ClassPass announced today that members can soon book mini-vacations and “experiential events” on its wildly popular platform. Called “Getaways,” the new feature relies on ClassPass credits to book day-long wellness experiences that will range from workouts to self-care services, in collaboration with boutique gyms and well-known spas.

Wellness travel, defined as vacationing while enhancing or maintaining one’s physical, mental, or spiritual well-being, is now a $563 billion global industry. The Global Wellness Institute reports that while overall tourism is growing at 6.9%, the wellness tourism sector grew 14% in the last two years and is now one of the fastest-growing tourism markets.

“There is no end to work. You’re constantly stressed,” Beth McGroarty, research director at the Global Wellness Institute, previously told Fast Company. “It’s pushing people to want vacations that are restorative and actually make them feel better. They desperately need it.”

While female travelers increasingly use their time off to reignite their health pursuits, many millennials seem to prefer the fitness retreat model. In a survey of nearly 5,000 Well+Good readers: 40% of respondents reported they’d rather go on a fitness retreat with their favorite instructor than attend a five-star resort like the esteemed Miraval in Arizona. (The findings were on par with a recent study conducted by SpaFinder).

The first ClassPass Getaway location will be revealed on August 29, with members able to book the vacation seven days prior to the event. The latest feature comes just weeks after the company announced it raised $85 million in series D financing, totaling $255 million raised.

“At ClassPass we aim to provide stepping stones toward an active and inspired lifestyle, and ClassPass Getaways will do just that,” said ClassPass founder Payal Kadakia in a statement. “We’re thrilled to give members the opportunity to take a mini-escape from their day-to-day to try new things and explore unfamiliar places. It’s our hope that attendees will leave feeling energized and empowered to continue living life to their absolute fullest.”

Why it’s hot: This is a step in the right direction for Classpass, but I wonder if this is the right approach for the typical Classpass user/demographic vs. the Soul Cycle and Rumble Boxing crowd — will they be willing to splurge on retreats vs. saving on spin classes? Time will tell!

Source: Fast Company

Researchers at Moorfields Eye Hospital have teamed with UCL, a subsidiary of Google’s DeepMind, to show off an AI system capable of identifying more than 50 eye diseases with incredible accuracy and then refer patients to a specialist.

The system uses deep learning to create algorithm-driven software that can identify common patterns in data culled from dozens of common eye diseases from 3D scans. The AI can even explain why a diagnosis was made.

A study published in Nature Medicine says the AI system made the right referral recommendation in more than 94 percent of cases based on a review of historic patient scans. It performed as good, or better than, top eye specialists who examined the same scan.

“Doctors and patients don’t want just a black box answer, they want to know why,” Ramesh Raskar, an associate professor at MIT, told Stat. “There is a standard of care, and if the AI technique doesn’t follow that standard of care, people are going to be uncomfortable with it.”

Why its hot

Would people be as comfortable going to an AI for medical diagnosis as they are with human doctors? Many people don’t see doctors because they’re uncomfortable, but perhaps they’d be more willing to get a diagnosis from an AI that they can then take as a referral to a specialist. Systems like this that give people more access to personal health information can only help increase access to healthcare, especially in countries where a lack of specialists is an issue.

Rising rents for brick-and-mortar locations and competition from online retailers have left many storefronts in New York City unoccupied for months at a time. One digital startup is looking to take advantage of that real estate for advertising.

Burrow – think Casper for couches – will advertise in five storefronts in New York City this month, promoting its modular sofas that are supposedly easy to assemble and are delivered in compact boxes to cut down on shipping time and costs.

Burrow, which worked with branding firm Red Antler on the concept, has set up an animatronic fortune teller, so-called the Lord of Leisure, in these store windows. The Zoltar-like figure sits reclined on a Burrow sofa and tells passersby their fortune through text messaging. The fortune teller will respond to the text with a fortune tied to leisure and relaxation, a core message of Burrow. Those who participate are eligible to win a free Burrow couch.

Why It’s Hot 

As foot traffic to stores decline, real estate developers will need to think of new applications for these spaces. Digitally native startups have an appetite for this, and are finding innovative ways to use OOH advertising – especially to make a big splash in a new market.

Source: http://adage.com/article/advertising/vacant-nyc-storefronts-prime-ad-space-digital-startup/314487/

Kellogg’s Rice Krispie Treats has partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to create packaging that encourages parents to create loving notes for their visually impaired children.

The campaign, called Love Notes, originally started in 2017 when Kellogg’s put a blank white space in the shape of a heart on its packets. The space was for parents to write notes to their children.

To make this activation idea inclusive for visually impaired children, Love Notes has now added heart-shaped stickers with braille messages.

The idea came after research from Kapable, (Kellogg’s resource group for those with disabilities) showed that in the United States, 62,000 school children identify as blind or visually impaired.

