Sportswear retailers and fitness brands in New York are engaging shoppers’ larger lifestyle needs with innovative services and experiences that leverage personalization, convenience and community. Mobile apps and sensored-enabled technologies make the in-store experience more tailored and responsive, enabling shoppers to choose the products that best fit their fitness goals.

In-store community spaces and events provide an inclusive platform for like-minded fans to gather in celebration of their sport, allowing the store to broaden its position from outfitter to holistic lifestyle partner. As detailed in PSFK’s New York Retail Innovation Guide, here’s how six sportswear retailers and fitness brands are assisting shoppers in achieving their health goals by investing in wellness and community-oriented products, events and immersive experiences:

Nike House of Innovation 000 
Nike’s 68,000-square-foot flagship store on Fifth Avenue is fueled by its mobile app and its NikePlus program, offering features like ‘member-only’ hours, instant checkout and free delivery. The app also lets customers take mobile photos of QR codes on mannequins to have items placed in dressing rooms. The store features a Speed Shop where shoppers can quickly purchase popular products, which are informed by purchase data from local shoppers. There is a Sneaker Bar, where shoppers can customize their shoes, and a Sneaker Lab, showcasing the largest collection of Nike footwear worldwide. The top floor houses the Nike Expert Studio, where NikePlus Members can book appointments with in-store experts.

Adidas 
The athletic retailer’s flagship location highlights its sports-centric culture rather than its gear, immersing visitors in “stadium retail concept” featuring an in-store track and bleachers for customers to watch live sports games. Customers can also customize shoes with NYC-only options and use a fitting application, Run Genie, to find the perfect shoe based on their unique running gait.

REI 
Outdoor gear retailer REI extends the experience of its brand through outdoor events such as sunset hikes, adventure skiing, and forest therapy sessions. Tours leave by bus and foster a sense of community within the REI customer base, which also has access to classes and workshops in store.

“Our mission has always been enabling and awakening that lifelong love [of the outdoors]. We aim to really focus intentionally around solving problems for customers and our members of today, in the world we live in today with all the distractions, and dizziness and presence of technology.”
—Ben Steele. EVP, REI

Rapha Clubhouse 
Rapha mixes hospitality, food & beverage and retail. The Italian-themed bicycle gear retailer positions its stores as clubhouses, where cycling enthusiasts can gather and celebrate the sport in an in-store cafe and bar, gallery space and mechanic’s workshop. Offering annual memberships alongside upscale gear and accessories, members can access an ongoing program of weekly bike rides, watch key seasonal races or hang out with other enthusiasts.

NBA Store 
The National Basketball Association redesigned its Times Square retail location to accommodate individuals on the autism spectrum and other sensory disabilities, with specially trained employees and sensory-inclusive spaces.

Roula 
High-end bike rental service Roula’s flagship location serves as a gathering space for cycling enthusiasts, with a café to offer pre-ride fuel and a selection of recovery-focused products to help them post-ride. Roula offers a bike rental service for hotel guests, which includes a fit specialist to make sure that the bike is dialed into riders’ exact specifications, and riders can determine the time and place to have their bikes delivered and picked up. Roula also leads guided rides in NYC and beyond.

Activewear is not the only vertical experimenting with innovative services and experiences in New York. For more about how leaders from all categories in the city are breaking new ground in experiential retail, see PSFK’s New York Retail Innovation Guide, available for download now.

Marriott International is launching a global marketing campaign introducing Bonvoy, the hotel company’s new loyalty program.

Bonvoy replaces Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest.

TV ads will break Sunday during the 91st Oscars, featured within an insulated commercial pod during the ABC broadcast. The media was planned by Marriott One Media, a dedicated unit within Publicis Groupe.

The spots are directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet in conjunction with Marriott Creative and Content Marketing and the agency Observatory Marketing. Two-time Oscar-winner Janusz Kaminski is overseeing the cinematography. 

The vignettes within each spot were filmed at Marriott International properties including The Westin Golf Resort & Spa Playa Conchal, Sheraton Grand Hotel, Dubai and the Courtyard by Marriott Sedona. Each hotel vignette shares the joy of good travel using one word, “Bonvoy,” and the tag line "Rewards Reimagined.”

The campaign also includes digital video, mobile, print, social media, out of home, and cinema, as well as special events and member access to partner experiences around passion points like sports and entertainment.

