Last year at the International Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft’s Bill Gates had lunch with influential bloggers, rather than the mainstream media.

Google recently paid $1.65 billion for online video-sharing site YouTube.

Land Rover invited event participants to slather mud all over one of its vehicles, then have their picture taken with the results. Participants could access the photos online, but only after answering key marketing questions.

Blue Ridge HealthCare sent out health club discount cards for members to give out to friends at Christmas time. The campaign brought in 130 new members and $74,000 in revenue.

SwervePoint LLC used a $2,000 mailer to invite convention attendees to its tradeshow booth, netting 300 visitors.

Digital printing technologies allow a high degree of customization. Montage Graphics has a technology called PhotoText that lets clients spell out a recipient’s name in a photo of leaves on a lawn or cookies in a box.