, concludes:

“A key concern for society is whether the current infrastructure established to support people at the end of their life is fit for purpose today. Currently the number of deaths each year in England and Wales is at an all time low, with 491,348 deaths registered in 2009. It is anticipated however that the number of deaths will rise significantly and by 2030 there will be an additional 80,000 people dying a year.http://pmj.sagepub.com/content/22/1/33.abstract This equates to a rise of 17% in the death rate in less than 20 years.

“At the same time, people are living longer and as a result are using more resources, both their own and the State’s. Costs for social care are rising, living standard expectations are high, and there remains an expectation that wealth is passed through the generations. The relationship between the public, commercial and voluntary sectors in the resourcing and provision of care, information, advice, support and services in old age and in planning for death is open to debate.”

The complete report expands on the following findings:

·        This year’s headline figures and key changes from last year

·        The extent to which end of life planning takes place

·        Barriers to planning

·        Confused and contradictory attitudes towards the role of families, the State and ourselves in relation to planning

·        Who we turn to for advice and support on end of life matters

·        Suggestions on how the end of life time bomb might be defused

To view the complete report, please contact:

MHP Communications

Andrew Lyons

sunlife@mhpc.com

+44 (0)20 31278 8518

Notes to editors

About the research

The report was commissioned by Sun Life Direct and carried out by Mintel Research Consultancy. It has been conducted annually since 2004, using a consistent approach to ensure data comparability over time.
The report specifically recruited a panel of directors in each of the ten regions. The regions are based upon Government office regions of England, plus Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Also an online panel consisting of 1,019 mainly British adults aged 40 or above and 1,505 mainly British adults who have been personally responsible for planning both a funeral and the administration of the estate.

About Sun Life Direct

Sun Life Direct distributes financial services plans on behalf of AXA Wealth Services Ltd, direct to consumers.  It is a part of the AXA Group in the UK.

Sun Life Direct is a provider of Over 50 Life Insurance, Funeral Plansand Life Insurance. In fact, the Guaranteed Over 50 Plan is the nation’s most popular choice for over 50s life insurance*. The Sun Life name has been around for 200 years and has roots stretching back to 1810. By 1900 Sun Life were the first to offer life insurance without the need for a medical – something we’re still proud to offer today. More information on Sun Life Direct can be found at www.sunlifedirect.co.uk  
*Most popular whole of life guaranteed acceptance plan bought directly. ABI statistics, Q1 2011

About AXA

AXA UK is a part of the AXA Group. AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 214,000 employees serving 95 million clients. It is ranked the largest insurer in the world by net written premium and the top insurance brand globally.

In the UK AXA is focused on three key areas: wealth management, insurance and healthcare. It operates through a number of business units including: AXA Wealth; AXA Commercial Lines, AXA Personal Lines, AXA PPP healthcare, AXA Ireland and an independent distribution business Bluefin. AXA employs over 12,000 staff in the UK.

In 2010, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 91 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 3.9 billion. AXA had Euro 1,104 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2010.

The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISN FR 0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA’s American Depository Shares are also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY.

The Group is included in the main international SRI indexes, such as Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and FTSE4GOOD.

Bupa has unveiled its latest TV advertising campaign to promote its new health insurance product, ‘Bupa By You’.

The multi-million pound, integrated, through-the-line campaign launched on 5 September and promotes the adaptable and affordable nature of ‘Bupa By You’.

The direct response TV advert, direct marketing and digital advertising have all been created by OgilvyOne.

‘Bupa By You‘ is a natural evolution of the brand’s ‘Helping You Find Healthy’ campaign launched earlier this year which demonstrated that healthy means different things to different people. The product meets this ambition by providing customers with the ability to personalise their insurance cover to best reflect their individual health needs, priorities and budget.

The campaign focuses on real people in real situations revealing them to be doing something that isn’t initially expected. This helps to demonstrate that ‘Bupa By You’ is adaptable and Bupa doesn’t make assumptions about its customers health insurance needs.

“‘Bupa By You’ is proof that health insurance doesn’t need to be one-size-fits-all,” commented Sue Moore, marketing and customer development director at Bupa Health & Wellbeing. “We have put the customer at the heart of the decision making process and the adaptable nature of the product reflects how we have listened to their needs.”

Annette King, Chief Executive, OgilvyOne, added: “This campaign demonstrates how Bupa is doing things differently – providing an adaptable product that meets individual customer needs. Our multi-platform approach allows us to communicate with customers on a very personal level.”

Media buying was undertaken by Carat.

Further information about Bupa By You can be found on Bupa’s website, with the new TV advert available on Bupa’s YouTube channel.The product is available for purchase by phone now and online from late September via www.bupa.co.uk/byyou

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About Bupa:
Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives.

A leading international healthcare group, Bupa offers personal and company health insurance, runs care homes for older people and hospitals, and provides workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare.

With no shareholders, Bupa invests its profits to provide more and better healthcare.  The company is committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing.

Employing nearly 52,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America.

For more information, visit www.bupa.com.

PR Contact:
Rachel Roe
Head of Customer PR & Events
PR Office
Bupa House
15-19 Bloomsbury Way
London
WC1A2BA
0207 656 2877
www.bupa.co.uk

A key driver behind partnering was cost cutting and part of this strategy was to reduce property overheads by introducing flexible ways of working, such as hot-desking and allowing staff in the partnership to work from any location. This, however, created a licensing issue as traditionally Microsoft licensing is assigned per legal entity – but the partners wanted to share licences across multiple legal entities to allow use of each other’s assets at the various sites to enable this new way of working. Herefordshire worked with Trustmarque to establish the legalities surrounding creating a new legal entity for its licensing and successfully found a solution to this issue. When the time came to review the partnership’s licensing situation and renewing its agreements therefore Trustmarque was the obvious choice to guide the organisation through the change.

