As is true in so many business decisions, companies in need of banner ads typically face the choice between creating their own or hiring a professional to create it for them. Many do-it-yourself sites use templates, however—which can result in a cookie-cutter look—while using professionals can be expensive and time-consuming. Aiming to offer a third alternative, PointBanner promises custom-created banners in just 48 hours for USD 49.

Customers submit a banner request with New York-based PointBanner in three simple steps: they upload their logo, enter their desired text and URL, and then pick a size. Eschewing templates, the company's design team works on each banner individually, guaranteeing a result for USD 49 within 48 hours. Three free revisions are included for each banner, and an assortment of multi-banner packages are also available with per-banner pricing as low as USD 11.

Much like Inkd, which offers a third alternative in the realm of graphic (print) design, PointBanner seems like a natural next step in the evolution of web advertising, making professional quality more accessible to all. One to adapt locally—or, more broadly, find another area where the niche between cookie-cutter and professional approaches is currently unfilled, and offer a middle ground of your own!

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

For the hordes of people camping out at music festivals this summer, recharging their mobile phones no longer has to be an issue. If they have access to an Orange Power Pump, a minute of physical exercise is all it takes to juice up their phone.

Mobile network operator Orange has teamed up with renewable energy experts GotWind, who have created a tiny wind turbine that can be hooked up to a standard airbed footpump, enabling users to pump juice back into their phones. The turbine is no bigger than a pack of wet wipes, and can generate enough energy to power 5 minutes of call time in about 60 seconds of foot pumping.

The Power Pump will make its debut at Glastonbury Festival next week, where Orange will also set up its annual "Chill 'n' Charge" tent, capable of charging up to 600 phones at once. Orange seems to have found its calling in providing alternative sources of energy to phone users at music festivals—last year we featured their wind-powered charging station and dance-charger, both of which were also developed by GotWind. Makes sense, of course—music festivals are prime venues for providing so-called brand butler services. By helping out consumers in relevant ways, brands boost their own appeal.

And good thinking on incorporating a standard piece of camping equipment. Lets just hope the chargers will be re-used for other festivals and camping trips; manufacturing alternative power generators is far from green if they're only used once or twice. ;-)

Website: web.orange.co.uk/p/web_glastonbury/

Members of Hyatt's Gold Passport loyalty program already enjoy numerous benefits when they visit one of the company's hotels. Soon, however, they'll also benefit from a new initiative at the company to deliver random acts of kindness.

Hyatt's mission is to provide what it calls "authentic hospitality," defined—in the words of CEO Mark Hoplamazian—as "making a difference in the lives of the people we touch, including guests, employees and others." As part of a new effort to take better care of its Gold Passport members, the company will soon begin targeting those guests with pleasant surprises designed to delight them during their stay. "We will be empowering hotel employees to perform what we’re calling random acts of generosity," Hoplamazian wrote in a recent blog post. "So, don’t be surprised if Gold Passport picks up your bar tab, comps your massage or treats your family to breakfast. It’s part of bringing authentic hospitality to life and making you feel more than welcome."

Not only does the effort stand a good chance of boosting the authenticity of Hyatt's service delivery, it's also a shining example of the kind of corporate generosity that's increasingly being sought by disillusioned consumers and offered by clued-in brands. (A similar example from our sister site's briefing on Generation G: Wings, a credit card brand owned by one of Turkey's largest banks, partnered with five upscale restaurants in Istanbul to offer a random selection of lucky cardholders a pleasant surprise. After having dinner at one of the restaurants and paying with their Wings card, the customer was notified that Wings would foot the bill.) Time to start spreading some kindness of your own? (Related: Clothing brand asks its wearers to be kind — Online game focuses on real-world kindness.)

Website: goldpassport.hyatt.com
Contact: goldpassport.hyatt.com/gp/en/contact_us.jsp

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Parking garages are notorious for being grim and grey affairs, unadorned by any significant form of decoration. That's due largely to fire code regulations, but a new, patented technology now allows large-scale ads to be created on the walls of such garages, essentially transforming them into immersive, branded environments.

