Dining and Drink Specials Search Engine Takes It Mobile To 60 Major Cities Nationwide.
Chicago, IL (June 2010) SpecialsAgent.com (http://specialsagent.com), an intuitive dining and drink search engine, is pleased to announce the launch of a new iPhone mobile application as an extension of their popular website, to be available for download in mid-June. Consumers nationwide can visit specialsagent.com to view deals, but may now also search for local deals anywhere and anytime with the convenience of their iPhone (soon to be available for most mobile devices).
“We are excited to expand the SpecialsAgent brand by now offering an iPhone application,” says founder Ian Carswell. “With the launch of our new mobile application, the public will have continuous access to major savings in 60 cities nationwide.”
Currently, SpecialsAgent.com’s specials database features 600,000 bars and restaurants nationally with over 5,000 specials listed, with the database being continually updated with additional specials each day. Website and phone application users can simply search city-specific deals by address, date and/or keywords such as “martini,” “brunch,” or “wings.” Upon searching, specials are highlighted in relation to physical proximity of the user and relevance to the search keywords. SpecialsAgent creates their specials database through a unique scouting mechanism, in addition to offering venues a seamless back-end option for managing and updating their specials manually if that is preferred. Consumers may download the iPhone application by visiting www.specialsagent.com or by visiting the iTunes store.
SpecialsAgent SpecialOps
In addition to the SpecialsAgent.com search engine capabilities, a new heavily discounted deal called a “SpecialOp” is featured daily at the top of the website and mobile application. SpecialsAgent.com works with bars and restaurants to negotiate unbeatable deals which are made possible through the power of cooperative buying. Compared to similar dining deals sites, SpecialsAgent is venue-friendly, offering a larger percentage of revenue and less restrictive terms-of-agreement.
Furthermore, SpecialsAgent.com actively employs social media to spread the word about specials. SpecialsAgent.com’s Facebook fan page and Twitter account – @SpecialsAgent – feature the best specials of the day and also share news of unique seasonal or one-time specials for holidays, sporting events and other relevant local happenings.
Finally, SpecialsAgent encourages crowdsourcing content via user-generated feedback and information. Site visitors can choose to “like” a venue, indicating it as a worthwhile spot. Also, anyone who has spotted a special not yet listed on the site can email the intelligence team to have it added to the roster.
About SpecialsAgent.com
Launched in the summer of 2009 by founder Ian Carswell, SpecialsAgent.com is a restaurant and bar specials search engine. With a simple mission to serve and protect the wallets of consumers, SpecialsAgent.com features a search engine that allows consumers to look for specific types of specials, on any specific day or specific neighborhood in mind. Currently, SpecialsAgent.com reaches over 5,000 unique monthly visitors.
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SpecialsAgent.com, the bar and restaurant search engine, announces partnership with Wingfest 2010.
(CHICAGO, IL) February 8, 2010 – SpecialsAgent.com is Chicago’s only search engine to help wing lovers find the best wing specials by searching their address, intersection or a nearby landmark. On February 28, though, wing lovers can go directly to Wingfest to find the best wings in the city, and SpecialsAgent.com is helping make Wingfest possible as an official sponsor of this year’s event.
“Wingfest brings together the absolute best wings from bars and restaurants from all over Chicago,” said SpecialsAgent.com founder Ian Carswell. “We help wing lovers find the best deals throughout the country, so it’s natural that we’d want to help people enjoy the best wings in Chicago.”
This year’s event will be the 11th Wingfest with more than 20 restaurants and bars expected to participate. And just like last year, they expect a large crowd
“We’re expecting to sell out again with more than 2,000 people attending Wingfest this year,” said Wingfest Promotions Manager Matt Kubinski. “We’re happy to bring SpecialsAgent.com on board as one of our sponsors.”
Not only does Wingfest feature a fierce competition for the title of “Best Wings in Chicago” as judged by Lin Brehmer of WXRT, but it also benefits local charities. During the past 10 years Wingfest has raised $112,000 for local charities, and this year’s profits will go to Chicago Neighbors United [http://chicnu.org/]. Chicago Neighbors United is a community-based organization that provides scholarships to inner-city youth.
By purchasing a ticket to this year’s event, attendees are guaranteed all-you-can-eat wings as well as live entertainment from Cadillac Dave and the Chicago Redhots, with special guests Peaches and Rico McFarland. Those attending Wingfest will also get front row seats to the famous Lord of the Wings eating competition with a play-by-play by Lin Brehmer.
The SpecialsAgent.com team will be at Wingfest all day long giving away gift certificates to bars and restaurants as well as other fun prizes.
Any day of the week find the best wing specials by searching on www.specialsagent.com. But on February 28, 2010, enjoy the best wings in Chicago at Bailey Auditorium. Check out www.wingfest.net to purchase your tickets in advance, as they’re sure to sell out.
Robust search functionality allows users to search for any specific bar and restaurant special, for any day of the week, in any zip code.
(CHICAGO, IL) August 31, 2009 – Food and alcohol enthusiasts accustomed to blindly planning evenings can now search for specific specials nearest to them, on specific nights by using a new specials search engine called SpecialsAgent.com (http://specialsagent.com).
“No other website has created a bar/restaurant search engine quite like this,” said founder Ian Carswell. “Chicago has a lot of specials websites that are just static lists, and there are search websites for local events, but no one has properly created a search site for people looking for food and drink deals … Until us.”
SpecialsAgent.com features a comprehensive database of bar and restaurant specials throughout the Chicagoland area. The site officially launched late last week and already has 3,400 specials up on its website. Users can filter search results by zip code, by date or by a specific special, such as “martini” or “wings.”
As SpecialsAgent.com continues to grow its database of information with the goal of being the absolute authority on bar and restaurant specials nationwide, the company will add more advanced technology to help search through its database of specials. Later this year SpecialsAgent.com will release an iPhone app which will allow users to search for bar and restaurant specials relative to wherever they happen to be standing. The mobile sites will also be improved upon for various cell phone browsers, and a Facebook app will help users share specials with their friends.
“When someone needs to find a drink, he or she will be able to use the GPS on the iPhone to immediately find the specials nearest to them,” said Carswell. “If someone wants to find a wings special that’s only steps away, it’ll only take a minute to use the SpecialsAgent.com iPhone app to do just that.”
While the website’s search engine allows users to search for specials throughout the Chicagoland area, every day a new heavily-discounted deal will be featured at the top of the website. SpecialsAgent.com is working with bars and restaurants to negotiate massive deals, which they refer to as “SpecialOps,” and through these various partnerships, they’re able to offer unbeatable deals through the power of collective buying. This is good for restaurant/bar owners and their patrons, as well; it’s a no-strings-attached win-win for all parties involved. “
“When a bar is promised, for example, 25 new customers, they’re willing to drop their prices significantly,” said Carswell. “Our users are utilizing social media to share these deals with friends so that everyone can take advantage. We’re only featuring SpecialOps on food and drinks so that users don’t need to wade through health and beauty minutiae when all they really need is a bite to eat and/or a cold one.”
SpecialsAgent.com launched last week and is planning on rolling out more high-tech features over the next several months. While developing the other features, they’ll continue collecting more and more specials in-house, and users can also submit any information that SpecialsAgent.com may have overlooked. The ultimate goal of the website is to become the go-to authority on bar and restaurant specials; SpecialsAgent.com wants to give users a smarter, more robust search engine than they’ve ever experienced before.
