The premier steakhouse is swapping out NYSE and NASDAQ stock bonuses for good grub. And it works.

Why?

Smith & Wollensky’s primary target is the fiscally fit carnivore who powers Wall Street.  The chain’s patrons adore their steakhouse friendly expense account and love their bonuses even more. If you pair the two, you’re poised to earn some serious sizzle.

‘Steak for Stock’ has all the accompaniments of a buzz worthy promo:

• It’s absurd yet hilarious
• It’s viral
• The copy is super clever
• It’s founded on digital (if the feedback gets too rough, then you just take it down)
• It’s packaged for PR
• And it offers up a moral: when the going get touch, the tough get creative.

Well done Smith & Wollensky!  No, I don’t mean the steak…

Check out Mars’  Real Chocolate Relief Act, a digital initiative where viral meets consumer awareness.

In a nutshell (no pun intended; I usually opt for chocolate sans nuts), every Friday through October, Mars is giving away real chocolate to 250,000 people.  Getting your free chocolate starts by entering a birth date, (a GREAT demographic analysis tool for the Mars’ marketing team) dumping visitors into a world where “real chocolate” takes center stage. Not only can visitors enter to win free chocolate, they can learn all about “real chocolate” (U.S. Standards require that cocoa butter be the only source of fat, except for milk fat), find out how to spot “fake chocolate,” and bring friends, family and co-workers into the mix via a virtual vote that will ultimately award an entire city with free sweet relief.

In addition, a digital choco-community allows visitors to post to  blogs, share opinions and answer questions like “What Every Day Object Would you Want to Turn to Chocolate” and “How Does Chocolate Give you Relief?”

While this site’s most valuable tool is certainly its data capture mechanism,  stealth-like viral and educational elements combine well to inform consumers about the quality of Mars products.  At the end of the day, the Chocolate Relief Act serves up some pretty smart thiNKing. Plus, it’s a sweet deal for chocolate lovers everywhere.