Längenfeld, an idyllic village in Austria’s Alps, is inviting 200 people to visit for three days during the first week of July. Visitors will perform a Live Quality Check, testing the village’s hotels, restaurants and leisure facilities. When it’s time to leave, they’ll fill out a survey and pay what they think their stay was worth.

When signing up for the Live Quality Check, people were asked to select their preferred type of accommodation, as well indicate the holiday activities they enjoy—rafting, hiking, climbing, swimming, biking, culture and a spa are on offer. Sixteen accommodation providers, four restaurants and seven leisure facilities are participating in the endeavour, and over 400 people applied for a testing slot. According to Martin Santer, the project’s initiator, “Längenfeld is a place of energy, both for locals and our guests, and it has become a thriving tourist resort; a place we’re very proud of. With Live Quality Check, we’re showing our pride by letting guests determine how much they pay.”

More than just a PR gimmick at the start of the summer season, the test should help uncover whether tourists feel they’re getting value for money in Längenfeld. By combining pay-as-you-wish with an extensive survey, the local tourist industry gains valuable information about the quality of their services, and useful feedback on their pricing strategy. Now, if they really want to go the full mile, they’ll add transparency to the mix and put all those reviews online… (Related: Pay-what-you-want hotel in Singapore — Pay-what-you-want ad agency — London diners pay what they want at Little Bay.)

Website: www.live-qualitycheck.com
Contact: info@live-qualitycheck.com

Spotted by: M.M.

A German laundry service has teamed up with DHL to offer convenient pick-up and delivery. After signing up with Cleenbox, members receive a starter pack consisting of a laundry bag, a plastic box, a manual and an address label. They fill the bag with dirty laundry—no colour separation required—put it in the box and arrange for pick-up (Monday through Saturday). Alternatively, they can drop the box at a post office. After 2 to 5 days, the clothes are returned clean, ironed and folded.

Boxes come in three different sizes; the smallest one holds one smallish load of laundry, while a ‘megabox’ holds two larger loads. Payment works through a credits system, and prices depend on how many credits a customer buys in advance. One credit, or ‘Waschmarke’, pays for one box of laundry, including shipping. Based on advance purchase of 10 credits, prices range from EUR 19 for a small box to EUR 40 for a megabox. Shipment can be tracked online, and delivery addresses and dates can also be changed via Cleenbox’s website. Cleenbox is currently available in Germany and Austria—where it works with the Austrian postal service—and is planning to expand to other European countries.

According to CEO Harry Hohoff, the service is targeting singles, families, internet-savvy seniors and SMBs. Busy consumers will continue to outsource household chores, especially if it’s convenient and affordable to do so. Which spells opportunities for service providers. Staying with the laundry theme, how about adding garment repairs, dry cleaning and alterations for a one-stop solution for clothing? (Related: Laundry service by the locker — Private banking by shoebox.)

Website: www.cleenbox.de — www.cleenbox.at
Contact: info@cleenbox.de — info@cleenbox.at

Spotted by: Aniel Sriram

The downside of a great hotel is that it makes it too easy for a traveller to stay inside and miss out on experiencing the local culture. The Austrian city of Linz is tackling that issue by scattering unique individual hotel lodgings throughout the city’s metropolitan area, in effect turning the entire city into a one large hotel—a Pixelhotel.

The Pixelhotel project is one of the city’s attempts, as 2009 European Capital of Culture, to lure tourists to Linz by using creative and sustainable approaches to architecture. The locations chosen for redesign are unorthodox, from a cabinetmaker’s workshop and a ship to an art gallery. Each unique unit has its own specific aesthetic to make it a one-of-a-kind hotel experience. Lacking regular hotel infrastructure, the units provide minimal amenities only, as a way of encouraging tourists to go out and explore Linz. Prices range from EUR 87 for a single room to EUR 147 for a double.

Linz’s mini hotel ‘pixels’ aren't quite pop-up hotels, but their flexible approach to accommodation shares that same spirit of surprise and creativity. Other innovative cities and businesses—time to consider transforming a few unused spaces? (Related: Free accommodation for visiting creatives — Swiss bomb shelter becomes 'zero star' hotel.)

