Every Friday we share local innovation insights sourced from tw:in, our global trend community. Here’s this week’s Spot of the Week!

To combat the near-unrelenting darkness in February, Swedish pharmacy Apotek Hjärtat turned its sign into a light therapy machine for those suffering from SAD (seasonally affective disorder). Apotek Hjärtat used fluorescent bulbs in its sign, which are used to mimic the brightness, temperature and color of sunlight. Sensors within the sign also respond to motion, and adjusts lighting when people pass by it.

This innovation comes from Johanna Westin, our spotter in Stockholm. Here’s what she had to say from her (currently dark!) corner of the world: “This innovation stood out to me for two reasons. First, this is something that’s been made a part of the environment and repurposes a space that’s normally used for commercial purposes. And even though this pharmacy probably doesn’t see a ton of foot traffic, it also highlights a health issue in the Nordic countries that is rarely talked about. We experience really dark winters – there is barely any sunlight, even during the day – and the lack of light affects us in many different ways, ranging from depression to Vitamin D deficiencies.”

Building on Johanna’s point, this light-therapy sign is a great example of one of our favorite trends, AMBIENT WELLNESS: where brands reach out to time-poor, health-conscious consumers by embedding physical and/or mental health boosters into everyday situations. We also love the irony behind this initiative: in removing all commercial messages from their store window, the pharmacy both grabs consumers’ attention and communicates its understanding of their pain points in a powerful and positive way. What would your marketing look like if you reimagined it as a channel to deliver improved public health outcomes?

tw:in (TrendWatching’s Insight Network) is our private Slack community, where we share and discuss innovations with hundreds of passionate trend enthusiasts around the world. Sound interesting? Join us now!