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All that's old is new again... Last week, we wrote about a bank that brought back the shoebox as a no-tech organizing system for their time-starved clients. Now, one of our spotters alerted us to the return of the milkman. Delivering organic milk to customers' doors in glass milk bottles, the Manhattan Milk Company is reviving old-fashioned dairy delivery. For a USD 5 delivery charge, Manhattanites can get a weekly delivery of fresh milk. The company's driver loads up his truck on Wednesdays at 4 am and delivers to all of Manhattan, picking up empty bottles when he drops off the full ones. The milk is sourced from 51 Amish farms in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, about 160 miles southwest of New York City, and is also sold at the Batch store on 150B W. 10th Street. While we hope MMC switches to electric or pedal-powered delivery vehicles for its many stops and starts in the city, the concept has an undeniable still made here charm that will appeal to consumers' sense of nostalgia. And what about combining dairy delivery with the community supported agriculture ventures that deliver organic fruit and veg from farms to households across the world? Convenience, charm, organic and local—combine that with business smarts, and it's hard to go wrong. (Related: High-end dessert trucks.) Website: www.manhattanmilk.com Spotted by: Esther Chang
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Faber & Faber, which describes itself as one of the last of the great independent publishing houses in London, recently launched an academy for aspiring writers. The Faber Academy's inaugural creative writing course will take place from October 9–12 at Shakespeare & Company, the fabled English bookstore in Paris. Novelist Tobias Hill will be teaching a four-day course that focuses on "How to Tell a Story Without Telling Your Readers What to Think," with Jeanette Winterson joining in for a two-part seminar on authenticity and voice in fiction. The course costs GBP 500 excluding travel and accommodation (but including lunch) and tickets were sold out within days of going on sale. A second course—also taught by Tobias Hill—will be held in London from October 30–November 2, and the publisher plans to organize future sessions in Dublin, Edinburgh and Berlin. Viewed through a consumer trends lens, the Faber Academy is a clear example of what trendwatching.com dubbed status skills: "In economies that increasingly depend on (and thus value) creative thinking and acting, well-known status symbols tied to owning and consuming goods and services will find worthy competition from status skills: those skills that consumers are mastering to make the most of those same goods and services, bringing them status by being good at something, and the story telling that comes with it." Other successful examples include the Nikon School and the BMW Performance Driving School. By helping aspiring novelists hone their writing skills under the tuition of its well-known authors, Faber & Faber builds a stronger connection with its core customers (participants are likely to be readers and good customers), and promotes powerful word of mouth marketing, since participants will no doubt be eager to share their Faber Academy experience with friends and family. All of which is great PR for Faber & Faber, and emphasizes their dedication to writing and writers, as opposed to mega-publishers who often seem solely focused on the bottom line. Last but not least, the courses could provide a welcome additional stream of revenue. If your brand isn't already boosting its customers' talents and abilities, this is one to learn from ;-) (Related: Out-of-print books, printed on demand by Faber Finds.) Website: www.faber.co.uk/article/2008/7/tobias-hill-paris-course
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Earlier this year we wrote about Ndeur, a Canadian company that offers high-end customized shoes, and now a new partnership with customization portal Zazzle is bringing similar capabilities to the iconic world of Keds. Keds Studio, which just launched a few weeks ago, lets consumers design their own custom Keds Champions classic canvas sneakers by picking colours and adding graphics, photos and text. Users of the Zazzle-powered application begin by selecting the style they want—slip-on or lace-up, for women or kids—along with the size. They are then prompted to choose from a wide selection of colours and designs for each of several different sections of the shoe, along with trim details including stitching, binding, lining and gore. They can upload their own artwork, graphics and text for instant drag-and-drop addition to their shoe design. Alternatively, an assortment of premade designs from artists including Sarah Singh and Gen Art are also available; each month a new designer or artist will be featured through a series of limited-edition designs. Keds Studio is available on both the Zazzle and Keds (from Stride Rite) sites. Priced between USD 50 and USD 60, the customized shoes are produced within 24 to 48 hours of ordering and will reach consumers within one to two weeks. Shipping is available internationally. Of course, it's one thing to let consumers design their own shoes, but the next logical step in the customer-made trend is to help them sell their creations as well. Sure enough, users of Keds Studio can do just that through the Zazzle marketplace. A simple "Post for Sale" button on the application makes it happen, and Zazzle's "Name Your Royalty" system enables consumers to set the price of their shoe designs above the original price and earn the entire mark-up in profit. Now *that's* really letting customers have it their way! (Related: New sneaker brand relies on crowds for design.) Website: www.keds.com/text/kedsstudio Spotted by: Anita Windisman