Website: www.pixelhotel.at
Contact: office@pixelhotel.at

Spotted by: Martina Meng and Tais Reis

No sooner did we cover Offbeat Guides, with its professionally printed and personalized guidebooks for travellers, than one of our spotters alerted us to a similar offering out of Austria: Tripwolf, which offers free, customized travel guides in PDF format.

Like Offbeat Guides, Tripwolf combines professional editorial content with user-generated content from some 13,000 globetrotters worldwide. The ad-supported site focuses primarily on Europe and is backed by MairDumont, Europe's largest publisher of travel guides (including the Baedeker, Dumont and Marco Polo brands), which has put all of its high-quality content--covering more than 250,000 destinations and points of interest--online for free. Tripwolf also aggregates third-party content from sites like Wikipedia, Flickr and YouTube, and hotel price comparisons are powered by HotelsCombined.com. Community features include user-generated photos, travel blogs, ratings and advice as well as Facebook integration, with iPhone features and the ability to book flights or hotels coming soon. Once users have compiled all the information they need, they can build and print a personalized, free 10-to-20-page travel guide in PDF format to take along on their trips. Vienna-based Tripwolf was launched this summer with sites in German and English; a Spanish-language version is due next year.

As purse strings continue to tighten, it seems likely travellers will research trips ever more carefully to make sure their hard-earned travel dollars, euros and pesos don't get misspent, making sites like Tripwolf and Offbeat Guides increasingly useful. Tripwolf's next step? Team up with Blurb or Cafepress to offer consumers the option of bound books, too. A nicely bound travel guide in the hand is worth two in PDF... or something like that! ;-)

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

Spotted by: Martina Meng

We've written about billboards that whisper and billboards that even talk back, but not until recently had we heard of billboards that give out free love. Sure enough, though, the outdoor outfitters at Austrian Northland Professional recently kicked off a campaign through which billboards give away free merchandise.

Beginning early this month, Northland has been affixing samples of its caps, gloves and scarves on roughly 50 billboards throughout the city of Graz. About 20 items are attached to each eye-catching billboard--for a total of about 1,000 in all--and the effort is repeated every other day. A video on the company's site shows consumers going to considerable lengths to get the items down. The EUR 35,000 campaign will run through the end of November, Northland says.

Besides free love, of course, Northland's concept also gives the lucky passers-by who snag a free accessory the chance to try it out and tell everyone they know how it came to be theirs. Free love is always a winner all around, but when you add some tryvertising and status stories to the mix? That's a combination few consumers will be able to resist. ;-)

Website: www.northland-pro.com
Contact: www.northland-pro.com/home/kontaktform.en.php

Spotted by: Florian Mayrhofer

As the US presidential election winds up to a fever pitch in these last few campaign months, there's no doubt passionate supporters in both camps are looking for ways to give their side an edge. One such tool now comes in the form of a custom e-mail signature that proudly displays the allegiance of its user.

Austrian E-Mail Charity specializes in the creation of e-mail signatures to support a variety of charitable causes, including Care and Doctors without Borders. Users simply enter their contact information as they'd like it to appear, and the company's specialized installer creates and automatically installs a signature widget including that and a banner advertising the charity of their choice. Now the same can be done to support either Obama or McCain in the presidential race. On the Obama side, available banners include Latinos for Obama, Republicans for Obama and Americans Abroad for Obama, while opposing banners include "McCain Stands for Experience" and "McCain--Country First." Creating and using E-Mail Charity's signatures is free, and virtually all e-mail clients are supported; text-only versions are available for webmail users. As the company explains, "If only a few of your friends join in on using E-mail Charity, a viral marketing effect for your cause/charity is launched."

The election signatures appear to be E-Mail Charity's first effort targeting e-mail users outside of Austria. One to help localize in a market near you to harness consumer marketeers for the change you believe in? (Related: Viral music sales through widgets.)

