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As usual, the TED community has lots of news to share this week. Below, some highlights.

Flip the switch. Sangeeta Bhatia is the senior author on a paper that makes the genome editing power of CRISPR responsive to ultraviolet light. As detailed in academic journal Angewandte Chemie, the researchers developed a system where gene editing occurs only when UV light is shone on the target cells, allowing researchers greater control over when and where the editing occurs. The technique could help scientists study embryonic development and disease progression with more precision, and Bhatia’s lab is exploring possible medical applications as well. (Watch Sangeeta’s TED Talk)

Mind the gap. In 2012, Anne-Marie Slaughter set the Internet on fire with her Atlantic article, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” but after the intense debate around the article died down, Slaughter continued to search for an understanding of what true gender equality means. The result is her book Unfinished Business, released on August 9. The book is not only a more nuanced look at the issues and questions that prompted the article, but also a significant evolution of the ideas she expressed four years ago. (Watch Anne-Marie’s TED Talk)

The political needs of emerging technology. While it seems the stuff of science fiction, Anand Giridharadas tackles a possibility that may well be a monumental challenge in the near future: robots taking jobs. His op-ed in The New York Times centers on the place where the challenge is brewing, Silicon Valley, and explores the disrupting power of emerging technology through the eyes of local legend and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla. In the eyes of Khosla, the displacement caused by robots won’t just require simple adjustments, but a “massive economic redistribution via something like a guaranteed minimum income” and a reinvention of capitalism itself. (Watch Anand’s TED Talk)

Education revolution in Brooklyn. Educator Nadia Lopez has worked tirelessly to right the wrongs of a failing education system and support her students who, as residents of deeply troubled communities in Brooklyn, are too frequently overlooked and left behind. Released on August 30, her book The Bridge to Brilliance chronicles the uphill battle it has taken to create, and run, her pioneering inner-city middle school, Mott Hall Bridges Academy. (Tune into PBS on September 13 to hear Nadia Lopez in TED Talks: Education Revolution.)

A landmark for world peace. In The New York Times, psychologist Steven Pinker and Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos co-author an op-ed on the country’s recent peace treaty, announced August 25, between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The peace agreement, the authors argue, marks not just a monumental step towards ending the decades long conflict that has plagued Colombia, but is a significant landmark for peace in the continent and around the world. “Because we have come this far, we know we can go further. Where wars have ended, other forms of bloodshed, such as gang violence, can also be reduced,” the authors write, “Since the Americas have succeeded in moving away from war, we know this could happen even in the world’s most stubbornly violent regions.” (Watch Steven’s TED Talk)

An accidental discovery. Donald Sadoway is among a team of scientists that stumbled upon a new method of producing some metals. Reported in the journal Nature Communications, the discovery came when the researchers were attempting to develop a new battery. Instead, the researchers realized that they were producing the metal antimony through electrolysis. The researchers believe that they could produce metals such as copper and nickel through the same method, but it’s not just a novel method — it nearly eliminates the greenhouse gas emissions of traditional smelting and has the potential to drastically reduce the cost of metal production. (Watch Donald’s TED Talk)

A challenge to looters. TED Prize winner Sarah Parcak appeared on The Diane Rehm Show on August 24 for a panel discussion on “the big business of looted antiquities.” She explained how terrorist organizations are selling artifacts looted from ancient sites to fund their activities, and talked about GlobalXplorer, the citizen science platform she’s building to democratize archaeology. She also sent an unconventional message to collectors tempted by buying artifacts that could be stolen. “People all around the world want to own a piece of history. My challenge to them is: be a part of making history,” she said. “They say history is written by the winners. I think history should be written by everyone.” (Watch Sarah’s latest update on GlobalXplorer, and sign up to get early access.)

Have a news item to share? Write us at [email protected] and you may see it included in this weekly round-up.

Apple has removed the word “store” from the names of its retail locations.  This suggests Apple may be thinking about itself less as a product company and more as an experience brand.  This video analyzes the significance of this change and gives you a look at the retail customer experience at the new Apple Union Square in San Francisco.

related brand experience briefs:

• H-E-B grocery store
• Target Open House connected home store
• Best Buy

transcript:

All eyes are on Apple this week because it is expected to introduce the iPhone 7 and the Apple Watch 2 at its annual event.  But from a brand standpoint, Apple introduced a bigger change a couple of weeks ago.  It announced it has removed the word “store” from the names of its retail locations.  So for example, Apple’s new flagship store in downtown San Francisco is called simply “Apple Union Square.”  This video analyzes the significance of this change and gives you a look at the brand experience at the new store.

