Back in 2008 we wrote about MakeTheTea.com, a online tool created by dairy brand Cravendale to facilitate the tea-making process among groups. Now, Danish butter brand Lurpak is similarly encouraging online conversation about their brand via a new website called Bake Club.

Targetting consumers in the UK, Bake Club is an interactive baking club that allows amateur bakers to connect and have bake-offs. Bakers create a group, invite people to join and set up a baking schedule. Members are called to task via an e-mail alert with a date for baking. Members then share, rate and comment on each other’s bakes. Pictures of people's cakes, cookies and pies are displayed both on the website and on Flickr.

Blending one part viral marketing, one part life hack, one part social network and a generous dollop of the most vital ingredient — consumers — Lurpak obviously hopes to build name recognition and sell more butter. With tea-making and baking covered, will we see other brands join the club?

Website: www.bakeclub.co.uk
Contact: www.bakeclub.co.uk/contact

Spotted by: Ant Cauchi

Timing is everything, as a wise Greek poet once said, and in few areas is that more true than pop-up retail. Case in point: Recognizing that many consumers are particularly focused on fitness at the start of a new year, Gap has transformed its rotating New York City concept store into a workout haven for a month.

Through a partnership with fitness chain Crunch, Gap's temporary Fitness Lab at 680 5th Ave. now features workout attire from its new GapBody Sport collection along with demonstrations by Crunch personal trainers, discounts and opportunities to win free stuff. Shoppers at the store, which will remain open through Feb. 7, can win free Crunch guest passes, for example; in addition, each day one lucky winner is chosen to receive a free, year-long, all-access Crunch membership. Existing Crunch members, meanwhile, can enter to win a USD 500 Gap gift card, Racked reported.

Far from fading away, the longstanding pop-up retail concept seems to just be getting stronger—both for major brands and for minipreneurs—and timely tie-ins stand to make its impact even greater. An example worth emulating for pop-ups the world over! (Related: Appealing to gravanity of smokers who plan to quit — A public incentive to stick to one's goals — Fitness class by Reebok and Cirque du Soleil.)

Website: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=250293389784
Contact: www.gapinc.com/public/About/abt_contact.shtml

Spotted by: Racked via Judy McRae

We've seen myriad examples of hotels partnering with non-hotel brands, including W Hotels' collaboration with Puma for in-hotel fitness services, as well as sponsored rooms in various hotels. Now taking the branding even further is La Casa del Camino Hotel in Laguna Beach., Calif., where every one of the hotel's 10 newly renovated suites features a different, immersive branded experience.

Billabong Suite 206, for example, is designed to be a surfer's paradise, with artwork including a 3D piece that tells the company's history through images of surfers, palm trees and the Billabong logo cut into reclaimed wood. Glacéau Suite 315, meanwhile, features aquatic hues and fabrics made, appropriately, from recycled plastic bottles. Other brands involved include Rip Curl, etnies, Roxy, Quiksilver, L* Space and Lost International. A different designer was recruited to create the theme in each branded suite; together, they are all part of the Casa Surf Project in the Riviera Magazine Design series. Pricing for each suite begins at about USD 250 per night, and a portion of the proceeds is donated to charity during the hotel's first year. Pets are welcome.

Whereas many of the in-hotel branding efforts we've covered have amounted to tryvertising initiatives, this one is closer to a collection of brand spaces, offering patrons an immersive look at each brand's signature style. In addition to tapping into the name recognition of those brands, of course, La Casa del Camino's use of corporate sponsorship also no doubt helped subsidize the costs of renovation. A model to emulate, particularly during tough economic times! (Related: Beer cans that sleep two — Hotel as retail space.)

Website: www.casasurfproject.com
Contact: stay@casaresortsinc.com

Spotted by: Adam Hicks

If warm soup and a heated bus stop are the way to Chicago-area commuters' hearts, then coffee, cupcakes and fun are probably a good choice for catching the attention of recession-beleaguered office workers. Such, indeed, proved to be the case earlier this year, when Kraft Foods' Maxwell House launched its new Trio coffee brand in Dubai.

Throughout the months of May and June, the brand targeted Dubai office workers with free "Trio Time" office parties, available for the asking thanks to a campaign developed by OgilvyOne Middle East. Once securing their employer's permission, office workers needed only register online and pick a date for the party at their office. A team of brand reps would then arrive at the appointed time with cupcakes, music, games, balloons, prizes and of course plenty of Trio samples. More than 150 parties were held in offices throughout Dubai during the 5-week campaign, bringing the taste of Trio to more than 3,000 consumers. Additional impressions were made, too, through coverage of the events on Facebook and Twitter.

Particularly during tough times, a little sympvertising can go a long way toward showing consumers that your brand cares. Add to that a dose of tryvertising—an increasingly popular strategy in its own right—and you'll soon be savouring the sweet aroma of success! ;-) (Related: Nationwide tryvertising parties.)

Website: www.trio-time.com
Contact: trio-time@krafteurope.com

When the Super Bowl rolls around in another few weeks, there will be no fabulous ad for Pepsi beverages. Instead, Pepsi—which was the largest advertiser during the event last year—will be focusing its efforts on the Pepsi Refresh Project, a crowdsourced marketing effort to revamp U.S. communities.

Pepsi has reportedly set aside USD 20 million to fund a variety of community projects across America. Rather than simply donating to existing charities, however, it will be inviting consumers to suggest and vote on the projects it funds. Pepsi will hold contests every month for 10 months beginning in January. The first will begin Jan. 13, when consumers will have 10 days to submit ideas "that make us think, inspire us and ignite participation," according to a report on GigaOm. Toolkits for developing an application will reportedly be made available online starting this week. Ideas will be accepted in categories including health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighbourhoods and education. After the 10-day submission period, contributed ideas will be opened up for public voting, and the top projects will win awards of USD 5,000, USD 25,000, USD 50,000 or USD 250,000. Thousands of projects will get funded, likely with additional resources from Pepsi's retail and other partners, according to an AP report. Similar in many ways to Google's Project 10 to the 100th contest, the effort is part of Pepsi's "Refresh Everything" campaign, which launched about a year ago with the tagline, "Every generation refreshes the world."

Frank Cooper, senior VP-chief consumer engagement officer at PepsiCo Americas Beverages, explains in Ad Age: "In 2010, each of our beverage brands has a strategy and marketing platform that will be less about a singular event, less about a moment, more about a movement.‪"

Besides increasing involvement with its brand and tapping into the all-powerful global brain, Pepsi's effort is also sure to please the skeptical masses of Generation G, who increasingly expect—nay, demand—that companies give something back. (Related: Crowdsourcing economic solutions for Ireland — Contest replaces ad campaign for Nissan launch — YouTube contest for eco-minded kids — Grocer lets customers direct its community giving.)

Website: www.refresheverything.com
Contact: cr.pepsi.com/usen/pepsiusen.cfm

Spotted by: Katherine Noyes