Website: election08.emailcharity.com
Contact: office@emailcharity.com

Spotted by: Lukas Z.

With hooligans grabbing the spotlight more often than not, warm and cozy aren’t terms that are usually associated with fans of European soccer/football. A new Swiss venture called Sleep-In could change that. Set up in advance of the 2008 European Football Championship that will take place in Switzerland and Austria this June, Sleep-In enables area residents from both countries to offer their homes to visiting soccer fans. Visitors can list the type of accommodations they’re looking for, and local hosts choose their temporary housemates based on the write-ups that guests submit.

Besides access to accommodation that is low cost and in some cases free, the site’s overriding benefit, its organizers say, is the chance it affords both parties to meet new people. To make sure everyone is satisfied with the arrangements they negotiate, Sleep In exhorts its users to be truthful in the descriptions they place in their ads.

We covered a comparable website last year, which facilitated bed-sharing at the Salone del Mobile in Milan and, like Sleep-In, didn’t feature advertising. However, revenues from ads could fuel similar sites for other events. The concept’s chief advantage is that it’s relatively easy to launch. A few days spent piecing together a website, sending out press releases and garnering blog posts might be all that’s required to generate some handy extra cash.

Website: www.sleep-in.ch
Contact: www.sleep-in.ch/kontakt.php

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Grand funerals and eloquent eulogies are all very well when it comes to marking the demise of the wealthy and well-respected, but as the royalty and nobility of days gone by can attest, there's nothing quite like a requiem to cement one's name in the annals of time. Fortunately for today's moneyed elite, there's Requiem for You, an Austrian firm that can compose a personal requiem on demand.

Just launched last year, Requiem for You offers services on three levels, the most basic of which is the composition of an individually tailored requiem. The firm represents a network of composers, librettists and musicians who will write an individual requiem in advance, capturing the client's unique personality and accommodating preferences for balance among vocal, instrumental and textual components. Styles available include baroque, classical, romantic, jazz or Broadway musical, with text in German, Latin or English. A personal laudatio is also available.

In addition to composing the piece, Requiem for You can also produce an audio recording of it using a team of freelance artists, orchestras and recording studios, once again honouring the client's personal tastes in the CD's cover art. Finally, upon request the company can arrange a performance of the requiem, using anything from an audio presentation of the recorded version to a live performance with orchestra and choir. Prices reportedly range from EUR 20,000 for the requiem's composition to EUR 400,000 for the all-out live performance.

Requiem for You obviously targets the highest of high-end consumers, offering a premium shot at immortality that only the wealthiest can afford. This is where gravanity and premiumization meet—and given that there are some 9.5 million millionaires in the world, according to the 2007 World Wealth Report from Cap Gemini and Merrill Lynch, that's not a bad place to be! (Related: Art after life.)

Website: www.requiemforyou.com
Contact: salzburg@requiemforyou.com

Spotted by: Martina Meng

After featuring Paste magazine's pay-what-you-want subscriptions last month, one of our Springspotters alerted us to a restaurant in Vienna where diners decide how much they'd like to pay. Located on the Liechtensteinstraße, Der Wiener Deewan serves five different Pakistani curries daily, three of which are vegetarian. Prices for drinks are fixed, but customers decide how much they'd like to pay for the food. Most pony up a fair price, and the restaurant doesn't seem to suffer from its unusual pricing plan.

A bit of research shows that Der Wiener Deewan isn't the only restaurant to take a laissez-faire approach to prices: Melbourne's Lentil As Anything also lets customers pay what they can afford or what they think the meal was worth. The business now runs three locations in Melbourne and provides space for artists and writers. The One World Café in Salt Lake City and the SAME Café (So All Might Eat) in Denver operate on a similar basis, and also let customers specify portion sizes (which isn't a bad idea for any restaurant).

While a few customers might take advantage of a restaurant's altruistic motives, most are happy to shell out a little extra to cover free meals for those who can't afford to pay. Could be just the thing for restaurateurs looking for a way to combine social entrepreneurship with a love of cooking.