Now you might think I’m making a big deal out of nothing by drawing attention to a mere word change, but it really does seem to signify an important shift in the way Apple thinks about its stores and itself.  Back when the company introduced its new store design, Angela Ahrendts, head of its retail business, explained she wanted the space to feel like a Town Square.  And indeed it does.

The entire glass front of the store is actually two-story high doors that can be opened, removing the separation between store floor and sidewalk.   The products are displayed without signage on big tables or in glass-topped tables themselves, with lots of room between the products and the tables so the place seems as conducive to browsing and people watching as it is to trying out the products and actually buying them.  Some product displays like this one for the Apple Watch are designed like what you’d see at a fashion boutique or a luxury store.  Even accessories are displayed beautifully.

Upstairs the Genius Bar has been replaced by a Genius Grove, a lounge of sorts lined with trees, comfy seating, and workstations — and lots of friendly employees in tasteful blue t-shirts happy to answer questions, provide consultation, and just gape at the store, er, I mean place.  The upstairs also features a 6K video wall and viewing area with funky, movable seating which the company refers to as The Forum.  Apple hosts activities, events, and classes in the location.  And there is a park-like outdoor space where acoustic artists perform and people sip coffee.

Throughout the location, there are lots of huge digital screens and tasteful displays, glass stairways that would satisfy Steve Jobs’ obsession with beautiful, patent-able stair designs, and noticeably absent are cash registers and counters.  Perhaps the ultimate sign that this place is not just a store is that there are bathrooms that people are welcome to use — and of course, they’re beautifully designed as well.

At the opening of the store, Ahrendts said, “We think of [the retail stores] as really our largest product.”  And now by dropping the word “store” from the name of its locations, the company seems to be suggesting that that product is actually an experience.  The store isn’t where you go to buy Apple products, it’s where you experience Apple.  This combined with Apple’s foray into streaming music and its continued evolution of Apple TV and apps, it’s as if Apple is transforming itself.  It’s no longer a product company, or even a technology company, but an experience company.  Its stores — and the Apple brand itself — have become conduits for gathering, connection, and entertainment.

The post brand experience brief: apple union square appeared first on Denise Lee Yohn.

By Alex Parkinson, Associate Director, Society for New Communications Research of The Conference Board, and Kathy Klotz-Guest, Business Story Strategist, Speaker, Author, and CEO, Keeping it Human At the end of September, a new report from the Society for New Communications Research of The Conference Board (SNCR) will look at how corporate communications and marketing […]

A look at how U.S. consumers are changing, and what they expect from the brands they support

The Truth’s new campaign shows teens how Big Tobacco not only harms their bodies, but hurts their paycheck, leaving them with less cash to have fun with friends.

Smoking Leaves Teens #Squadless in Latest Work from truth and 72andSunny
In its latest anti-smoking campaign, which will debut on TV during MTV’s Video Music Awards, truth and 72andSunny return to show teens the unexpected ways smoking impacts their lives now.

Michael Buble has launched his debut fine fragrance for women, ‘By Invitation’ with a high spirited commercial all you Buble fans will love.

December 5, 2013, was one of the most memorable days at TEDWomen — and everywhere else in the world, too. The world lost one of its great leaders, Nelson Mandela, and I will never forget the way we heard the news at the TEDWomen gathering in San Francisco.

A young South African, Boyd Varty, was scheduled to give his TED Talk that day, and as he came backstage to get miked, the news came through on our phones and computers: Mandela had died. I knew that Boyd and his family were close to him. Mandela had visited the Varty family’s game preserve, Londolozi, on one of his first retreats after being released from his long prison term.

I saw the tears well up as Boyd absorbed the sad news. I suggested that we rearrange the schedule so he could take a break and deliver his TED Talk later in the day. But he assured me he was ready to go, and asked if he could mention the news to the audience. Of course, I said yes. Who better than someone who knew him personally to share this tragic news of the passing of the great South African leader admired by the world for leading his country from the violent policies of apartheid through truth and reconciliation trials to the vibrant country that it is today?

Boyd stepped on stage into the red TED circle and, his voice shaking, told the audience the news. I was quite worried that he wouldn’t be able to deliver the TED Talk he had prepared to give, but he did brilliantly. In fact, his talk, which was posted immediately on TED.com, has been viewed more than 1.5 million times since.

