It’s the car-buying equivalent of being handed a cute puppy, knowing you can give it back if you don’t want it: Renault is hoping that once consumers spend a weekend with its new Mégane Hatch, they'll want to keep it. UK residents can log on to Renault’s extended test drive site to choose whether to try out a car for 24 hours on a weekday, or from Friday evening to Monday morning to get a real sense of ownership. To make the experience even easier, the car is delivered to and collected from test drivers' houses.

The offer is managed in partnership with Avis, who deal directly with customers and take responsibility for car deliveries. The system was initially set up to encourage busy company car drivers to test drive the Mégane. However, realising the appeal of the offer, Renault has opened it up to retail customers as well.

In tough times, getting as close as possible to consumers is a smart move, especially if you can partner with another brand to handle logistics, as Renault has done with Avis. For other generous examples of try-before-you-buy, check out the tryvertising section of trendwatching.com’s Generation G briefing.

Website: www.renault24td.co.uk
Contact: +44 (0) 845 609 0414

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Most people who suffer from arthritis, asthma or cardiovascular disease are aware that their well-being can be affected by the weather. Developed to warn them in advance, MediClim emails registered users when changes in humidity, pollen count, barometric pressure and temperature might change how they feel.

The story began back in the eighties, when Dr. John Bart noticed his patients complaining of the same ailments on the same days. He paired up with meteorologist Dennis Bourque to produce an index that maps weather conditions and related health problems. And in 2008, Bart and Bourque gave the index new functionality by incorporating it into an email alert system. Subscribers sign up on the website, and complete a brief medical questionnaire. On days with weather conditions that are expected to trigger health problems, subscribers receive an email, or an alert through MediClim’s Facebook application.

MediClim is a free service currently available to anyone in North America and the UK. One for a pharmaceutical company to sponsor or introduce to other regions? (Related: Car insurer alerts clients by text message when roads get icy.)

Website: www.mediclim.com
Contact: www.mediclim.com/contact-us

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

TerraCycle and its ever-expanding list of eco-innovations have once again caught our eye. Not satisfied with simply making eco-fertilizer from organic waste and worm poop or turning old wrappers into eco-chic bags and accessories, the US-based company has now introduced a non-recyclable packaging collection system in several American big-box chain stores.

The collection project first began in 2007, letting the public (most often civic groups or schools) set up collection points for packaging and other waste. TerraCycle donates USD 0.02–0.06 to the charity of the collector’s choice for each unit that enters the system. The benefit for TerraCycle: a warm, fuzzy planet-saving glow, and a source of raw material for the upcycled products it sells, including pencil cases, lunch boxes and corkboards.

Now, two years later, the program is making its way into thousands of retail locations across America, thanks to partnerships with major chains like PETCO, OfficeMax, Home Depot and Best Buy. The ultimate plan is to establish permanent collection points in all of these chains’ stores nationwide, aiming for 10,000 retail locations by 2010. Consumers who live too far from one of the retail drop-offs can sign up to collect waste themselves.

Although coupling with major chains might seem to conflict with TerraCycle's grass-roots ethics, it's a highly effective way of scaling up their operation. It's not a bad deal for the retailers either, cutting a better profile where sustainability is concerned. A win-win for all concerned. Something to start up in other eco-minded regions?

Website: www.terracycle.net
Contact: info@terracycle.net

Spotted by: Treehugger via Raymond Kollau

The web is already home to sites galore that offer educational games to make learning fun, but a new one is adding a slightly different twist by incorporating a way to motivate kids with virtual and real-world rewards.

SmartyCard offers what it calls the world's first "learn, earn and play" experience by rewarding kids for completing educational games with prizes from popular vendors and family sites such as iTunes, Club Penguin, WebKinz, Star Doll and BellaSara. Created by executives from the family entertainment, educational content and toy industries, SmartyCard.com features bite-sized learning activities from supplemental education leaders Learnstar, Ignite and Learning.com. Activities are designed for kids in grades 3 through 6 and cover subjects including reading, writing, math, social studies and science. Kids begin by creating an account with their parents, who purchase a SmartyCard for them, priced beginning at USD 10 for 5,000 points on the site. They then choose from among the site's thousands of activities and games, taking a quiz at the end of each to assess how much they learned. For scores of 70 percent or higher, the child "unlocks" some of the points on their card—how many depends on the difficulty of the activity—and can redeem them for subscriptions and virtual currency in popular online worlds such as WebKinz, or for physical items including CDs, toys, video games, books, crafts, science kits and DVDs, which can be shipped to their home.

California-based SmartyCard is currently seeking more partners for education and rewards. At the moment the site is also available only in English. One to partner with or localize for other parts of the world....? (Related: Online space for kids, teachers & parents.)

Website: www.smartycard.com
Contact: customerservice@smartycard.com

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

Traditionally, the rehearsal dinner is an opportunity for a couple to thank everyone who’s making their wedding possible, and to share time with their closest friends and family. However, the dinner is often the last thing they turn their attention to. Aiming to deliver a stress-free, memorable pre-wedding celebration, Well Rehearsed is an event planning company that focuses solely on rehearsal dinners.

Two main packages are on offer: the first helps the couple plan the party and leaves them to choose vendors, the second takes everything off their hands and lets them focus on everything else wedding-related. Based in San Francisco, Well Rehearsed mainly works in the Bay Area, although it can organize an event remotely for further-flung customers.

Event planning is a highly competitive industry. By focusing on an often-overlooked element that can be outsourced separately from the rest of the wedding, Well Rehearsed has carved out an appealing and potentially lucrative niche.

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

Spotted by: Alexia Clements