Why it’s Hot

Showing inclusive values can be a boon for brands. According to Cone Communications, 87% of American consumers surveyed said they would purchase a product based on its values.

Amazon is putting itself in the running to acquire Landmark Theatres, which claims to be the United States’ largest chain of movie theaters focused on art house movies.

With its expansion into the brick-and-mortar grocery business and bookstores, it’s another interesting move. The company hasn’t made any public comments about the possible sale, so it isn’t clear what their strategy would be in leveraging the theaters. That said, there’s speculation that it could be added as another of the many benefits for their Prime membership program.

With MoviePass reeling, there’s a lot of opportunity to innovate the traditional movie theater space, and it seems Amazon is getting primed to do it.

Why it’s hot:

Amazon already has one of the biggest digital subscription businesses in the world, with more than 100 million Prime members, as of April 2018. Tacking a subscription to cinemas on to that, which either made going free or discounted, is a no-brainer.

The New York Times continued its digital growth in the second quarter of 2018, adding 109,000 digital-only subscribers. With that rise came an increase in revenue that counteracted a decline in print advertising.

The company said on Wednesday that revenue from digital subscriptions rose to $99 million in the second quarter, a jump of nearly 20 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Over all for the second quarter, total revenue increased 2 percent, to $415 million, and the company reported a profit of almost $24 million.

The Times now has 2.9 million digital-only subscribers, out of 3.8 million total.

“Subscription revenues accounted for nearly two-thirds of the company’s revenues, a trend we expect to continue,” Mark Thompson, the company’s chief executive, said in a news release. “We continue to believe that there is significant runway to expand that base substantially.”

More here.

Why it’s HOT:

As a “newspaper” media company, the New York Times now has significantly more digital-only subscribers than print subscribers. 76% of its subscribers are digital-only.

Also, subscription revenues are now two-thirds of the company’s revenues which means the company doesn’t rely on advertising for revenues as much as it did in the decades past.

Today, about 70% of all US offices are “open concept” meaning no cubicles, no partitions, no private offices. This type of work environment is meant to encourage interaction, collaboration, and equality. But a recent study by Harvard Business School found that face-to-face interaction actually decreased by 72% in open offices, and workers become far less productive. Other results of open-concept offices:

• An average 15% decline in productivity
• A 50% increase in the likelihood of getting sick
• An increase in the number of distractions per hour
• 60% of employees who work in open floor plan spaces report being dissatisfied with them.

A startup called ROOM is joining the ant-open-office movement by creating easy to assemble rooms within your open concept office. The ROOM One is a $3.5k soundproof booth, scientifically constructed with power outlets and ventilation. Other companies like Wall Box, TalkBox and Zenbooth have announced their similar products. ROOM has already locked in close to 200 clients, including Salesforce, Nike, NASA, and JP Morgan, and a $10m revenue run rate.

Why It’s Hot:

The concept could actually save businesses a ton of money on lost productivity, and be flexible enough for fast-growing companies. BUT open office spaces are reportedly cheaper than traditional office spaces which is partly why they’ve been implemented in the first place. So who is going to pay for your $4,000 phone booth?

MinuteClinic, the company’s retail medical clinic, will now allow patients to use telehealth for minor illnesses (such as coughs or colds), injuries, skin conditions, and “other wellness needs,” reads a press release. The service is a collaboration between CVS and Teladoc, which specializes in virtual care technology.

The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, via the CVS mobile app. Patients ages two years and up are eligible to dial in and be matched with a board-certified Teladoc health care provider licensed in their state. Each video session costs $59 and requires a patient to fill out a health questionnaire that includes their medical history.

MinuteClinic Video Visit is currently available in nine states–Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Virginia–and in Washington, D.C., with nationwide expansion expected by the end of the year. It is not currently covered by insurance, but CVS says it will be added in the coming months. During initial testing of MinuteClinic, CVS found that 95 percent of telehealth patients were highly satisfied with their quality of care, with most appreciating the convenience of checking in from the comfort of their homes.

Physicians and nurses are steadily adopting telehealth, which has been popularized by younger consumers looking for efficient, cost-effective solutions. For patients in remote areas or for people suffering from chronic ailments or issues that prevent them from moving easily–such as arthritis–telehealth can be a crucial option.

Why it’s hot: This is a smart move for CVS to get somewhat ahead of the trend and planning to adopt nationwide. “According to a recent medical survey by Kantar Media, 2 out of 5 physicians participate in telemedicine or plan to within the next year. For those who don’t, 80% feel that a percentage of their patients could be successfully diagnosed or treated via telemedicine.”

Source: FastCo

Ubisoft Entertainment SA, a French video game maker, has created an educational add-on to the latest installment of the Assassin’s Creed video game franchise.

