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

Last time we featured CURB (the natural media agency) they were promoting the London Aquarium by stenciling its logo on city surfaces using seawater. Now, just in time for Christmas, CURB has launched its latest low-impact innovation. GlowFungi, also known as DiscoFungi, is a marketing tool that uses glow-in-the-dark bacteria. The harmless bacteria's glow is a natural reaction, requiring no chemicals, and can last up to a week. To create a glowing piece of work, CURB adds bio-luminescent bacteria to petri-dishes, a bed of mushrooms, or a writeable gel that can be applied directly to any surface, indoors or out.

CURB has sent petri-dish holiday greetings to twenty clients and agencies across the UK. Which brand will be the first to create a glowing nocturnal campaign using DiscoFungi? We'll keep you updated ;-) (Related: Media agency focuses on low-impact advertising — More low-impact branding from Curb: snow tagging — Latest eco-friendly branding tool: sea tagging.)

Website: www.curbmedia.com/what-we-do-glowfungi.asp
Contact: showmethefungi@curbmedia.com

Small companies can already tap the power of the crowds for help with their graphic design, advertising and other business challenges. Whereas most such services reward the creator of just a single winning solution, however, FreshlyBranded pays its marketing creatives for the top 10 ideas.

Buyers begin by signing up with Kansas-based FreshlyBranded and posting a description of their project, along with how much they'd like to pay. Typical projects include logo design, slogans and product names; the minimum award for the winning entry is USD 50, with a secondary award minimum—split among the other top nine—of USD 5. FreshlyBranded, meanwhile, takes a flat USD 39 fee plus 10 percent of the primary awarded amount, bringing the total minimum price for 10 submissions to USD 99. Once set, the award funds are transferred into an escrow account, and the project is opened up for submissions from marketing creatives around the world. After two weeks or so, the buyer selects a winning idea, and FreshlyBranded transfers the files and all rights to the winning project. Award funds, meanwhile, are distributed accordingly among the primary and secondary submitters.

Crowdsourced approaches have been criticized for potentially devaluing the work of contributors, since many creatives typically spend time on a solution but only one gets paid. With its mechanism for secondary awards, however, FreshlyBranded's model could reduce such concerns. A concept to apply to your own crowdsourced venture...?

Website: www.freshlybranded.com
Contact: questions@freshlybranded.com

Spotted by: Troy Tessalone

Given the popularity of tryvertising labs in Asia, it was only a matter of time before they popped up in other parts of the globe. We spotted one in San Diego earlier this year—not long after Tokyo-based Sample Lab kicked off its own global expansion—and recently we learned of Barcelona-based Esloúltimo, which is already planning to open a second shop in Madrid.

Spanish consumers interested in testing out the latest products need only pay EUR 5 every six months for the right to try five new products at Esloúltimo every two weeks. There is no other charge for the samples, and there's also no lengthy questionnaire to fill out. Instead, consumers are simply asked to indicate why they chose the particular samples they did. Available for the taking at Esloúltimo are a variety of food, cosmetic and household goods as well as technological innovations for in-store testing. Long lines and waits of four hours greeted the Esloúltimo store's Barcelona opening in October, causing it to begin requiring that consumers make reservations in advance.

Esloúltimo is the brain child of Barcelona market researcher Guia de Tendencias, which is planning to open its Madrid store in February, according to the Compradiccion blog. Who will be first to serve the masses of eager trysumers in *your* neck of the sampling woods...?

Website: www.esloultimo.com
Contact: info@esloultimo.com

Spotted by: Tais Reis