If you haven't already noticed, Budweiser has launched a brand new advertising and marketing campaign. 'True Dedication' extrapolates from the core values of the Budweiser brand - authenticity, integrity, quality, freshness, taste and fun - injecting those values into contemporary scenes that reflect the lives and aspirations of the Budweiser target audience (18- to 35-year-old males).

The current execution features a band of genuinely talented blokes, enjoying a jamming session that looks fun but is, at the same time, seriously dedicated to music. Budweiser imagery, of course, features discreetly throughout. Behind the scenes on the Budweiser UK website and in a range of printed materials, the 'True Dedication' campaign expounds, with evocative visual imagery and straight talking text, the real story of Budweiser; founded in 1876, underpinned by farming in epic proportions, using natural ingredients and craftsmanship honed over generations to produce fresh, premium quality lager.

Global brand and global business it may be but Anheuser-Busch is also genuinely committed to local markets and that is perhaps never so evident as it is in Northern Ireland, where Brian Brannigan and his team have been Anheuser-Busch's 'men on the ground' for thirteen-and-a-half years.

Guests at the recent Roscoff/Piper-Heidsieck Champagne evening were treated to an exclusive tasting as they represented the first people in the UK and Ireland to sample the Piper Heidsieck Rare 1999. Worth £200 a bottle, this unique champagne will only be available in the UK from October in exclusive venues such as The Ritz London and, with only 1200 bottles available throughout the world, is a much sought after experience.

The Balmoral Hotel on Black's Road has been a long-standing fixture of the Belfast hospitality landscape, quietly doing business in the good tradition of the independent, family owned and family orientated hotel.