SoCal consumers slow down with new beverages

Southern California has become the bestselling market for Mary Jane's Relaxing Soda, a sugary drink laced with kava, a South Pacific root purported to have sedative properties.

Matt Moody, a Denver nutritional supplement developer who created the beverage, said the name is an unabashed reference to weed, though the relaxant compounds in kava are chemically unrelated to those in marijuana.

Along with drinks like Slow Cow and Ex Chill, Mary Jane's is part of a new group of so-called slow-down or anti-energy drinks, which are expected to be among the top food trends of 2010, according to advertising agency J. Walter Thompson.

They rely on folk-medicine sedatives, including kava, camomile and valerian, to provide an alternative to caffeine-laced and jitter-inducing energy drinks such as Red Bull.

The drinks purportedly promote calming, and they also take on the energy-drink category directly by claiming also to boost mental focus and concentration, said Ann Mack, director of trend-spotting at the ad agency.

Said Travis Arnesen, spokesman for Ex Drinks of Henderson, Nev.: "It is a new category, kind of like energy drinks, but designed to relax people. Just recently it has been picking up steam."

Social packaging

WineIDs: Countless varietals and vineyards can sometimes make finding - and remembering - a wine you like a confusing task. Thankfully, Dutch startup 94Wines has simplified the process, assigning each wine a unique color and number, known as WineIDs, rather than a name. The company created a short quiz that helps drinkers identify their respective personal WineIDs, which then directs them to the wines that meet their preferences. And in a high tech social twist, consumers are also able to attach personal digital content (could be a web page, video, e-card, whatever) to any bottle; they need only upload the content when they place an order, and the information is converted to a QR code that is then attached to the label.

Yelp Monocle

Yelp Monocle: While it features many businesses beyond the food and beverages, Yelp has - for many Gens X'ers and Y's, at least - become the go-to site for consumer reviews on everything from the best veggie dumpling houses to the most authentic purveyors of Korean fried chicken. One of the first augmented reality (AR) apps for US consumers, Yelp's Monocle app takes advantage of the iPhone 3GS GPS and compass capabilities. Users simply shake their phones three times to unlock the "Monocle view," which offers an onscreen list of surrounding businesses and their ratings pulled from Yelp's directory. A superimposed arrow points users in the direction of each business. Next time, when you're around the corner from the secret king of all falafel houses, you'll know.

Stella app

Stella Artois Le Bar Guide : Stella Artois has partnered with AR startup acrossair to create a free AR app for iPhone 3GS users that allows Stella fans craving a freshly tapped pour to get their drink on. As seen in this video, the Stella Artois Le Bar Guide layers the closest Stella-carrying bars onto an iPhone camera view. When users click on a location, the bar's information shows up, along with a map of the area. In addition, users can rate each location, leave comments or reviews for others to see, and, for those nights when getting behind the wheel is unthinkable, even call cabs using the app.

Life in the slow lane

THE SLOW MOVEMENT IS EXPANDING ITS INFLUENCE TO NEW HORIZONS

Slow Parties: Meeting for beers and then pounding Red Bull at the local bodega to resist the temptation of returning to bed isn't always worth it. And so it is with open arms and a huge sigh of relief that many are welcoming the slow party movement. Dinner parties are being held with greater frequency, and guests are now being invited over in the afternoon to take part in the meal preparation, thus extending the social gathering into a full-day affair. No longer justquick spaghetti banquets, the new chic dinner party is paying great attention to detail. So whether that means dressing up, cooking three or four courses, or lingering longer with snifters of brandy, the party is prolonged. And with so many anti-energy drinks coming to market , we have a feeling it won't be long before the latest chill pill is found in a cocktail: Drank Martini, anyone?

X marks the spot

BRANDS ARE TAPPING INTO CONSUMERS' THIRST FOR EXPERIENCES WITH SCAVENGER HUNTS THAT BRIDGE THE DIGITAL AND REAL WORLDS

Scavenger hunts have a way of letting loose the inner ten-year-old in all of us. Marketers have taken note of how much we love to decipher mysteries in pursuit of prizes and are creating branded scavenger hunts where we can really let loose:

Levi's Go Forth : Levi's is inviting denim-lovers across the continent to dig into the brand's (fictional) history and come out with some real treasure. Those interested in going for the gold - in this case, a $100,000 prize, as well as a matched charitable donation - can enter this digital scavenger hunt that not only lives online, but also leads participants on real world adventures during their hot pursuit of the grand prize. Cyber puzzles provide clues to those clever enough to solve them.

Samsung Photo Scavenger Hunt : These days it's almost as if things don't really exist until someone has snapped a photo of it and uploaded it online. Samsung is embracing our shutter-happy culture with a photo scavenger hunt. All participants have to do to win the booty (aka a Samsung DualView) is submit three of the five items on the Hunt list, which runs the gamut from 'an item that means happiness to you' to 'your favorite brunch spot.'

Red Bull Stash : Have you ever been walking around town thinking you could use a quick jolt of energy, inspiration, or even wings? If the answer is yes, then you can thank the good folks of Red Bull, because the caffeine purveyors have hidden entire cases of Red Bull Energy Shots around the country for the sleep-deprived. To find them, you simply enter your zipcode to receive geo-targeted clues that lead you to the nearest stash. Hunters should be prepared to get their hands dirty though, as free doesn't come without a price. In this case, the need to dig around in air vents, trees and gardens to find the loot. But hey, it beats waiting in line at a convenience store.

Get a job, take a trip

Madison Avenue is making like an employment agency, offering fanciful jobs as prizes in sweepstakes, contests and other promotions.

We were looking for what would have an impact, what would stay with people,” said Danielle Courtenay, chief marketing officer for the Orlando and Orange County Visitors and Convention Bureau, in Florida. The bureau sponsored a contest to hire a pair of “smile ambassadors” whose jobs would be to visit tourist attractions and write about their experiences.

The contest, part of a tourism campaign carrying the theme “Orlando makes me smile,” offered jobs that would last 67 days. (The idea is it would take the winners that long to see more than 100 local sights, from museums to theme parks to alligator wrestling.) The pay: $25,000 for the pair to cover expenses back home, a condominium in downtown Orlando, a rental car, cameras and cellphones. The winners, a pair of 25-year-old friends from New York, started work this week, blogging at 67daysofsmiles.com and tweeting on Twitter.com/67Days; their reports can also be found on Facebook (facebook.com/visitorlando).

Perhaps the best known was a recent contest sponsored by the organization Tourism Queensland offering the “best job in the world”: a six-month gig to be a caretaker on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef in the Queensland state of Australia and chronicle the experience. The winner of that contest, which drew more than 34,000 entries, was a Briton, Ben Southall, who went to work on July 1, filing reports on Twitter (twitter.com/Bensouthall) and a blog (islandreefjob.com).

Another travel marketer offering jobs is the Republic of Taiwan Tourism Bureau, with a contest called the Best Trip in the World (taiwanbesttrip.net). The offer: “Come up with the best Taiwan tour itinerary, take the tour, write about it online” and win a million Taiwan dollars (about $30,000) for a one-month trip around the island.