When we covered UK-based Matter last year, we wondered when we'd see the concept pop up again. Now, from none other than UPS, comes Direct to Door, a like-minded effort to deliver a targeted assortment of offers and samples to select US consumers.

In late September, UPS conducted a week-long pilot-test of its new effort, delivering a small, custom-designed UPS Direct to Door Pak to consumers in select ZIP codes who were already receiving another package via UPS. Each sample box contained about 12 offers and samples from brands including Bed Bath & Beyond, Sephora and Pottery Barn; the targeted test markets were Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The Direct to Door Paks did not bear the addresses of the recipients, according to a report in the New York Times; rather, they carried phrases like, “Inside are premium offers from some of America’s best-known brands.” Banking on the familiarity and trust consumers feel for its delivery people—and making sure the promotional boxes arrived only when another, ordered one was already being delivered—UPS aimed to see how receptive consumers would be to receiving unsolicited materials through the company. Some 250,000 Direct to Door Paks were delivered to "high-opportunity consumers" in about 150 ZIP codes, the NYT reported.

The promotional world—like all others—may be increasingly digital, but that's not to say tangible communications have lost all value. Reach out to targeted consumers through a trusted medium—and with offers of real, hands-on value—and you can still beat out your average page view any day. Who says direct mail is dead? ;-) (Related: More cosmetics tryvertising by mail.)

Website: www.ups.com
Contact: directtodoor@ups.com

Spotted by: Patrick Snyder

How to broaden your customer base if you're an airline? Remedy people who are too afraid to fly. Back in 1997, Virgin Atlantic started offering courses for fearful flyers. The courses—which are GBP 199 for a full-day session—are reputed to have an extremely high rate of success. Aiming to replicate that success for a much larger crowd of anxious travellers, Virgin Atlantic just launched its first iPhone app: Flying Without Fear.

Following a personal introduction by Sir Richard Branson, the application covers much of the same ground as the in-person courses. Videos run through the in-flight experience, and extensive exercises cover topics like wing movement and turbulence. If struck by a wave of intense anxiety, users can click on the 'fear attack button' for a breathing exercise and other tips, along with Virgin's reassuring words "This is natural. We know you're scared. You will be ok."

The app sells for USD 4.99 and was developed in partnership with Mental Workout, which has also created applications that are meant to help people learn mindful awareness and overcome insomnia. As for Virgin Atlantic: besides increasing its pool of potential customers, it's no secret that well-placed sympathy—the kind that's sincere, not cynical—makes for excellent brand-building. The hard part is getting that right ;-)

Website: www.mentalworkout.com/store/flying-without-fear/iphone/
Contact: www.mentalworkout.com/contact

What's better than reading? Having someone read to you. Even better—having the author read to you. When book lovers visit an author's reading, they generally know his or her work. Aiming to introduce readers to authors they aren't yet familiar with, zehnSeiten (German for ten pages) promotes writers through videos that feature them reading ten pages from their latest novel.

Available both online and as an iPhone app, the videos are simple, fixed-camera affairs. No dramatic introductions or filmed scenes, just black and white recordings of authors sitting at a table and reading from their work. By eliminating frills, the focus is on the author and production time and costs are kept to a minimum. Videos range in length from ten to thirty minutes and feature work from a variety of publishers. New recordings are added weekly. zehnSeiten is the brainchild of five friends from Munich—an idea they had over drinks. It's a concept that's easily adaptable to others categories or other countries, at relatively low cost.

Website: www.zehnseiten.de
Contact: info@zehnseiten.de

Spotted by: Franziska Luh

P.S. For those of you who don't speak German, zehnSeiten adds that Tim Parks' and Paul Beatty's videos are in English.

We've written about various ventures that connect businesses with 'crowds' of graphic designers. Most work with contests, meaning that only the winning designer is paid for his or her efforts.

While companies like Crowdspring, CustomAdArt and 99designs (formerly SitePoint) tap into a global pool of pro-amateur or underemployed professional designers, a company in the Netherlands recently launched a local version, focusing on Dutch-speaking clients and designers. Like its international brethren, Brandsupply works with contests that run for 7 or 14 days. Clients outline a project and set the price they're willing to pay, after which designers can submit their suggested solutions.

The downside of a national approach is obvious: a smaller pool of talent to draw on. But for clients who don't feel comfortable communicating in English, or who need designers to be able to understand and incorporate local customs and tastes, local crowdsourcing marketplaces make sense. One to try out in your part of the world?

Website: www.brandsupply.nl
Contact: info@brandsupply.nl

Spotted by: Berend Schmit

Carvertising has been around for years—both the kind focused on rental cars, which we've covered several times, and the kind that lets sellsumers earn a little extra cash wrapping their own cars in ads. Setting its sights on the latter, cashURwheels is an Australian firm that serves as an online marketplace connecting drivers directly with companies interested in vehicle-based ads.

Whereas carvertising agencies ask drivers to register their vehicles in the hopes of eventually being one of the few selected to be part of a large campaign, cashURwheels connects drivers directly with potential advertisers. Drivers begin by creating an online account and then browsing the available opportunities. They can create a profile including photos along with information about their driving habits and commute patterns, and then bid on ad campaigns or request contact with advertisers directly. Auctions for advertisers include a deadline, the number of vehicles required, and a reserve price, if any. Upon winning a bid, drivers and advertisers communicate to work out the details. Ad campaigns are conducted via car wraps—large vinyl ads applied to cars on a temporary basis, similar in many ways to the sticky car art we've covered before—that transform them, temporarily, into four-wheeled promotions. Currently, participation for both drivers and advertisers on cashURwheels is free.

Now serving Australia, cashURwheels aims to expand globally soon. One to emulate or partner with regionally? And since the system will likely appeal to small and medium businesses with small and medium advertising budgets, it can't hurt to throw some crowd-sourced graphic design into the mix ;-)

Website: www.cashurwheels.com
Contact: www.cashurwheels.com/contact_us.php

Spotted by: Cecilia Biemann