If two heads are better than one, it's hard to argue with the premise of crowdsourcing, which taps multiple brains for a common end. Now offering such capabilities overnight is Ideas Culture, an Australian firm that puts creative thinkers around the globe to work via Twitter to solve a client's problem by morning.

Businesses with a challenge to solve can enlist Ideas Culture's "Ideas While You Sleep Service" to get a pack of ideas along with an evaluation matrix and implementation plan by 10 a.m. the next morning. After registering, they need only submit their challenge online by 4 p.m. By 6 p.m., Ideas Culture gets the challenge out to its Twitter-based Ideas Agents, who spend 15 to 30 minutes each on the problem. There are more than 200 agents from eight countries on the books, and each earns AUD 100 for four sessions, according to a report in the Age. Problems tackled so far have included recruiting more male customers for a singles matching service and increasing attendance for professional development events, The Age reported. Pricing—normally AUD 880—is now AUD 495 through a special trial offer.

Is there no stopping the power of the Twitter-enabled crowds? London's Royal Opera House is another organization that apparently doesn't think so. For more on putting that power to work for your brand, check out trendwatching.com's briefing on foreverism. Time to start thinking in 140 characters! ;-)

Website: www.ideasculture.com/ideas.php
Contact: enquiries@ideasculture.com

Two years ago, we wrote about Tokyo's Sample Lab, which connected brands with consumers by letting them test and take away new products. The concept was quickly picked up in other parts of the world. Now, the original Sample Lab has reopened as one-of-a-kind marketing cafe targeting Japanese women in their 20s and 30s with free samples in exchange for their visits and views, in a relaxed and informal setting.

Located in Shibuya, LCAFE is well-placed to attract trendsetting shoppers. To take part, women register by mobile phone, supplying basic details about themselves such as their age, marital status and where they live. With every order of food or drinks, they receive an L Coin, which can be redeemed for free samples at the cafe's sample bar. In a true Tokyo touch, a bar-code on members' mobile phones allows Sample Lab to track who got which sample. After the visit, members are asked to share their views via an electronic survey, in exchange for more tokens.

Samples on offer range from food and drinks to skincare products. Besides letting brands test the waters by getting consumers to try new products, LCAFE also functions as a platform for experience-based marketing. Last month, as part of a promotion for Toshiba's new Biblio e-reader handset, the cafe printed promotional images on tables, napkins and staff uniforms. A Biblio was placed on every table, alongside a menu created specially for Toshiba.

The enterprise is proving popular. Since it opened its doors two months ago, LCAFE has already registered 2,000 customers (or, as our sister-site would say, trysumers). Operating a hybrid between a regular cafe and a sampling venue makes sense from a business point of view, since it creates two streams of income. The indirect approach is also likely to attract women who wouldn't want to be seen waiting in line for freebies. LCAFE has plans to expand into other Japanese cities and to eventually operate worldwide as a market research firm focused on young women. One to launch locally, or to reproduce for men? (Related: Tryvertising lab expands globally — Vending machine dispenses free samples — Sampling salons for cosmetics.)

Website: www.lcafe.jp
Contact: contactlcafe@lcafe.jp

Spotted by: WSJ via Raymond Kollau

Housing referrals are a tried and tested way of connecting landlords and tenants by inviting current residents to refer people in exchange for a finders fee. Aiming to leverage the strength of social media, RentMineOnline took the next natural step and added Facebook to the mix. The venture is effectively an online affiliate program for real-world house rental. Through RentMineOnline, property managers send bulk messages to their tenants informing them of a new campaign. Tenants can then send notifications via their social network of choice: Facebook, Plaxo, Twitter or email, and property managers can monitor the reach of each referral campaign in real time.

It's a win-win service on all sides. Current residents have the opportunity to help out friends and earn some extra cash (typically from USD 50 to USD 1500). Referred tenants have the security of signing with a vouched-for landlord, and possibly moving in next door to a friend. RentMineOnline takes a sales fee for each campaign from property managers, while the managers themselves benefit from a massive catchment pool of potential tenants, most of whom will be related by both demographic and location to current tenants.

The last point is key. As the presence of social media continues to grow, the question is increasingly becoming not whether, but how companies are going to harness it. For entrepreneurs, RentMineOnline looks to have created a model that should work equally well in other parts of the world. (Related: Crowdsourcing the sales force — Referral community for domestic help — Tapping into the referral economy.)

Website: www.rentmineonline.com
Contact: sales@rentmineonline.com

Spotted by: John Greene

Airports in August are generally heaving with tourists, delayed flights and the occasional strike. London's Heathrow Airport, however, seems to be focused on moving forward, judging from two innovative services it launched this month: first its new driverless personal transport pods, and now a writer in residence. And not just any writer: residing in Heathrow's Terminal 5 is Alain de Botton.

Focusing both on the people who work at the airport and those that pass through it, De Botton's weeklong layover at Heathrow seems to combine elements of his recent "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" and his earlier "Art of Travel". The author won't be idling away his time in Terminal 5's lounges or champagne bars; seated at a desk, he's writing a book that will be published late September. As he types, the work-in-progress is projected on a screen behind him. An excerpt published by The Faster Times:

"In the cloudless dawn, a sequence of planes, each visible as a single diamond, had lined up at different heights, like pupils in a school photo, on their final approach to the north runway. Their wings unfolded themselves into elaborate and unlikely arrangements of irregularly sized steel gray panels. Having avoided the earth for so long, wheels that had last touched the ground in San Francisco or Mumbai hesitated and slowed almost to a standstill as they arched and prepared to greet the rubber-stained English tarmac with a burst of smoke that made manifest their planes’ speed and weight."

Besides publishing at the speed of light and providing Heathrow with some lovely literary publicity, the endeavour taps into two ongoing consumer trends. First off, the status stories element: passengers and staff members are invited to share their stories with De Botton, and have a chance of being immortalized in A Week at the Airport. Secondly, a generous dose of free love: Heathrow will be handing out 10,000 copies of De Botton's diary to passengers travelling through the airport. Smart marketing move by Heathrow, and one for any other brand to be inspired by: be delightful, be relevant, be generous. (Related: Hotel offers 'reader in residence' — Airline alliance offers free audiobook downloads at airports — Personalized inflight mags at Heathrow's Terminal 1.)

Website: www.heathrowairport.com

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Summertime is filled with opportunities for brands to show they care, whether by helping consumers find a place to change at the beach or by giving them a little cooling refreshment during a heat wave. Targeting the latter option is Soak Media, a UK firm that gives out free bottled water to London commuters courtesy of on-bottle advertising.

Focusing only on the months of July and August, Soak sells advertising space on 330 ml. plastic bottles filled with Buxton water and then hands them out for free to overheated London commuters, who would normally pay GBP 1 or more for such refreshment. Soak's own staff hands out the bottles from an ice-filled cart, after which time it estimates the bottles spend about 50 minutes in the average consumer's hands. The company also does specials including leaflet tip-ons, specially shaped bottles and sampling. Perhaps best of all, however, is that it donates all its profits to charitable causes.

Given the ongoing controversy over plastic water bottles, it's not entirely clear that such vessels will be the right medium to focus on going forward. Nevertheless, the last two heat waves saw a 20 percent increase in bottled water consumption, Soak says, so there's no doubt consumers can use a little extra help staying hydrated. Deliver a little sympvertising—in whatever form—and you'll likely see a nice refreshing boost to your own bottom line! ;-) (Related: New Yorkers invited to refill their water bottles at cafés — Heated bus stops offer sympvertising and samples.)

Website: www.soakmedia.com
Contact: jamie@soakmedia.com