Starbucks Goes Digital

Starbucks customers in the US can now get more than just a 600 calorie Venti White Chocolate Mocha with Whipped cream, blueberry muffin and The New York Times when they step into their local branch. Uniting with Yahoo and their original WI-FI network, the coffee chain have launched their own Digital Network, which means that as customers nuzzle down into the green cozy armchairs, they are now provided with a whole host of free services such as News, iTunes and the Bookish Reading Club.

A link with job sites as well as career blogs and tips are also available. The network will be site specific, and a neighbourhood channel will bring relevant local content via Foursquare, Patch and Zagat. Starbucks's Vice President of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman, discussed Yahoo with Mashable, saying: “They're so strong in the three areas we knew we needed help with -- technology, content and search. They seemed excited by the local and unique nature of the Starbucks Digital Network.”

Not everyone sees this launch as a positive though. Read some of the debates here.

The Pop Up Shop and The Chewing Gum Factory

Although the heading of this blog sounds a little like the title to a modern age marketing fairytale, the above are just two of some of the many unique events soon to be held in London. Events enthusiasts listen carefully!

The first, is a pop-up book making shop created by Blurb, the creative publishing and marketing platform. From the 3-14th of November in the heart of the capital, Blurb will enable anyone to create, publish, share and sell professional quality books ranging from photography and fashion, to blog and fundraising. Blurb customer service professionals will be on hand to demo Blurb bookmaking, and a range of Blurb books will also be on display.

A world away from book making is The Chewing Gum Factory, currently being built by eccentric food architects Bombas & Parr in Whiteleys Shopping Centre. The group specialise in mastering what they call 'spectacular' food experiences through working with cutting edge technology; think Heston Blumenthal meets Salvador Dali if you're stuck for visuals.

Visitors will be invited to choose and combine 200 familar and unusual flavour of gum including Hendricks Gin and Tonic, curry and beer yeast! There's 40,000 possible flavours to tickle the taste buds and the factory is open from midday to 6pm, 25-31 October. Tickets will be availble to purchase on the day Whiteleys Shopping Centre, Bayswater, and are priced at £2.50.

Halloween Hairdos

Stuck for a halloween outfit? Bleach hair salon in Dalston is offering dip-dying, white-outing, and crazy-colouring to the store for a Halloween special. Check out the 'Dalston Chainsaw Massacre' menu including 'Cheryl Troll', 'Lady Carcass' and 'Taylor Monster' and get your nails, done too, all for £50.

Diet Coke Boudoir

Coca Cola have teamed up with cult celebrity jewellery designer Johnny Rocket to launch a Diet Coke Crystal Collection which kicked off in a pop-up workshop in Selfridges last week. The wrokshop, called ‘The Diet Coke Crystal Customisation Boudoir’ was supported by a Facebook campaign, using the brand’s "Love it light" page.

The bottles will be on sale in the Selfridges food hall for £1.50 each. Customers also have the option to pay £5 in the pop-up workshop to create their own bespoke bottles.

Bird-vertising

Bird-vertising took off at The Ryder Cup this year as Betfair recruited a flock of eagles and hawks to fly mini banners of support for Team Europe over the Celtic Manor course.

Stills were then taken of the birds in flight, with messages tied to their ankles, such as ‘get in the hole,’ and ‘watch the birdie.’

It's an interesting approach to say the least, although I can imagine the brewing 'birds v billboards' debate ruffling a few feathers!

Pop Up Parties-The Indesit Party Laundrette

Indesit embraced the latest US trend for pop-up parties in obscure locations through the creation of the Indesit Party Laundrette that ran from the 15th-17th October.

This very unique, very kitch party invited people to 'Get tipsy, get your groove on and get the laundry done' and you could literally chuck in your dirty socks and party on until the cycle was done.

The Indesit Party Launderette was launched via Facebook, and the page has since acquried 2,800 fans. Although this idea is a good one for attracting a trendy East London crowd, who did turn up in their masses, perhaps a more direct approach would have been more impactful for the brand.

Lumacoustics & Natwest

Tim Williams from Lumacoustics (the brains behind the interactive graffiti wall seen recently on Dragon's Den) sent me over this case study, in which they teamed up with M&C Saatchi to create an engaging brand experience.

Natwest, the client, were looking to engage 11-18 year olds and Lumacoustics were asked to provide an innovative way for them to create their own personalised debit cards and apply for a Natwest account. A customised version of the graffiti wall was installed, upon which students could create their own card design. These were printed internally and given as a take-away for each visitor, along with information about opening a Natwest account.

The image was also uploaded in real-time to the NatWest website where the user could order a real debit card with their own design on it.