Websites: www.falter.at/web/wwei/detail.php?nr=5266
www.lentilasanything.com — www.soallmayeat.org — www.oneworldeverybodyeats.com

Spotted by: Martina Meng

We first covered cone pizzas in 2005 and have seen a number of versions pop up around the world every since. Our latest spotting comes from Austria, where one of the country's most famous chefs runs Carpe Diem Finest Fingerfood, offering ‘the unique combination of both top quality cuisine from the 4 star cook Jörg Wörther and convenience in eating’.

Every order at the upmarket Salzburg bar features four savoury cones and one sweet one, with dishes like ‘Pickled Perch with Artichokes and Asparagus Tips in a Polenta Cone’ and ‘Yellowfin Tuna in Salad with Avocado and Ginger in a Pumpkin Cone’. Proving, as we love to point out, that everything can be upgraded.

On a side note, the concept is a flagship restaurant/bar for Carpe Diem, the ‘functional’ beverage brand created by the Austrian founder of Red Bull, and opened in 2005. From convenient conical pizza to high-quality finger food, cones continue their bite-sized march to world domination ;-)

Website: www.finestfingerfood.com
Contact: fingerfood@carpediem.com

Spotted by: Martina Lipp & Anna Foidl

Austrian Herold, which publishes the country’s white and yellow pages, claims to offer a worldwide first. Customers can purchase Austria’s entire phone directory and plug it into their cellphone. At first glance, this may seem somewhat outmoded. Why use an offline solution when almost every modern phone has internet access? Well, looking up phone numbers through a smartphone’s browser has two major drawbacks: it can be very slow and very expensive, since telecom providers in many countries still charge outlandish fees for data transfer.

And Herold’s mobile phone book has a very useful feature: if a user receives a call from someone who isn’t in their personal contact list, Herold will automatically find and display the caller’s name. (So-called ‘calling name delivery’ is offered by telecom providers in some countries, but often doesn’t work if a call takes place between different providers.)

Herold Mobile is currently only available for smartphones that run on Symbian or Windows Mobile. The digital phone book costs EUR 29.90, including monthly updates, and the directory currently lists over 4 million residential and business phone numbers. Admittedly, this particular concept is easiest to accomplish in countries with small populations—Austria has just 8.2 million inhabitants. Placed in a wider context: while satisfying consumers' infolust is usually equated with being online, sometimes it makes sense to take the information offline.

Website: www.herold.at
Contact: kundenservice@herold.at

Spotted by: Martina Meng

Austria's first bank for women was recently opened by Raiffeisen in the ski resort town of Gastein. The concept was developed in association with Emotion Banking, which conducted extensive studies about women and finances, and how they interact with banks. Emotion Banking came to the conclusion that women approach finances differently than men do, and that a dedicated bank for women would better serve Raiffeisen's female customers. The current set-up includes an inviting lounge-like interior, that includes a play area to keep children occupied. Female employees assist customers, taking extra time to explain products thoroughly, and to build a strong relationship with their customers.

The concept might be a first in Austria, but isn't altogether new on an international scale. From Citigroup's Women & Co, which we covered a few years ago, to the Royal Bank of Canada, many financial institutions are recognizing that women often have their own needs and goals when it comes to money and finances. And this segemented market is continuously evolving; according to a recent report by research firm Aite Group, "Highly-educated women leaving the U.S. workforce to raise children are creating a new, highly lucrative consumer segment for financial firms." The market, which the group dubbed 'Ivy League Moms', is sized at roughly USD 10 million U.S. households with investable assets of USD 6.5 trillion.

Leading the way are banks for women in Islamic countries. Microcredit providers like Grameen Bank have long placed special emphasis on providing loans to women. In Pakistan, First Women Bank was founded in 1989 and strives for the economic empowerment of women. Saudi Arabian women, although not allowed to vote or drive, have the right to control their own finances, and Saudi banks have been devoting extensive resources to 'ladies banking' over the past few years, with separate entrances, distinct product offerings and a staff consisting entirely of women.