It is called Assassin’s Creed: Origins Discovery Tour and it allows users to freely explore the reproduction of ancient Egypt without actually taking part in standard gameplay. Purely educational, this add-on acts as a virtual museum and features 75 guided tours of historical sites voiced by real historians and Egyptologists on subjects such as mummification, the writing of hieroglyphs, the daily life of Egyptians and the ancient city of Alexandria.

This add-on is aimed for the educational market and was even used as a learning tool for high school students.

Why it’s hot

Apparently, there was 44% improvement of the high school student’s knowledge of the historical topic. Reading, talking and watching video presentations is incredibly enriching when a student can tour and interact with the world they’re learning about.

Craving free food? If you bought a Big Mac early enough on Thursday, chances are you’ll be able to get a free Big Mac.

McDonald’s is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Big Mac with the creation of a new currency — the “MacCoin.” The MacCoin will come in five versions, one for each decade the burger has been around. More than six million of these coins will be distributed amongst 14,000 locations around the US and many more abroad. The MacCoin can be exchanged for a Big Mac until the end of 2018.

https://twitter.com/McDonalds/status/1023674450838007808

Why it’s hot:

There’s a huge craze around bitcoin, which many still visualize as a physical coin. McDonald’s is trying to ride this craze, and I’m sure it’ll help their business.

Source: http://time.com/money/5353850/mcdonalds-maccoin-free-big-macs/

Starting August 1st, Snapchat has launched different lenses that animate when users speak simple words such as “love,” “yes,” “no,” wow.” Previously, lenses only worked with facial motions detected such as rising eyebrows or opening your mouth.

When these simple words are spoken it adds AR elements to the screen and is able to draw user engagement.

Why It’s Hot: This new technology in Snapchat, will allow users to be more engaged and be open to advertisers further down the road, similar to how lenses are currently used. This has the potential for users to use buzzwords related to a particular company, but ultimately proves to get user engagement with a brand.

Nike is using hyperlocal data to determine what products it stocks in its new west LA shop, Nike by Melrose.

Nike is using its digital commerce data with a machine learning algorithm to display local buying patterns. For example, Nike knows that its LA customers buy a lot of its Cortez trainers, so it’ll stock more of that shoe in more colors and display it prominently. It gets even better when customers use the Nike retail app to scan the QR code on any product in the store to find out more information about it.

During the research process, LA-based customers told Nike: ‘We want it fast.’ So, they created a time-saving feature called SwooshText, which allows customers to buy whatever they want via SMS, then have it delivered to your car when you arrive at the store.

Why it’s hot

This shop launch is part of Nike’s new city-focused business strategy. Last year, the brand announced that it would be ‘moving even closer to the consumers through key cities’ and, in doing so, start ‘deepening one-to-one connections’.

To get kids off their screens and playing outside again, the Unilever-owned laundry-detergent brand, Omo, also known as Persil in some markets, created a children’s book, which kids can only read when its pages are smeared with dirt. It is part of Omo’s ongoing ‘Dirt is Good’ campaign.

The dirt-activated book, called The Tale of Spots and Stripes, is the result of a collaboration between Ogilvy South Africa in Cape Town, Karabo Poppy, the tales artist, and Colourtone Aries, the printing specialists that created the ink formula. The ink formula does not fill the blank book with beautiful illustrations until it is touched by dirty hands.

‘The book was also designed to exercise a child’s key development skills, including tactile and fine motor skills, visual perception, language development and education.’

Since being launched in a number of schools nationwide, the project has received the support of Educanda, South Africa’s leading supplier of child development tools and school learning equipment and the Centre for Early Childhood Development. Omo is currently talking to the country’s Department of Education in hopes that South Africa’s government makes the book part of the curriculum.

Why it’s hot: 

Today, children are surrounded by and glued to their screens and monitoring this screen time has become a modern-day issue for parents. The impact of an unhealthy amount of exposure to digital products and services has become a growing concern as it can lead to emotional, health and social problems. This is why The Book of Dirt is so great – it entices children outside, demonstrating that dirt is good and time away from the screen is beneficial.

Source: https://www.contagious.io/articles/playing-field

Source: http://info.trendwatching.com/wechat-rolls-out-divorce-feature

Book an appointment with your local divorce registration office with the click of one button. Chinese messaging platform WeChat launched a new service that allows couples to file for divorce straight from the app. Only available to users in the Guangdong province for now, the feature is planned for a nationwide roll out.

Why it’s hot:

Messaging apps have become end-to-end lifestyle ecosystems and with 1.8 Billion messenger app users demanding new products and services, they offer immense opportunities for brands.

Winning trend-driven innovators understand – and then stay laser-focused on – the needs and wants of their customers. And then use those needs and wants to guide to which platforms, devices and technologies to innovate around.  – Trend Watching