The concept of the pop-up drive-in movie is not brand-new—we covered a California-based effort back in 2006, after all—but we're pretty sure the involvement of a major car brand has not been seen before. Sure enough, though, that's exactly what's enabled the Starlite Urban Drive-in, which recently sold out a three-night run in London's East End.

Situated in the cultural heart of London at the Truman Brewery, the Starlite featured a full-sized, outdoor screen along with 25 pre-parked Volvo cars, ready for patrons' viewing, reminiscing and snacking pleasure. Tickets were GBP 25 per person, with a maximum of two people per car—included among those were the Volvo XC60, C30 and convertible C70, all wired to play the soundtrack on their radios. Snacks were even available from waitresses on roller skates at the event, which began on July 1 with a specially commissioned short film about the story of the drive-in movie. “Dirty Dancing” was featured the next night, followed by “Grease” on the last of the run. Tickets to the Startlite's events sold out in two minutes, causing its creators to begin planning a nationwide expansion of the theater, which is even carbon-neutral.

“The opportunity seemed to be one that fit well with our brand," a Volvo spokeswoman told AdAge. "It also gave us a fun and unique opportunity to reach a younger audience that may not have been exposed to the Volvo brand before. We've been delighted with the success of the Starlite Urban drive-in." Other car brands and entertainment entrepreneurs: time to embark on your own trip down memory lane...?

Website: www.starliteurbandrivein.co.uk
Contact: info@starlite.co.uk

Spotted by: AdAge via Raymond Kollau

Major sports teams and the cities they hail from are essentially two sides of the same coin, which is why team rivalries and city rivalries tend to be one and the same. Aiming to tap into some of that local pride, the Pittsburgh Pirates have begun featuring local musicians for entertainment during their home games.

The Pirates kicked off their local music initiative in April, starting with hometown band the Aviation Blondes. Each band featured gets a song played during the sixth-inning break while its name and song title are displayed on the Jumbotron. All songs are currently hand-picked by Eric Wolff, the Pirates' manager of in-game presentations, though ultimately we wouldn't be surprised to see the effort expanded to include community voting and the preference of the local crowds. In the meantime, however, teams, museums and other local institutions: imagine all the local music, food and other (still) made here entertainment you could incorporate into your own crowd-pleasing (and cross-promotional) efforts... ! (Related: Giant-screen social games for crowds at large events — Grass with a story: New York Yankees seed and sod.)

Website: www.myspace.com/pirateslocalmusicact
Contact: pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/help/index.jsp?c_id=pit

Spotted by: Pittsburgh City Paper via Jim Stewart

Hard on the heels of our story about Bluebox Avionics' iPad-based in-flight entertainment system comes word of what appears to be the first carrier to test out the technology: Jetstar, the low-cost subsidiary of Australian Qantas Airways.

Starting later this month, passengers on select domestic Jetstar flights will be offered an iPad for a rental fee of AUD 10, according to Flight Global. Along with the device will come a wide assortment of music, movies, eBooks, magazines and games. The trial is being conducted in partnership with Bluebox and Stellar Inflight; if it goes well, Jetstar may roll out the iPad on all domestic and international services later this year, Flight Global reported.

Now that iPad sales have reached 2 million, it just might be time to think about how this technology could enhance consumers' experience of *your* tech-savvy brand... (Related: Hotel equips concierges with iPads — For £20, a way to try the iPad before buying.)

Website: www.jetstar.com
Contact: www.jetstar.com/gx/en/contact-us.aspx

Spotted by: Flight Global

If a music band's fans are essentially its customers, it stands to reason that the band should make every effort to understand and please them. That can include maintaining close contact through a band-specific iPhone app or band-management tool, but sometimes, there's no substitute for good, hard analytics. That's where Finnish GigsWiz comes in, with tools designed to give bands new insight into where their biggest fans are and what they want to hear.

Just launched into beta earlier this month, GigsWiz includes a website, a Facebook application and a software widget. The Facebook app and widget are both for collecting data—specifically, during GigsWiz's beta period, they're focused on asking fans, “where do you want us to play live?” The app is designed for the band's Facebook fan page, while the widget can be installed on the band's own website or MySpace page. Responses to that question can then be viewed plotted on a map or as charts and lists. Either way, the results show where interest is greatest for a live performance, enabling the band to make better decisions on when and where to play. Not only that, but the data can also help sell gigs to gig organizers, who are more likely to be convinced that the demand will be there. GigsWiz statistics and analytics services are free of charge for artists, agents and promoters. GigsWiz is currently in closed beta, so users must apply for a beta code on the company's site.

It's a local world out there, and today's cheap—or free—tools make it relatively easy to amass, regionalize and map out useful data. What other industries or niches could use a little mapmania of their own...? (Related: 'Sex map' reveals erotic-spending trends by city — Nightlife mapping tool uses GPS to reveal hotspots — Import/export intelligence service.)

Website: www.gigswiz.com
Contact: juuso@gigswiz.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Tolstoy said "music is the shorthand of emotion" and, as marketing gurus insist, people buy emotionally. With an audience that extends to just about everyone, the music business can be a great source for new business ideas. Here are five we spotted recently:

1. MOOD TRAXXER — Traxx.fm's Mood Traxxer aims help users find music to match their mood by getting them to describe their current state of mind, activity, needs and 'drug', and then serving them tunes according to those choices. Options include moods such as "Darth Vader on a Bad Hair Day". Stereomood is based on the same concept.

2. THE COOL TV — Ever come out of a great gig and wished you could relive the experience straight away? As part of its hyper-localised strategy, digital music TV network The Cool TV is selling recordings of concerts as soon as they finish—both online and as CDs and DVDs available outside the venue.

3. CORONA HOTEL — Rock fans at the Rock in Rio event in Madrid next month will get a taste of an unusual promotion from beermaker Corona: a branded, pop-up hotel. Winners of an international contest get flights and tickets to the festival and will stay in purpose-built, luxury accommodation at the festival site. Of course, there's complementary Corona beer for all guests.

4. MIXMATCHMUSIC — MixMatchMusic is a music community featuring a suite of tools that emphasise and facilitate musical collaboration. Content creators upload individual tracks which can be mixed online by fellow musicians and remixed by fans. Royalties are shared by all those involved.

5. CHARTFIXER — Those who habitually complain that the charts are fixed may derive some grim satisfaction from the advent of Chart Fixer in Australia—a service that pledges to get a single into the charts for those who can afford it … and to do so legally. By paying private individuals to download tracks (and taking a cut) the website promises to generate a buzz that may even lead to what it calls 'natural sales.

Spotters: Murtaza Ali Patel, Jim Stewart, Leticia Pérez Prieto, Jake Bishop