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While most affordable air tickets are non-refundable, consumers are entitled to reclaim the tax and (fuel) charges on an air ticket that they didn't use. Authorities charge airlines based on the number of passengers who fly, not the numbers that book tickets. Unfortunately, airlines don't make it easy for consumers to claim the refunds they're lawfully entitled to. The beauty of free enterprise? If something is difficult, a smart entrepreneur will surely jump in to ease the pain. For a fee, of course. And that's exactly what newly-launched Miss Refund does: claim taxes and charges on flights passengers didn't take, in return for a flat rate of EUR 25. Customers fill in their personal and flight details on the company's website, and Miss Refund contacts the airline to claim airport taxes and other refundable surcharges. Since refunds are paid directly to the customer (usually refunded to the credit card that was used when booking), Miss Refund requires an advance deposit of its EUR 25 fee. If the claim is unsuccessful, the deposit is returned. Miss Refund, which is based in the Netherlands, was created by Iwan van Geelen, the founder of an equally useful life hack for travellers: Check Me In, a service that takes care of online check-ins on behalf of airline passengers. Miss Refund received nearly 300 reclaim requests in the few weeks since it launched, and the amounts claimed vary from EUR 80 to EUR 600. The speediest refund was processed by the airline in question in just two days, and others are still in transit. The service reminds us of EUclaim, which claims compensation for flight delays on behalf of stranded travellers. It's all about convenience! One to bring to other countries or industries? (Related: Property tax advocates.) Website: www.missrefund.com Spotted by: RK
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Nearly one in nine employees in London's banking, finance and insurance sector is gay, according to an article in the Telegraph, and such consumers typically enjoy significantly higher salaries than their heterosexual counterparts. Little wonder, then, that one of London's major banks has implemented a new banking service targeted specifically at the city's homosexuals. Just launched this summer, Credit Suisse's new service is provided by advisors at the bank who are themselves openly gay, the Telegraph reported, and includes not just traditional banking offerings but also components tailored to such events as adoption and civil partnership. Stephen Connolly, head of the Credit Suisse service, explains: “Clients with us have no need to explain their lifestyles or—as we know happens in some cases—almost feel the need to justify the way they choose to live their lives.” We've already covered banks for women, and now gay banking—part of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call the Pink Profits trend—is further proof that catering to frequently sidelined segments of the population can be undeniably lucrative. Of course, fine lines separate the notions of "catering to," "segregating" and "discriminating," but given the size of the demographic segment at issue here, navigating those distinctions could be well worth the effort! Website: www.credit-suisse.co.uk Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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The financial services industry isn't exactly known for giving things away for free, but a California-based firm is breaking the mould and offering free stock trading for investors. Zecco is an online financial portal and community through which investors can make 10 free stock trades every month when they maintain an asset balance of just USD 2,500. The cost otherwise is only USD 4.50 per trade, and there is no minimum balance required to open or maintain an account. Further enriching the experience for users, meanwhile, is ZeccoShare, a social network for investors that Zecco launched last fall. Members of ZeccoShare can create profiles, contribute to blogs and forums and join investing groups. They can also share their portfolios (minus the dollar amounts), their trades and their performance for discussion with other members. Portfolio data, holdings and trade information are aggregated across all ZeccoShare member profiles, allowing members to scan listings of most-held and most-traded stocks, create specific groups of like-minded investors (such as “socially responsible investing” or “women on investing”) and more. Making Zecco's free love possible is the fact that the cost of executing a trade has become very small, it says; in addition, it does charge for options trading, and it earns revenue from such other means as premium tools and online ads. Since its launch in late 2006, Zecco has gained over 90,000 trading customers; notable backers include shareholders Morten Lund of LundKenner (an early investor in Skype) and Dutch telecom pioneer Marcel Boekhoorn. Free love has already proven highly effective with students, festival attendees and mobile-phone users, among others. Now it's investors' turn—one to emulate around the globe? Website: www.zecco.com Spotted by: Roel van der Meer & Daniel Ogertschnig
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As energy prices continue to climb, the idea of tapping the power of the sun may seem like a no-brainer. The process of getting solar panels installed, however, is quite the opposite, fraught with spreadsheets, technical details and terms like "albedo." Enter RoofRay, a brand-new California startup that aims to give consumers better information so they can make more informed solar decisions. Currently in beta, RoofRay is a solar array modelling service and community designed to help consumers evaluate solar for their homes or businesses. Using the site's modelling tools, consumers can estimate how much solar energy a home could capture and how that would affect their monthly bills based on past weather conditions, current power bills, the slope of their house, and how much panelling their roof can hold. One tool uses Google Maps to let users calculate the square footage of their roof and build virtual panels; RoofRay then estimates the output potential of the roof as well as financial considerations like costs of installation and upkeep and ROI. Another section shows existing installations that have already been completed by other people, including specifics of the roof used and total peak power. Ultimately, RoofRay hopes to create "RoofRaytings" for buildings and provide them to real-estate search engines as an indicator of the solar potential of homes or businesses for sale. It also plans to create an online marketplace where solar installers and integrators can bid for consumers' business. As RoofRay points out, homes' solar potential could become increasingly important as a factor in real-estate buying decisions. Making it easier for consumers to access that and other solar information will surely be a key step on the way to more widespread adoption of the technology and—the ultimate goal—less reliance on fossil fuels. (Related: Maps for new-energy entrepreneurs.) Website: www.roofray.