Carspaze has created a new advertising platform for parking-garage walls centered on the ability to digitally print photo-quality images onto specially developed fire retardant materials. Developed three years ago, the process has undergone technical trials and improvements in Germany over the past two years. Now, focusing on garages near retail centers, Carspaze creates branded zones 10 to 20 parking spaces wide bearing advertising on the walls in front of parked cars. Only sustainable materials are used in the production of such advertising, including recycled panels and frames, wheel stops made from crushed rubber tires and lighting units made from recycled fiberglass and plastic. In addition to creating a more cheerful, safer-feeling parking place, the ads have been found both to give consumers a way to remember where they parked their cars and—no doubt as a direct result—to dramatically increase top-of-mind awareness for the brands advertised and boost purchase likelihood. Garage owners, meanwhile, receive revenue for each installation.

We're certainly not advocating the use of advertising on every available patch of public space, but there's no doubt a bright, unified splash of branding can be a welcome improvement over the dimly lit concrete of most garages. Luxembourg-based Carspaze launched in Europe in 2008. In the US, jetBlue is pioneering the concept with installations at two shopping malls (Century City in Los Angeles and Tysons Corner Center in Northern Virginia), and a roll-out in Asia is planned for later this year. Carspaze is actively seeking franchise partners—one to bring to unadorned garage walls near you...?

Website: www.carspaze.com
Contact: carspaze.4elbows.com/contact-us

No-frills chic hotels have been around for years, offering guests a stylish stay without the bills to match. More recently, hotels and restaurants have been experimenting with pay-what-you-want schemes to attract budget conscious customers. And now San Diego's Rancho Bernardo Inn is taking yet another approach, offering travellers a rather novel pricing model dubbed the Survivor Package.

Rancho Bernardo Inn asks cash-strapped guests "How low will you go?", letting them set their price by excluding the amenities they can live without. The hotel's Survivor Package, valid through June 15th and promoted on Twitter by General Manager John Gates (@GMGoneMad), is presented as follows:

Deluxe accommodations with breakfast for two for USD 219 per night.
Or....
• $199 without breakfast
• $179 without honor bar
• $159 without A/C or heat
• $139 without pillows
• $109 without sheets
• $89 without lights
• $59 without linens
• $39 without toiletries
• $19 without bed

No word yet on whether anyone has been willing to pay USD 19 to sleep on the floor, but it definitely makes for an eye-catching price strategy ;-) (Related: Austrian village asks tourists to set their price.)

Website: www.ranchobernardoinn.com
Contact: RanchoBernardoInn@JCResorts.com

Spotted by: Matthew Cua

Air passengers everywhere may soon be getting a literary boost, thanks to a new offer from the Oneworld alliance. As of June 2009, travellers passing through Brussels, Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino airports can download three audiobooks for free.

Oneworld, which includes American Airlines, British Airways, JAL and 7 other airlines, offers the service over wifi at the aforementioned airports. Consumers can download audiobooks to their laptops, smartphones andPDAs—any device that connects to the airports' wifi networks. They can pick from forty titles, covering fiction, business, society and travel; available in English, Dutch, French and Italian. And for customers who always get in a forgetful flap at the airport, an email reminder can be requested for the day before the flight, reminding them of the freebies on offer.

The initiative complements Oneworld’s Travel Stations, which enable users to download travel advice and information onto mobile devices, and its Charging Stations, which give gadgets a bit of extra juice. In an unusually inclusive move, all travellers, whether Oneworld customers or not, are invited to make the most of the perks—as Oneworld hopes to be the alliance of choice for the user’s next journey.

It’s a relatively cost-effective way of treating customers, requiring little infrastructure or installation to get up and running. And a great example of what our sister-site trendwatching.com calls free love, or the art of (relevantly) giving away stuff to build your brand. (Related: Personalized in-flight magazines at Heathrow’s Terminal 1.)

Website: library.oneworld.com
Contact: www.oneworld.com/ow/contact

Spotted by: Raymond Kollau

Letting photography buffs try its latest cameras in undeniably photogenic settings, Canon has paired up with national parks and conservationists for Canon Photography in the Parks. The programme combines a competition with a series of free photography workshops at four national parks.

Sessions are hosted outdoors twice daily by professional photographers, giving participants the opportunity to try a variety of Canon cameras and lenses. There are also indoor evening workshops that focus on technical aspects of the equipment. Sessions will run at Yosemite in June, the Grand Canyon in July and Yellowstone and Acadia in August. The workshops are designed to be useful both to amateurs and more advanced photographers, and the idea is that those participating in the sessions will submit their photographs to the competition.

