Anna Huddleston

Brita this month is handing out reusable water bottles and coupons on eight college campuses to drive students to local stores to purchase one of its signature water pitchers. The program kicked off on Aug. 20 and runs through September at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, George Washington University in Washington D.C., Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, Pennsylvania State University, University of Arkansas-Fayetteville, University of California-Berkeley, Washington University in St. Louis and Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

To drive excitement and leads for the North American launch of the 2011 Ford Fiesta, Ford has launched a multi-tiered program of events in four Northeast markets—New England, Philadelphia, the New York/Tri-state area and Washington, D.C. The Fiesta Northeast tour, which launched in June and runs through the end of October, follows on the heels of the Fiesta Movement, the award-winning national campaign that put 100 agents behind the wheel of their own Fiesta for six months and had them document the experience on their social networks.

Intimate apparel brand Hanes on August 5 held an afternoon press event to introduce fashion editors, stylists and influencers to its newest women’s products—a line of comfortable, bras, panties, tanks and T-shirts in bright colors. In keeping with the “comfort” theme, the event took place at trendy Nikki Beach Midtown, in New York City, a spot where sophisticated Manhattanites have been known to kick back and relax. Hanes repeated the event later in the day for a second audience comprised of social media influencers and bloggers.

Online t-shirt retailer Threadless this summer launched its first mobile tour to celebrate the company’s tenth anniversary and introduce itself to its fans face-to-face. The e-retailer’s Threadless Everywhere tour traveled in a customized Airstream trailer branded with Threadless’ logo and a van wrapped in graffiti-style art, and stopped at a series of design shows, festivals and craft fairs across California. The brand also staged a pop-up shop outside Comic-Con in San Diego before closing the first leg of the tour last week.

Restaurant chain Qdoba is serving mini beef and pork tacos out of a vehicle inspired by traditional Mexican taco trucks at various stops in Seattle where street food served from mobile trucks has gained popularity in the last year. Since Cinco de Mayo through mid-July (a fall round is in the works), the truck has stopped at high-traffic areas, including last month’s Seattle Pride Parade. Locations are announced via Facebook and Twitter.