While national automobile associations have been branching out into other areas—from credit cards to car rental—the primary reason drivers sign up is for emergency roadside assistance. Building on that "there when you need us" sentiment, ANWB, the Dutch motorists association, has launched a mobile store that will tour France* this summer.

The ANWB's store on wheels will stop at campgrounds across France, selling tourists items they forgot to pack, from toothbrushes and sunblock to its own maps and travel guides. On July 10th, the association will sell its wares from rest stops along the Autoroute du Soleil, where it will be joined by motor care teams who'll check tire pressure, give traffic updates and clean car windows and mirrors. The ANWB will also treat drivers to a massage while sitters entertain their children. (This might seem excessive, but the Autoroute du Soleil is the main motorway from the north to the south of France, and is so choked with traffic on heavy travel dates that July 10th is dubbed Black Saturday.)

Last but not least, when drivers have finally reached their destination, the ANWB's 'Helping Hands' will pitch tents, fill jerry cans and even dry dishes.

All of which makes for a prime example of what our sister-site calls brand butlers. As trendwatching.com puts it, "serving is the new selling", and by following its members and assisting them when and where they need it most, the ANWB builds a stronger relationship with its customers and highlights the diversity of its offerings. (Related: Light therapy for weary travellers — Method's mobile laundry truck facilitates clothing donations.)

Website: www.anwb.nl
Contact: www.anwb.nl/contact-en-service,/contact.html

Spotted by: Ruben van Rhijn

* Not only has France long been the number one holiday destination for Dutch tourists, last year 87.8% drove there from Holland, making it a prime marketing location for the ANWB.

Rebelling against generic, not-made-here products that are piled to the rafters in tourist shops everywhere, an Italian town is inviting artists and designers to come for a visit and rethink the concept of souvenirs.

For its Unconventionall Holiday Market, the southern town of Rivello hopes to attract 149 artists, designers and artisans from around the world, for a minimum stay of one week in July or August. As artists in residence, they'll be charged an accommodation fee of around EUR 90 per week. The market's organizers hope that visiting creatives will enjoy nearby beaches during the day, before coming back into town to exhibit and sell their alternatives to—as UHM puts it—"trivial, mass-produced objects, quite often camouflaged as fake local handcrafts".

The concept was developed by creative agency Unconventionall, which is accepting submissions from artists and designers until 10 June 2010. It's a great example of combining creativity and commerce to reinforce a town or region's uniqueness. For more on businesses that are countering globalization, check out trendwatching.com's still-made-here. (Related: In London, a free retail space for small creative businesses — Souvenirs meet style in Canada — Austrian village asks tourists to set their price.)

Website: www.unconventionall.com/uhm
Contact: uhm@unconventionall.com

Anyone who spends a lot of time online will have used a file sharing service to send large files to friends or colleagues, or maybe even to download a music track or two. While functional (and free), those services aren't harbingers of style or user-friendliness, bombarding users with off-target banners and frequent prompts to upgrade to premium services. Which is why Dutch startup WeTransfer thinks there's money to be made by offering a more appealing alternative.

WeTransfer's feature list isn't unusual: it's free and allows users to send big files (up to 2 GB) without registering. Files are available for two weeks, and can be transferred to up to twenty people. The main difference with other online file transfer services is WeTransfer's approach to design and sponsorship. Like its competitors, the company relies on advertising for revenues. But instead of running questionable banner ads, WeTransfer sells wallpaper advertising—those pretty pictures in the background. Since WeTransfer's own interface is minimal, that leaves a lot of space for a sponsor's brand. (The screenshot above shows a wallpaper for Blyk, the mobile network operator we've written about in the past.) In addition to buying wallpaper space on WeTransfer's main site, companies can also sponsor their own channels—Blyk, for example, can send its audience to blyk.wetransfer.com.

No stranger to this flavour of online advertising, one of WeTransfer's founders is lifestyle and music blogger Nalden, whose design-heavy nalden.net has sold wallpaper space to brands like Nike, Vodafone and Apple. The lesson here? Take an existing service, make it more enticing for consumers and, with a little coaxing, brands will follow. Oh, and don't forget the free love!

Website: www.wetransfer.com
Contact: advertising@wetransfer.com

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

There's nothing like a global recession to spur the launch of countless low-price innovations, and photography seems to be no exception. First we saw the arrival of We Shoot Bottles and sister site We Shoot Cans; then, just recently, we came across USD 79 profile photo shoots from Minnesota photographer Noah Wolf. The latest spotting? Studio-quality product shots from New York photographer Mariano Pastor for USD 112.

Pastor is best known for his work for Town & Country, W, Lancome, Givenchy and more, but his new ViaU! service aims to bring the same high quality to smaller businesses. Clients begin by visiting the ViaU! site and choosing a background and layout for their still-life product shot. They then send their product to ViaU! — the service handles only those less than 18 inches in size — and within 24 hours Pastor will photograph it, post the results for review and then return the product free of charge. Customers can then download their high-resolution photo for a flat fee of USD 112, which includes unlimited usage rights.

Pastor explains: “If Isaac Mizrahi can create a successful line for Target, I thought there must be a way I can similarly extend my brand to include an affordable price point option. So, using a Netflix-esque business model, I invented ViaU! for photographing most small consumer products — toys, wine glasses, laundry detergent, chainsaws, diamond jewelry, soccer balls, lipstick — you name it.”

Photographers around the globe: how could you expand *your* brand similarly...?

Website: www.viauphotography.com
Contact: www.viauphotography.com/Contact.aspx