Boyd shared childhood memories of Mandela’s visits to Londolozi, connecting the values he observed in Mandela to the values that are the foundation of his own life’s work protecting the natural resources of his homeland. One of South Africa’s greatest resources is its natural environment and the big animals that are endangered by hunting and poaching. Boyd and his family are committed to preserving these great resources so that generations to come can visit Africa and witness the majesty of its animals in the wild.

Boyd spoke about growing up in the Bush and the lessons he learned from tracking the animals there — lessons he recounts in his book, “Restoring Eden,” and lessons he is now applying to some exciting new work. We met recently for coffee at one of my favorite places in the world, Londolozi game preserve in the Sabi Sands — coincidentally on Mandela Day — to talk about the responses to his TEDTalk and to get an update on what’s he up to now.

Boyd says he gets emails and comments every day about his TED Talk, and he noticed a theme emerging: an emotional connection people from all over the world were making with his stories about animals and tracking. So he decided to explore how his skills as a highly trained ranger and wildlife tracker might be applied to life tracking.

In his new “Track Your Life” retreats, he guides small groups of men on a “shared endeavor in the wild” to teach them “the ancient and powerful art of animal tracking.”

With a title that perfectly fits the narrative, the black & white “Skidmarks” spot nods at the aesthetics of old Calvin Klein ads and features a bevy of beautiful people modeling in their skivvies who are beset by one small problem: an unfortunate stain on their underwear. “PACT engaged us to expose the dark side of the fashion industry in a funny way – the only logical place to go was a fart joke,” Denizen Co-Founder Joel Jensen explains. “The idea was based around a problem most of us have encountered at some point in our lives, skidmarks. We came back with a concept for the video that had all of us on the floor laughing. Our reaction was both delight and disgust, but we knew right away that we had to greenlight the idea.”

Shot over the course of a day in Los Angeles by director Kurt Schmidt, “Skidmarks” – complete with poo cannon and all – not only throws a lowbrow jab at a high-end industry but underscores the mission statement and production ideologies of PACT, which works with Fair Trade, Global Organic Textile Standard and others to ensure its supply chain’s integrity.

“We wanted to subvert the tropes of the fashion industry,” Jensen adds. “It’s a flawed industry and as PACT rightly points out, it’s an industry that refuses to look at itself honestly. There is an ugly reality lurking beneath the surface and it’s very easy to be distracted from that when beautiful, titillating imagery comes with the package. We wanted to undermine that very frankly; and to be honest, doing it in an immature way felt like the right way to counter and call out the self-absorbed way the fashion industry talks about itself. We felt that sometimes nuanced critique isn’t as effective as throwing a brick through the window or, perhaps more relevantly, smearing poop on underwear.”

Creative Credits:
Client
Patrick Bernard – Sr. Digital Manager
Brendan Synnott – CEO
Brad Chen – VP of Operations

Ad Agency: Denizen
via: TrustCollective.com

-Sponsored Video-document.write(”);

The new campaign deals with freedom in the context of one’s own home – a place where the DIY enthusiast can really go all out. A place without any external rules or regulations. The claim, “Your project only belongs to you” , is the logical and inevitable conclusion.

“We’ve spent the past few months taking a long, hard look at the ever – increasing constraints on people’s personal freedom,” says Creative Director Guido Heffels. “We’ve looked at social regulations and laws, and also at the last bastion of liberty – one’s own four walls. A topic absolutely relevant to today.”

Working closely with British director Ian Pons Jewell (via Berlin-based film production company Anorak), HEIMAT has produced a visually stunning commercial capturing this topic . The narrative shows its charismatic protagonist hurtling through an extremely wide range of emotional states in the course of his DIY endeavours – from confident arrogance, frenzy, failure and triumph, to seemingly sado-masochistic tendencies . Backing the commercial is a whimsical, eccentric and highly eloquent voice – speaking, shouting and whispering.

The new campaign represents the very essence of HORNBACH and DIY projects,” says Thomas Schnaitmann, HORNBACH Head of Marketing for Germany and International Marketing Communication. “It makes the viewer want to charge in and do things, to create something – and of course to express their own personality. But despite the seriousness of the subject matter , the distinctive HORNBACH humour is never far away.

Creative Credits:
Agency: HEIMAT, Berlin
Production company: Anorak, Berlin
Director: Ian Pons Jewel
-Sponsored Video-document.write(”);