Technology
- CitySense is a new, mobile map application that automatically shows where the hotspots are in a city. Currently only available in San Francisco (Chicago is next), users are given a real-time view of how busy the city is, as well as where the busiest places currently are. Users simply download the free application onto their Blackberry (iPhone support is coming soon) and view a "heat" map of activity throughout the area, linking to Yelp or Google to zero in for more information about the hotspots. Focusing on nightlife, the next version of CitySense will be able to tell users not just where the activity is, but where people with similar tastes are concentrated.
- Twitter application Twiddeo allows users to not just tell friends what they're doing, but actually show them. Users can upload videos to the site to be broadcast to all their Twitter friends, making for much more compelling communication than just a short text message description.
Environment
- General Motors will provide flex-fuel cars for delegates, staff, members of the media and other special guests at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The cars will run on clean-burning ethanol derived from waste beer produced at the Molson Coors brewery in Golden, Colorado. Coors says it is the nation's first major brewer to convert its waste beer into ethanol (most ethanol is corn based), having begun the practice back in 1996.
- San Francisco-based My Farm is a "decentralized urban farm" that grows vegetables in backyard gardens throughout the city. The company will install an organic vegetable garden in a customer's backyard for anywhere between $600.00 - $1,000.00, depending on its size. Once the garden is in, My Farm will maintain it and harvest produce at its peak. Customers have the option of producing just enough food for their own family or producing enough for My Farm to sell as well.
Food & Beverage
- Subway is testing a new store concept in the Washington, DC area called Subway Café. The new store offers Wi-Fi access and upscale café menu options, including espresso drinks, gelato, baked goods and paninis (in addition to the standard sandwich menu). Located in heavily trafficked, office-dense areas, and larger and more comfortable than the standard Subway, the decor includes brick or wood-paneled walls and upholstered chairs. If tests prove successful, there are plans to roll the concept out nationally.
- Drinks America Holdings Ltd. is partnering with rapper Dr. Dre to produce his own line of liquor. The company has done the same with a few other "celebs," such as with Willie Nelson's Old Whiskey River Bourbon and Trump Super Premium Vodka. First up is the release of Aftermath Cognac, to be followed by the launch of a line of 80-proof flavored and unflavored sparkling vodka. The products will hit shelves within the next two months, coinciding with the launch of Dr. Dre's new album, Detox.
Fashion & Beauty
- In honor of its 100th anniversary, Converse sneakers has launched a year-long "Connectivity" campaign in which they will team up with icons in the categories of sports, music, art, fashion and lifestyle. First up, Converse and Pepsi have created 12 styles of limited edition sneaker cell phone charms to be packaged with the soft drink. The charms come in popular Converse styles including Chuck Taylor All Stars, Jack Purcells and Larry Birds.
- High-definition (HD) makeup is the newest cosmetics category to hit the beauty market. Although the concept was created to help actors and actresses better prepare for close-ups in HDTV, a growing number of consumer beauty brands, including Christian Dior, Smashbox, and Cargo, are launching HD skin care products intended for everyday wear.
- Taking customization to a new level, Nike PhotoiD recently launched a mobile campaign which allows customers to take colors from the real world and incorporate them into their Nike Dunks. Consumers just snap a photo with their cell phones, then text the image to a special number where Nike takes the two most dominant colors from the photo and incorporates them into the sneakers. The service is currently only available in Europe, with no specific date announced yet for a US launch.
Travel & Tourism
- Blindfolded walking tours are hitting the streets of Lisbon, Portugal. After being securely blindfolded, participants are steered through narrow streets by a blind guide from the ACAPO (Portuguese Association for the Visually Impaired). A guide with historical knowledge of the area also accompanies each group. The project has two main goals: to provide participants with a new sensory experience of their surroundings through smell, touch, taste and hearing. Secondly, they aim to make sighted people more aware of how the visually impaired experience the world. Tourism boards in Zurich, London, Amsterdam and Montreal have already expressed interest in bringing the blindfolded tours to their respective cities.
Marketing/Advertising/PR
- Wal-Mart is now sponsoring momtourage (the people who help mothers be better parents - family members, teachers, neighbors) material on two NBC Universal outlets: iVillage.com and the "Today" show on NBC. The unit of NBC Universal that landed the multimillion-dollar deal with Wal-Mart, is known as Women@NBCU (for Women at NBC Universal). The material on iVillage and "Today" will be focused on subjects like child care and fixing family meals, with vignettes on "Today" followed by commercials for Wal-Mart.
Media
- To commemorate its 75th anniversary, the October issue of Esquire will feature a flexible electronic "paper" cover with the words, "The 21st Century Begins Now," scrolling across it - a first for magazines. 100,000 copies of the special anniversary issue will be available at newsstands only, for $5.99 - two dollars more than its standard cover price. The magazine's battery will last for up to 90 days.
- Ladies' Home Journal will make its first foray into movie production with "Soccer Mom: The Movie," the first in a series of "mom" adventure movies. Dodge Caravan is on board as the integrated automotive sponsor. The movie is slated to premiere on DVD Sept. 30th and is likely to be accompanied by a limited theatrical run and cable premiere run. Co-producer Bogner Entertainment already has another film with LHJ in development, a comedy called "Meet the Murphys."
