Amaya Toman It's already been a year since the apple company decided to run events with the name in its branded stores Today at Apple. As part of it, the public could participate in interesting educational programs with a broad focus. What was the program's first year like and what will its future look like?
From the ground
Basics of the program Today at Apple laid by the Cupertino company already in September 2015, when it installed a video wall, special seating areas and a Genius Grove instead of the usual Genius Bar in the newly opened retail store in Brussels, Belgium. The design of all newly built Apple stores was in this spirit. Apple announced its new strategy to the public in May 2016, when it announced its goal to introduce the world's most talented artists, photographers, musicians, gamers, developers and entrepreneurs to its customer community to inspire and educate customers.
Today at Apple is not the first educational program organized by the apple company. Its predecessor was events called "Workshops", focused mainly on educating customers on the technical side. The new format represented a merger of Workshops and Youth Programs, and Apple decided to put more emphasis on the community. The first event in the framework Today at Apple they didn't keep us waiting long, and their number grew along with how Apple gradually reconstructed its older stores and adapted them to the new program.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-1GPznHrrM
Apple promoted its new educational program with a series of photos with participating artists and launched a website where interested parties could find out what events were planned and possibly register. The program included Studio Hours events focused on creativity, Kids Hour, where the youngest users learned to create videos and music, coding lessons in Swift or Pro Series, focused on professional software on Mac. Within Today at Apple but those interested could also visit various live performances – for example, the performance of the K-Pop group NCT 127 in Brooklyn was a great success. The song "Cherry Bomb" was even later used in a Twitter ad for the Apple Watch.
What's next?
The fact that Apple is seriously counting on the new educational program for the future is evidenced by the fact that the newly created stores already have spaces for organizing relevant events - one of the most successful examples is the Apple store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. They include large-screen screens and larger or smaller conference rooms. However, Apple does not neglect the renovation and improvement of existing stores. Included Today at Apple gradually became themed educational walks, events for teachers, but also events related to environmental protection or current social issues.
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Events organized as part of the program were visited by over 500 million people worldwide in the first year. Thanks to this, the importance of Apple branded stores has risen again, and the company itself calls its retail stores its "biggest product". In January of this year, Apple began monitoring feedback from people who participated in individual events, but it is still too early to evaluate the data, according to it.
After twelve months of hosting "Today at Apple", it is already clear that the program has a purpose. Apple continues to expand and enrich its scope as its services and products change and increase. "If the next generation is saying 'see you at Apple,' I know we've done a good job," concludes Vice President of Retail Angela Ahrendts.
