Emotions wheel

Could be useful.

Source: http://images-mediawiki-sites.thefullwiki.org/05/2/1/9/75280492183434310.png

Japanese Arcades Target Seniors

In light of the falling birth rate, Japanese game centers are targeting older people.

http://kotaku.com/5707005/japans-arcade-seniors-come-for-friendship-stay-for-blankets

Campinmygarden.com

A British site that goes beyond AirBnB - rent space for people to camp in your garden!

PeopleTowels

PeopleTowels aim to get you to carry a flannel with you to try your hands instead of using paper towels. Rather falls down when you think about needing to let it dry - they suggest clipping it to your bag.

More: http://www.peopletowels.com

Cleancut Dispenser - use less kitchen towel!

The Cleancut Dispenser takes any brand of kitchen towel and dispenses it automatically in small strips so you use less!

Metromint Waters - with chill factors

Bottles come marked with 'chill factors' varying with strength of mint flavour
(e.g. peppermint = -9 degrees, lemonmint = -4 degrees)

Image: http://www.beveragesdirect.com/zBeverages/metromint-waters.asp

Go Smile - AM and PM toothpaste set

Premium toothpaste with essential oils to wake you in the morning and soothe you at night.

Image source: http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P53001

Sainsbury's Advertising on Milk Cartons

Spotted 13/7/11.

Virtual Tesco on Korean underground platforms

Tesco (known locally as Home Plus) boosted online sales by constructing a virtual store on a train platform. It looks like photos of the aisles in a store, and you shop by scanning QR codes on products.

Update: Ocado are going to be trying a similar 'shopping wall' idea in London.

Sources & more info:

• http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/south-korean-supermarket-chain-opens-virtual-grocery-stores-in-subways/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGaVFRzTTP4&feature=share
• Ocado shopping wall

Yo! Sushi

- Was a sensation when they first brought conveyor belt sushi to the UK in 1997.
- Gave many people their first taste of sushi.
- Made it easier for people to choose food they were often a bit anxious about eating (raw!) by letting them just pick up what looked good.
- Even today how often are you in a restaurant when you see someone else has ordered something that looks better that what you get?

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YO!_Sushi

TripAdvisor

For most people booking a hotel is a pretty anxious experience – it can make or break a holiday. TripAdvisor makes it easier for you to make the right choice.

As at May 2011:
45 million reviews.
50m monthly uniques.

Currently in the process of being spun off by Expedia Inc.

Source:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/about_us.html

Hampton Inn Clock-Radio

Hampton Inn have 1,800 hotels in US, Mexico, Latin America and Europe.

Hilton's Hampton Inn hotels launched their 'Make it Hampton' research project in 2004 aimed at creating a more standout customer experience for their core mid-market business travellers. As a result they came up with many small improvements to the overall experience. They found that some of the key anxieties were:

• Getting shower water all over the bathroom floor.
  
• Not being able to set the alarm clock confidently, and hence not getting a good night's sleep knowing they'd be woken up. In turn this led to more requests for labour-intensive wake-up calls.

In response they sorted out a leak-proof shower curtain with a curved rod, and went in search for an easier to use clock-radio. But they didn't find one, so instead had to invent their own (in partnership with Hotel Technologies). Not only did they create the foolproof alarm, but they also added buttons for different genres of music and news, which are preset to the relevant local stations. The alarm is a 'single day alarm' you can't be woken by the alarm from the previous guest.

In total Make it Hampton resulted in 120 upgrades, including a free hot breakfast (with a to-go option), and free high-speed Internet in every room.

The latest version of the radios have now been rolled out across other Hilton brands. Operationally, the clocks arrive with the time and date set by the manufacturer. Local staff just have to adjust for time zone. Daylight savings time is changed with a simple switch on the back.

These innovations put them in a good position as the recession hit, and corporate started abandoning full-service hotels for mid-level brands. Hampton are now the leader in mid-level hotels (Entrepreneur.com, Jan 2011).

Sources:
http://www.travellady.com/Issues/August05/1800AlarmClock.htm
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/55648817/Innovative-Clock-Radios-for-the-Hotel-Industry
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217712

Lloyds TSB Save the Change account - Nudge in action

Lloyds TSB have an account called Save the Change that rounds up each debit card to the nearest pound and deposits it in a savings account.

Copied from a US account? In any case, nudge economics in actions.

http://www.lloydstsb.com/savings/save_the_change.asp

According to Datamonitor it was a hit (but you have to pay £5k to see the figures):

http://www.datamonitor.com/store/Product/toc.aspx?productId=BFFS0723

460,000 had opened an account according to a Lloyds publication in late 2010:

http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/media/pdfs/Financial_Inclusion_Report.pdf