Hard on the heels of our story about the world's first smile-activated vending machine comes word of a similarly paradigm-busting innovation: a machine that dispenses free spring water drinks to those who can prove their mental prowess.

No mere smile earns a reward from the Smart Vending Machine, which was launched recently by British Britvic's Juicy Drench drink brand. Rather, consumers must play a series of games designed to test their mental agility. Featuring an interactive touch screen, the device is programmed with 40 different games, ranging from clever mathematical tasks to visual “spot the difference” challenges. Each of the games is designed to test alertness, underscoring the Juicy Drench brand's message that “brains perform best when they’re hydrated.” The Smart Vending Machine was installed in London last week at the Westfield shopping centre and Covent Garden Train Station. In September, it's slated to pop up in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol.

It's hard to imagine a better way to engage consumers, encourage trial and underscore a brand's message while also dispensing some always-popular free love. Time to put on your own thinking cap and brainstorm some like-minded ideas! (Related: Vending machine dispenses free samples — Touch-screen machine for interactive vending — Retail chain for brain games targets aging population.)

Website: www.staydrenched.co.uk/game.aspx
Contact: www.staydrenched.co.uk/contactus2.aspx

Just as ad-supported sites like Pandora and Spotify let music lovers listen to and share their favourite music for free, so Spanish 24symbols is gearing up to do something similar for electronic books.

Based in Madrid, 24symbols is a platform that lets anyone with an e-reader enjoy and share digital books using their browser. Users of the site can search for ebooks or browse through the myriad genres, nationalities and publishing houses represented, ranging from classics to new publications, comic books to technical tomes. They can also check to see which books their friends have read. Reading is free as long as the user is internet-connected thanks to the site's advertising support, and users can write reviews or even highlight particular passages in a book before sharing it with a friend. They can also pay to buy a copy of the books they love, either by download or in paper format. With 24symbols' ad-free subscription model, meanwhile, books can be stored in cache for reading even while away from an internet connection. 24symbols will reportedly launch first in Spain, followed by Latin America, France, the UK and Germany, and then the US and Asia after that. Subscription pricing has not yet been announced.

Now that music distribution has settled squarely in the online world, it's only natural that books should be next—particularly amid the tablet craze and as the e-reader market continues to hold its own. Time to bring a little free love to the book-loving masses near you...? (Related: Books for free by podcast — Business books served in bite sizes for e-readers — Music site offers updated playlists in 22 genres — The world's latest music, streamed city by city.)

Website: www.24symbols.com
Contact: info@24symbols.com

Spotted by: Leticia Pérez Prieto

With supply outstripping demand, competition is intense in the hotel industry, so hoteliers are always on the lookout for a distinctive new feature or promotional scheme to attract travellers to their accommodation rather than elsewhere. And it's not always just a case of making the rooms look nice. Here are five examples we spotted recently:

1. PLANET TRAVELER — The Planet Traveler hostel in Toronto will appeal to eco-conscious travellers with its dedication to energy efficiency. The heating and cooling systems are geothermal; solar panels heat water and offset the hostel's electricity needs; and waste hot water goes through a heat recapture system to pre-heat the water used in showers. Dorm rooms are USD 30; private rooms are USD 75.

2. COPENHAGEN TOWERS — Another hotel promoting its green credentials is the Crowne Plaza in Copenhagen. It uses groundwater heating and cooling systems and the building is almost entirely covered with solar panels. The hotel's latest innovation is to plug in to the energy created by its guests: the stationary bikes in the gym will produce electricity for the hotel. Anyone generating 10 watt-hours gets a free meal made from local produce.

3. WELCOME REWARDS — Loyal rewards schemes are common in the hotel business, but each scheme tends to be operated by, and therefore only applicable to, a single chain. Booking website Hotels.com offers an alternative: travellers who book accommodation through their site—be it at a giant chain or an independent B&B—will get a free night's stay for every ten nights they pay for. The freebie can be redeemed at any of the 120,000 participating hotels, subject to certain conditions.

4. STASH HOTEL REWARDS — Stash Hotel Rewards is another rewards scheme, but this time targeting the high-end and boutique hotel market in the US. The system is much the same as many other rewards schemes—earn points for free nights—but all participating hotels are independently run. The aim is to attract frequent travellers who usually stay at chains because of the loyalty schemes, but yearn for something more distinctive.

5. BOLTON HOTEL — Hotels are, of course, also used as venues for conventions and other business events. Aiming to keep attendees focused, the Bolton Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand has devised a "Brainfood" menu that purports to increase mental attention, engagement and concentration levels. The chefs will even help organisers customise a menu to suit the event itinerary.

Spotters: Renee Kung, RP, Ron Levin, St John Craner

Sellsumers can already earn cash in exchange for wrapping their cars in ads via sites like Australian cashURwheels, but recently we came across an example in Singapore that offers a slightly different twist. Through a new carvertising campaign from local shopping magazine Chic and Chevron's Caltex gas brand, Singapore drivers can earn SGD 50 worth of gas.

Consumers begin by registering their car with the GottaGetGas site, including license plate, model, colour and type of gas used. If selected, they're then invited to get an advertiser-provided decal affixed to their car at the nearest Caltex station. In exchange, they're rewarded with a SGD 50 GottaGetGas card, which can be used to buy gas at any Singapore Caltex station.

Consumers are clearly motivated by cash, but a brand-sponsored reward like gas could be just as compelling while providing benefits for yet another partner in the equation. For the magazine, meanwhile, it's a nice way to connect with readers while expanding advertisers' options. A model to emulate on the roads near you...?

Website: www.gottagetgas.com
Contact: mailus@chicreaders.com

Spotted by: Donna Tang

It seems fair to say that laundry is one of the great levelers in this life, which might explain why we've seen pop-up laundry services on so many occasions already. There are the brand butlers that offer laundry service at festivals, and there's the Method truck to facilitate the donation of clean clothes, but it wasn't until recently that we noticed Tide's Loads of Hope program.

Inspired by the Hurricane Katrina disaster five years ago, Tide Loads of Hope is a mobile laundry service that provides clean clothes to families affected by disaster. Through a partnership with Feeding America and Frigidaire, the program has since washed more than 36,000 loads of laundry for some 27,000 families in many other disaster-struck communities as well, including those affected by the recent floods in Middle Tennessee and Pike County, Ky. One truck and a fleet of vans house 32 energy-efficient Frigidaire washers and dryers capable of cleaning more than 300 loads of laundry every day—staffers do it all for free, including folding the clothes afterward.

Procter & Gamble's Tide detergent brand also runs a program through which it will donate USD 1 for every bottle of “Yellow Cap Tide” consumers purchase and register online. All profits from sales of its USD 20 Tide Vintage T-shirt, meanwhile, go toward helping disaster victims as well. How is *your* brand demonstrating its generosity for all the Generation G masses to see...? (Related: Donated site matches fire victims with extra beds — Donated site helps families keep their homes — Billboard-mounted dinghy makes a splash in monsoon floods.)

Website: www.tideloadsofhope.com
Contact: www.tide.com/en-US/talk-to-tide.jspx

Spotted by: Jim Stewart