By letting potential customers try out cameras in the most relevant setting and helping them build their photography skills, Canon combines two of our favourite, enduring consumer trends: tryvertising and status skills.

Website: www.usa.canon.com/parks
Contact: www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=ContactUsAct

If magazines, restaurants and hotels can turn to pay-as-you-want pricing schemes to help them survive the recession, why not an ad agency? Sure enough, Agency Nil offers a variety of freelance branding, media and advertising services without any set price, leaving it instead up to clients to decide how much to pay.

Clients begin by submitting a work request form with Agency Nil. Drawing from its pool of recent grads and between-jobs business and advertising professionals, the agency gets the work done by the deadline requested. It's then up to the client to decide how much the work is worth—the only charges required to be paid are those agreed upon ahead of time for travel, proprietary research tools and production. If a client decides not to pay anything, "it's not likely that we will do work for you in the future," Agency Nil explains; then again, "we've yet to have that happen, ever." Revisions and further work are arranged once a client has valued and agreed to pay for the first assignment.

Some industry professionals may protest that starting with a price of zero is sure to devalue the work ad agencies provide—much the way some designers have balked at efforts to crowdsource graphic design. But Hank Leber, the recent Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter grad who founded Agency Nil, begs to differ: "This isn't about undercutting anyone. It's about supply and demand—honestly, I think this should've happened a long time ago," he explains in the AdFreak blog.

"The system has been terribly lopsided for a while now, and I hope this can be the start of a breaking point in the industry on some level. It won't depress the market—the price will still come up and down, and work will get done just the same. Except now, it won't be based on a set amount of hours to fill or stay under, and work can get done for work's sake. For quality's sake. For the client's sake."

How Leber's model evolves over time remains to be seen. Meanwhile, it may just be what it takes to survive—and help countless out-of-work professionals survive—the current economic mess. One to watch, try out or emulate in your own neck of the woods...?

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

Spotted by: Chris Rollason

Team-licensed caps, T-shirts and watches may be all very well for the average sports fan, but what of the truly ardent supporter? Working on the assumption that there are enthusiasts out there wishing for bigger and better ways to express their passion, Stadium Associates is now giving fans of the New York Yankees a chance to bring nothing less than a piece of the stadium into their own back yard.

Indeed, Yankees fans can now buy grass seed and sod drawn from the very same farm and crops that have supplied Yankee Stadium for the past four decades. The proprietary sports turf—specially grown for the Yankees by DeLea Sod Farms on an 80-acre farm in Southern New Jersey—features the same 100 percent Kentucky Bluegrass used in Yankee Stadium and "grooms easy and stands tough," in the words of Stadium Associates; "you will never feel a stronger connection with the team or the game than with this Authentic MLB product." Yankees Grass Seed is priced starting at USD 14.99 for a 3 oz. bag, and is available both online and through Yankee Stadium, Yankee Clubhouse Stores, and select Home Depot stores in the New York metro area. Yankees Sod is available through New York Home Depot stores as well as DeLea Sod Farms.

Is there any underestimating consumers' enthusiasm for the teams, artists and performers they love? We think not—nor has their fondness for a good status story and some (still) made here appeal faded at all. For sports teams around the globe, this is one to emulate; for all others: look around you, and be inspired!

Website: www.stadiumassociates.com
Contact: www.stadiumassociates.com/Pages/Contact

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Two weeks ago, we covered a smart little business that focuses on doing one thing well, and presenting it in the simplest manner possible: We Shoot Bottles takes pictures of bottles, using straightforward upfront pricing and an easy process. A case of beauty in simplicity: any potential customer will immediately understand what the company does and how it might help them.

Due to overwhelming success, the concept's founders have launched a second offshoot: We Shoot Cans. We won't bother explaining what they do ;-) A third version is in the pipeline. We haven't been told what it will focus on. Boxes...? Jars...?

Since shipping bottles and cans internationally would make the endeavour unnecessarily expensive, opportunities remain for photography studios in other countries. Find a good niche, pick a good name, build a one-page website—with beautifully shot products, of course—and you're off.

Website: www.weshootcans.com
Contact: studio@weshootcans.com