Meanwhile, Bahrain announced it's own first two weeks ago: the first bank for women in the Gulf region. The Masrafy Bank has been granted a licence to start the first Islamic investment bank for women, aimed at targeting high net worth women across the Gulf region. The venture could be lucrative, as studies by backer Abu Dhabi Investment House show that women in the region have funds worth USD 38 billion, with no credible investment avenues for investing those funds in a private and professional manner.

So: is gender-segregated banking the way forward, in all parts of the world? We'd love to hear what you think, so please share your view by adding a comment below, and feel free to include examples of similar concepts that we've left out.

MPreis, a chain of supermarkets in western Austria, bills itself as "The Seriously Sexy Supermarket". The company's stores literally stand out because of their unusual and progressive architecture.

MPreis has been commissioning up and coming architects for the last fifteen years, encouraging them to design buildings that make the most of their settings in the Tyrolean Alps. Which is in stark contrast to most chain retailers, who find a formula and repeat it, regardless of location.

A keen eye for aesthetics continues inside the stores, which feature sleek café's and carefully chosen materials. And the experience goes beyond design – MPreis also understands the value of storytelling, emphasizing that the company is family-owned, and was founded by an entrepreneurial woman (Frau Therese Mölk) in the 1920s.

Surprisingly, price levels at MPreis aren't higher than at competing supermarkets in the region. Although award-winning design comes at a slightly higher cost than generic structures, the buildings look more expensive than they are.

The key of the matter is that everything can be upgraded, and creating a richer customer experience doesn't necessarily require raising prices (see no-frills chic for more examples). Plenty of opportunities for big-box retailers across the world to become patrons of good architecture and bold design!

Austrian manufacturer Frenkenburger is asking customers to come up with new flavours for its all natural hemp milk drink, Trinkhanf.

Made from ground hemp seeds, hemp milk is highly nutritious – hempseed is high in protein, amino acids and essential fatty acids, making it one of the most nutritionally complete food sources. But it doesn't taste of much. So Frenkenburger previously launched mango/ginger, cocoa/vanilla/maple and coffee-flavoured varieties.

To further expand the Trinkhanf line, sold at health stores in Austria and Germany, the 'bio-entrepreneur' is running a contest. Creative customers are being challenged to create tasty new flavours using fruits, herbs, or other natural ingredients. The contest runs through the end of April, after which a panel of judges will pick a winner, and the winning recipe will go into production. Aware that co-creators should share in profits, Frenkenburger will pay the winner one euro-cent per bottle sold.

(See trendwatching.com's customer-made briefing for more examples of companies creating goods, services and experiences in close cooperation with consumers.)

We reported on nearly-free short term rental cars in Europe a long time ago; leave it to entrepreneurs and marketers from around the world to add some really interesting twists, turning a new corner in Carvertising. In Austria, CoolCar offers long term (12-48 months) rental cars decked out in ads, including the Mini One and the Citroen C4, for only EUR 199 (USD 249/GBP 135) per month if drivers make enough miles. The lease also includes insurance and service costs, and obviously provides an interesting alternative to buying or leasing a regular car.

And in Australia, KahDo cars offers this service to enterprising consumers in Sydney and Melbourne (Brisbane coming soon) for even less: a new Smart car for USD 26 per week, including all maintenance and roadside assistance. Advertising is changed at least once a quarter at a KahDo depot. Drivers also get access to free quarterly Club KahDo parties, as well as events and promotions co-sponsored by KahDo and its advertisers. The twist? KahDo actively hand-picks drivers (from age and lifestyle to the neighborhoods they tend to frequent), so it can pair its 100 branded cars with the appropriate representatives on behalf of their advertisers. The latter can also equip the drivers with other goodies and samples of their products, turning them into mobile and human billboards. (Sources: Gizmag)

Opportunities

Companies like CoolCar and KahDo are cleverly tapping into a consumer base that is much more interested (and savvy) in making some money on the side. It also doesn't hurt that in many crowded European cities, car ownership is not necessarily seen as the ultimate must-have anymore, opening the door to a much more casual approach to car rentals.