The campaign will span 22 countries throughout the year and will take advantage of major cultural events to further showcase the new travel program around the world. Besides the U.S., it will run in Asia, Europe, North America and South America. 

Marriott is bolstering its roster of experiential marketing partners by entering into a multiyear agreement with Premier League powerhouse Manchester United Football Club.  Marriott Bonvoy branding will appear prominently on ground-level "digiboards" within Old Trafford stadium and will be visible during globally televised matches. Marriott Bonvoy members can bid points for access to a branded luxury suite within the stadium to enjoy great views of the pitch and be treated to VIP hospitality.

Member experiences which can be won by bidding points on Marriott Bonvoy Moments include access to this year's Oscars, with red-carpet viewing seats to see the stars walk into the awards, tickets to the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 27th annual Academy Awards Viewing Party featuring a performance by The Killers, and an invite to the exclusive after-party hosted by Vanity Fair.

The brand is also planning to offer elevated hospitality at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival taking place this April. Highlights of the activation include a branded member lounge, VIP dinner in the Rose Garden, behind-the-scenes tours and VIP viewing.

Publishers are preparing for the upcoming Oscars:

has released what it is calling its biggest magazine issue ever, dedicated to the Academy Awards, while

has released an augmented reality experience around the costumes of Oscar-nominated movies.

The theme of The Hollywood Reporter’s issue is "The Politics of Oscar," with a cover story on this awards season’s embroilment with political issues, leaving it with no host for Sunday's show.

The Hollywood Reporter’s 2018 Oscars issue was also tagged as its largest ever, at 200 pages, and the year before that, at 188.  (THR's weekly print magazine typically averages between 80 and 110 pages.)

The cover photo features an illustration of the Oscar award, holding a flag, and covered in stickers representing a number of social and political movements: #MeToo, #Resist, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ rainbow, the Mexican and United States flags, Time's Up, March for Our Lives, among others.

Out today, The Hollywood Reporter's annual Oscars issue has 222 pages, and about 130 of those pages are ads.

Brands want to appear in the issue because “it is our most high profile of the year,” THR editorial director Matthew Belloni told Publishers Dailylast year.

Separately, USA Today has launched an augmented-reality experience dedicated to the costumes and designers of Oscar-nominated movies, including “Mary Poppins Returns,” “The Favourite,” “Mary Queen of Scots,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Black Panther” and “BlacKkKlansman.”

The experience is a collaboration between USA Today’s emerging technology team and its Life team.

Outfits from the movies are available to explore in the AR experience, which went live in USA Today’s Android and iOS app Monday.

It gives users a 360-degree look at the costumes, in users' own homes, with mobile AR technology. (Think Pokemon Go-style, where you can see the costumes as if they were in your living room.)

It also includes interview bites from each costume designer, including Sandy Powell (“The Favorite,” “Mary Poppins Returns”) and Ruth E. Carter of “Black Panther.”

“Unlike many other AR experiences, our goal wasn’t to use AR to tell part of the story. Our AR experience is the story,” stated Ray Soto, director of emerging tech at the USA Today Network. “With multiple layers of interactivity between the user and the costume designers, audiences can glean an almost one-on-one experience with the creators of their favorite costumes from these Oscar-nominated films.”

USA Today’s first AR release this year was in January, featuring an experience with Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson and an interview about his professional hockey player career.

Over a dozen emerging technology projects are in the works for 2019 at USA Today Network.

L’Oréal has tapped artificial intelligence to create a digital skin diagnostic for consumers, which  are being launched on the brand’s websites.

The new technology is based on an AI-powered algorithm developed by ModiFace, which L’Oréal acquired last year.

The first application of the deep-learning technology is called Vichy SkinConsult, which provides women with a tailored diagnostic in three steps.

A woman uploads a selfie to the brand’s website and the technology then detects and analyzes different aging signs, such as under-eye wrinkles and dark spots. The system then sends a personalized product routine to address specific skin priorities.

“With the acquisition of ModiFace, we have started a second phase of L’Oréal’s digital transformation, focused on reinventing the beauty experience through technologies such as voice, AR and AI,” stated Lubomira Rochet, chief digital officer of L’Oréal.  “We believe that services will be the new gateways for discovering our brands and products.”

The diagnostic system was trained using 6,000 clinical images from L’Oréal evaluation and knowledge studies, resulting in a new model of more than 4,500 smartphone selfies.