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Earlier this summer we wrote about San Francisco-based AirBed & Breakfast and its matching service for paid bed-sharing arrangements, and now a similar venture has launched in New York, with plans to expand to Boston and Toronto soon. Roomorama aims to provide a quick and easy way to arrange short-term stays by matching hosts who have space to share with travellers planning a visit to their city. Potential hosts begin by listing the details of the room they have, including when it's available and the per-night price they'd like to be paid. Listing is free, and Roomorama's search filters and "shoutout" system ensure that hosts see only relevant results. Guests, meanwhile, can either search through the listed accommodations or create a shoutout ad specifying what they're hoping to find. Once they find something they like, they pay Roomorama via Paypal for their stay, along with an 8 percent transaction fee. In exchange, they get a payment code to be used upon checkin. Only when they've checked in and approved the accommodations does the guest give that payment code to the host, thereby releasing the transfer of the funds to the host via check or Paypal. User profiles, feedback history and post-stay reviews on the site create a transparent environment for both hosts and guests. Indeed, it's beginning to look like transparency, financial motivation and Paypal-level security might be just what was needed to make bed-sharing a mainstream alternative to expensive hotels. One to partner with in high-rent cities around the world....? (Related: Soccer fans to share beds at Euro 2008.) Website: www.roomorama.com Spotted by: John Tan
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For parents, teaching teens and young adults to spend responsibly involves walking a fine line between empowerment and control. A new prepaid MasterCard from edō Interactive, however, aims to make that process easier. The facecard is a prepaid and reloadable card that can be used by young people 13 and over anywhere MasterCard is accepted. Parents can electronically add allowances or emergency funds to the card and have them available within 15 minutes; cardholders can access them in stores and ATMs worldwide. Because they are debit cards, facecards can only be used for transactions up to their current balance, which users can monitor from anywhere online. There are no activation or monthly maintenance charges for using facecard, but fees are applied for international purchases, using an ATM, inactive accounts and negative balance incidents, among others. A series of videos on YouTube illustrates how facecard can be used. Perhaps even more interesting than its financial workings, however, is that facecard functions as a sort of social network, allowing users to create profiles, set their preferences and find each other online. Facecard holders can use the site to send funds to each other's facecards to repay loans or give gifts, for example. Through a "prewards" program with partner companies, meanwhile, the facecard also lets advertisers reward cardholders for their loyalty in a highly targeted fashion by periodically adding funds to their card for use at particular stores. Users can indicate in their profiles what types of prewards they'd be interested in. Earlier this summer facecard partnered with Tennessee's Bonnaroo music festival to donate USD 10,000 to Stop Global Warming. And as part of the card's nationwide launch, representatives from the Nashville-based company will reportedly be visiting 50 college campuses on Saturday, August 30th—the first Saturday of NCAA football action—with information on financial literacy. Given that the United States alone is home to some 82 million teens and young adults--with annual spending of almost USD 350 billion, edō says—targeting this group (and helping advertisers do the same) makes good sense. One to bring to other parts of the world? Website: www.facecard.com Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen
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Earlier this year we wrote about the use of interactive surface technology in New York's Adour wine bar, and now guests at Sheraton Hotels can use similar technology to access local information. Deployed just last week in Sheraton's Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle hotels, Microsoft's Surface technology provides instant access to local tourist highlights. With a 30-inch display in a tablelike form that several guests can use at once, Surface features an intuitive user interface that works without a traditional mouse or keyboard to let people interact with content and information in a natural and familiar way. Hotel guests can use their hands and gestures to access entertainment and information about local attractions, including CityTips, which provides 360-degree satellite maps and tools to search for local restaurants and bars, entertainment, recreation, shopping, transportation and services; Sounds of Sheraton, a lobby-based digital jukebox enabling guests to create personal music playlists from Sony BMG artists including John Legend, Kenny Chesney and Lauryn Hill; and Sheraton Snapshots, giving guests a way to explore Sheraton hotels and resorts throughout the world by simply browsing the Surface photo library. Placement of the Surface units in Sheraton lobbies is designed to enable guests to leverage and experience the offerings in a social way, Sheraton says. Sheraton is the first hotel to offer Microsoft Surface in its lobby, it says, but it surely won't be the last to feature such technology. Following hard on the heels of the hotel chain's recently cobranded Link @ Sheraton experienced with Microsoft effort to turn deserted hotel lobbies into technology-enabled brand spaces, the new lobby experience promises to keep consumers engaged and coming back for more. So far, just scratching the "surface" on this one ... other hotels, airports, restaurants—what about you? ;-) Website: www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton Spotted by: RK
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