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"Birthing a new brand sounds simple in theory, but in practice, it requires a delicate balance of content, innovation and buzz. Only industry titans can master the challenging task of crafting an elegant pre-launch, launch and post-launch plan.\nBuilding an eager and loyal following requires a different way of thinking in the age of Facebook and smartphones. New tools mean new possibilities. \n\nThese three new brands, which launched this year and are the finalists for the Mashies' Best New Brand award, harnessed digital platforms to ensure a spectacular kick-off.\nWhile all three brands, listed below, quickly captivated audiences and caught our eyes, there can only be one winner, which will be announced at the Mashies award ceremony on Oct. 10 at New York's Altman Building.\n\nIn addition to the award for Best New Brand, we'll honor winners in categories such as Best Use of Facebook, Best Branded App and Best Real-Time Marketing.\nThe evening promises to be one to remember: Comedian Godfrey (Zoolander, 30 Rock) will host the event, we'll eat a delicious dinner and drinks will flow. If this sounds like a night you'll enjoy \u2014 who wouldn't? \u2014 it isn't too late to buy tickets.\nSponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact sponsorship@mashable.com to learn more.\n1. Baked by Arnold Worldwide\n\nRather than launching a traditional lookbook, Amsterdam-based fashion retailer FreshCotton introduced its spring/summer 2013 line with a cookbook called Baked. The book combines Amsterdam's liberal coffee shop culture with food and fashion. The lookbook-cookbook combo's recipes feature street legal drugs using marijuana and lesser-known hallucinogens, aphrodisiacs and stimulants. \nBaked brought international attention to the Dutch retailer, and sales increased 23%. \n2. Citi Bike by Publicis Kaplan Thaler\n\nYou don't need to be a New Yorker to know that New Yorkers aren't the biggest fans of change. When planning the launch of Citi Bike, Publicis Kaplan Thaler knew it would have to act strategically to get New Yorkers to embrace the city's first bike share.\nTo secure a warm welcome for Citi Bike, Publicis Kaplan Thaler created the Citi Bike Mobile App to help riders find nearby stations, monitor how long they've had their bikes out, get turn-by-turn directions and find bicycle safety tips. In the months since its launch, the app has been downloaded 130,000 times.\n3. Pepsi Next by the Barbarian Group\n\nPepsi Next, a soft drink with 60% less sugar than regular cola, was created for soda lovers who've given up pop due to its high sugar content and don't like the taste of diet drinks. Convincing these lapsed soda drinkers to adopt a new beverage is no easy sell, so the Barbarian Group leveraged web humor to run an \"Internet Taste Test\" with Funny or Die. Two additional campaigns included partnering with TaskRabbit for \"The Extra Hour\" and creating a gaming site called Wheel of Levy.\nThese Internet features drove enormous engagement on social, as Pepsi Next set a PepsiCo record for the fastest growth on its nascent Facebook page. With the help of Twitter, its Super Bowl spot received 900,000 online views within 24 hours of the game.\nMashable Composite, Images: Flickr, HRCMedia"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/10/04/hot-new-brands/>