Just when Springwise thought it had seen every MASSCLUSIVITY angle to the limited edition craze, VIP lounge ropes, pop-up stores and curated collections, here comes less-than-a-year old Austrian One Day One Bag, a company that designs (you guessed it) one unique bag a day. Each bag comes with its creation date, and the signature of the designer, Sabine Fasching.

One Day One Bag should provide marketers and designers with plenty of inspiration. Taking the ultimate limited edition strategy from the Vuitton approach to the masses opens up great opportunities for crafty entrepreneurs or big companies looking for PR generating stunts. Works for bags, for clothes, for mobile phones, for sneakers, for furniture and so on. The concept is here, the technology to build and sell it readily available: now it's up to you to make some money off it!

We all know by now that millions of time and cash rich consumers (read: baby boomers) equal a lot of opportunities. So why not just DO something for these consumers, instead of studying worn-out trend reports on boomer markets? Get inspired by Austrian supermarket chain Adeg, which launched Adeg Aktiv Markt 50+ in Salzburg 1.5 years ago, and added new stores in Salzburg and Vienna last year.

To please and accommodate senior citizens, Adeg incorporated everything from reduced-glare lighting and slip-proof flooring to wider aisles and easier-to-navigate parking spaces. And the list goes on: reduced-height shelving, pleasant places to sit and signage and shelf markers in larger type are part of the deal, too. Stores also offer several cart and basket options, including a shopping cart that attaches to a wheelchair and another that has a fold-down seat for shoppers who might want to rest along the way. The produce display is engineered so that even a person in a motorized cart or wheelchair can select his or her own items. Shoppers can borrow reading glasses to check small print on labels or use magnifying glasses that are attached to shelves in some areas. Smaller packages of things like cheese are intended to serve households of one or two. Notably, all employees are over 50. Hey, if it works in Austria, it will work in the US, in Japan, in Belgium, and so on.

Marketers and advertisers, pay attention: Vizoo, a Danish ad/film agency, claims to have developed the world's first holographic films (called 'Free Format') and live film inside a brand logo ('Videologo'). Basically, it is a free-floating hologram which looks absolutely true to life. The film merges with the foreground and background to create an illusion in a real-life setting. Think 3D movie images of people, products or rotating logos in shop windows, or at outdoor events. This is definitely a service you have to see, not read about, so: view the demo. Clients already on board: '3', the mobile phone company, is currently one of the pioneers of Vizoo's services in Sweden and Austria, while SF Film, the Scandinavian distributor for Lord of the Rings, used the holographic wizardry to promote the movie in stores across Denmark and Sweden last Christmas.

Opportunities

Once every few months something really new in advertising comes along. Sometimes it is decidedly 'faddy', like head-vertising; and sometimes Springwise suspects staying power. For now, Vizoo seems to fall into the latter category, as trials have proven that these holographic videos are true 'show stoppers', that truly draw consumers in. Best of all, the service is so new, that hardly anyone outside Scandinavia has picked up on it. So whether you're in need of innovative advertising (and who isn't!) or you're interested in licensing emerging technologies, it may be worth your while to contact Vizoo!

Last month, we highlighted German rental car company Maxhopp, which rents out Smart cars in Berlin and Hamburg for only 1 euro per day. The catch? Cars come plastered with ads, turning customers into billboards on wheels. Now, Austrian serial entrepreneur Niki Lauda, ex Formula one pilot, offers the same service in Vienna, Austria: LaudaMotion.com.

Seems this new trend in automotive advertising is spreading geographically (Springwise expects Hungary and The Netherlands to be next), which means that entrepreneurs outside Germanic regions still have plenty of first-mover space! Step on it though, as Lauda already indicated he may expand to Spain if Laudamotion proves to be a success in Vienna. And what about the established car rental players? Could be a nice urban niche? Or a way to attract a younger clientele? Hey, we're just thinking out loud ;-)