The organisation embarked on a benchmarking project with Trustmarque which involved asset and licence discovery, and the creation of three and – six year business plans including cost modelling of what the organisation needed now against its future plans. Alicia Bolger, ICT Operations Manager for the Council and NHS ICT shared services, comments:

“It would have been ambitious to deliver this type of programme in six months, and we only had six weeks. It was critical that we kept to these timescales as we would have fallen out of our software assurances on some of our agreements if we hadn’t acted fast. Also, if we’d gone beyond April 1st we would not have been able to backdate the NHS licences, as at the time Microsoft would only agree to the back-dating of the NHS licence agreement if we did it by the end of the tax year. It really was a phenomenal effort that Trustmarque was able to keep within the timeframe specified.”

As a result, the partnership has avoided large reinvestment and upgrade costs across the board, and it now has a license model that will support flexible working for its partners. The new license model will also support the future of desktop delivery to the partner organisations. Alicia Bolger explains:

“I’d estimate that we would have spent a million pounds or more over the life of licences across the organisation if we hadn’t had advice from Trustmarque. We now have a mature understanding of the future impact of the work we have planned, and how our Microsoft requirements fit in with our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which integrates with our internal management information across the organisations in the partnership.”

The Herefordshire Council and NHS partnership has been extremely pleased with the work carried out by Trustmarque and intends to maintain the relationship. Alicia Bolger concludes:

“We will definitely continue to use Trustmarque and would certainly recommend Trustmarque to other organisations that are in a similar position. We had an extremely complex situation and Trustmarque really guided us through the whole process. They were brilliant!”

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About Trustmarque
Trustmarque has been providing value added services to customers since it was founded in 1987 and is now one of the UK’s largest Value Added Resellers. Trustmarque brings together years of knowledge plus a strong track record of delivering successful IT enabled projects for customers that realise positive business outcomes. Trustmarque delivers solutions across six key areas: Business Performance Management, Information Security, Core Infrastructure Services, Microsoft Integrated Solutions, Managed Licence Services and Software Procurement Consultancy.

Trustmarque is also a Microsoft Large Account Reseller (LAR) with Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status, as well as partnering with many other major vendors in the IT market, such as: Adobe, Business Objects, CA, Citrix, McAfee, Novell, Nuance, Sophos, Symantec, Trend, VMware and Websense to name but a few.

Trustmarque Solutions has worked with The CarbonNeutral Company (formerly Future Forests) leaders in the field of carbon management and climate change solutions to become a CarbonNeutral® company.

For more information about Trustmarque visit www.trustmarque.com, call 0845 2101 500 or email info@trustmarque.com.

Media Information:
Paula Elliott
C8 Consulting Ltd
01189 001132
paula@c8consulting.co.uk

With the live shows looming on the nation’s favourite television programme, the experts at Vidal Sassoon are on hand to give hair the X Factor. Whether it’s the silky styles of Kelly Rowland that catch your eye, or Tulisa’s voluminous locks that get a “yes” from you, Vidal Sassoon styling tools are simple to use and can create show stopping styles easily at home.

The Vidal Sassoon Perfectly Smooth Straightener is designed to glide smoothly through the hair, leaving it silky smooth and ultra-straight. The straightener features 25mm ceramic coated floating plates, for smooth, consistent contact and pressure, and can be used between 150°C – 230°c meaning it is the ideal straightener for all hair types. To achieve the sleek look of the X Factor stars, simply allow the styler to heat up for 30 seconds then section out the hair and smooth down with the styler. Use a little serum to add even more dazzling shine to the hair.

For bigger, more voluminous hair, use the Vidal Sassoon Ultimate Styler. The easy to handle tool uses hot air and a variety of attachments to create countless looks by blowing out the hair for ultimate glamour. The Ultimate Styler can be used to create big volume in all hair types; simply use mousse to help set the style and use the 38mm thermal brush to create lift at the root and create sumptuous body throughout. The styler also boasts a tong attachment which can be used to create curls and waves.

The Vidal Sassoon Ultimate Styler reduces the need for multiple tools, by drying the hair as it styles. It also helps to protect the hair with its on board IONIC generator which emits negative IONs to eliminate frizz and static as well as locking in natural moisture, leaving beautifully soft, shiny hair.

Giving a crowd pleasing performance to rival this year’s contestants, the Vidal Sassoon Silky Performance Dryer protects hair as it dries to achieve fantastic results, even if they aren’t delivered by dishy Dermot. A must-have classic product to create elegant looks, this 2000 watt dryer uses IONIC technology to protect hair and lock in natural moisture.

The Vidal Sassoon range is proven to perform fabulously, for hair that really has the X Factor. Vidal Sassoon electrical tools are available from all good retailers.

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PR contact for Vidal Sassoon Electricals:

Pip Rogan / Rachel Stephens

Email: pip@clearsilver.co.uk / rachel@clearsilver.co.uk

Tel: 0113 307 5900

Product details

Vidal Sassoon Perfectly Smooth Straightener – RRP £17.99

Vidal Sassoon Ultimate Styler – RRP £19.99

Vidal Sassoon Silky Performance Dryer – RRP £14.99

RACHEL STEPHENS
Clearsilver
80 York Street
Leeds, LS9 8AA