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Launch Parties Land on Your Doorstep; Apple Wants More Members; Designing the Pandemic Employee Experience
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Welcome back. Companies that once held lavish publicity events to promote new products are trying to get some of the same effects from souped-up mailers. Apple made a play to forge stronger long-term relationships with its customers. And everyone from real-estate managers to tech startups is trying to deliver the employee experience of the near future.
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HBO hired RQ to design and ship mailers to cast members, influencers and others to promote the show ‘Perry Mason.’ A total of 130 boxes were sent in June ahead of the show’s launch. PHOTO: JONATHAN LEIBSON
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With big launch parties on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, many event producers are training themselves in the scaled-down craft of building a mailer that can achieve some of the same splash, Katie Deighton reports.
A good gift box, packaged in layers, is expected to lead the recipient through an intuitive unboxing sequence, said Jerry Deeney, chief client officer at event agency Invnt Group.
He and his team had to educate themselves in box-making and design for the mailers delivered before the virtual reveal of the Cadillac Lyriq car in August.
“There are so many decisions you have to make around things like materials, weight, the use of magnets to keep the lid closed, and the way in which the objects are inserted and removed from the box in a way that tells a story,” Mr. Deeney said.
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Recurring Bites of the Apple
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PHOTO: DANIEL ACKER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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Apple introduced a virtual fitness service and bundled subscription options as it sought to deepen its relationships with consumers—and lock in recurring revenue.
The $9.99-a-month Fitness+ service provides virtual workout classes on TVs or iPhones and uses a connection to the company’s watch to help users track and improve their performance. Its Apple One digital-subscription bundles start at $14.95 a month and include Apple Music, TV, Arcade and iCloud storage.
Apple also offered bundled services for households as well as a new plan letting parents use their iPhones to set up smartwatches for children, giving the kids access to incoming phone calls while their parents can track their location.
The Apple One bundle quickly renewed criticism that Apple was unfairly using its power over its platform against competitors, the Journal reports, claims that Apple has pushed back against as they intensified this summer.
Related: Apple’s prices are getting more confusing [WSJ]
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Making Money by Making Offices Safe
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Vending machines in the Bucharest offices of telecom company Ericsson promise UV sanitizing lights and a self-cleaning touchscreen. PHOTO: HORATIU SOVAIALA FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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As some workers gradually return to offices amid the continuing pandemic, designers, engineers and software companies are selling products designed to boost safety and ease worries—well beyond plexiglass dividers and hand sanitizer.
They’re offering apps to guide office traffic, sensors that detect when to call in the cleaners, germ-repelling paint and plant-bedecked partitions, the Journal reports.
Charles Reed Anderson, a Singapore-based consultant on property technology, said products for the pandemic are proliferating, citing temperature-scanning apps as an example. “All startups I keep track of are suddenly stopping what they’re doing and are creating Covid solutions,” he said.
The risk, he added, is that building owners find themselves with even more technology platforms to manage in an already fragmented market.
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PHOTO: CLUVENS/ZUMA PRESS
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A 265-pound motorized chair that’s designed to look like a scorpion is the latest piece of intense gear for gamers. [Input]
Microsoft released software to help developers optimize web pages for dual-screen and foldable devices. [XDA Developers]
Facebook added automatic captioning for Instagram TV. [VentureBeat]
Amazon introduced an invitation-only section of its shopping app called Luxury Stores. [The Verge]
Louis Vuitton created a plastic face shield that darkens in bright sunlight. [NY Post]
Futurists and innovators predict the 10 biggest tech trends to come, from talking bikes to tile TVs. [WSJ]
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