| NEWS 11.02.09 6:35 PM |
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In a Crowded Festival Market, A.F.I. Moves to Offer Free Tickets
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In a congested festival marketplace—and a tough year—the American Film Institute's 23-year-old A.F.I. Fest is offering free tickets to all festival screenings this week. A.F.I. and presenting sponsor Audi made the move this year to supply complimentary tickets to the screenings, including a limited number of seats at the evening shows and galas, including the festival's opening and closing nights.
The idea is known as "See a Film on Us," and as part of the plan, organizers reduced the number of feature films from about 100 to about 60, and short films by half to about 25; all seats are fully committed under the new plan, an attractive arrangement for sponsors.
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American Film Institute, A.F.I. Fest, Audi, American Film Market |
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| NEWS 09.08.09 11:52 AM |
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Fall Preview: What Los Angeles Event Pros Are Working on This Season
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With the unofficial end of summer now behind us (that would be Labor Day), event professionals are looking to the fall—a traditionally busy time—to see how the economic recovery will help the industry rebound from what has so far been a pretty slow year. We asked a group of local planners and vendors what they have in the works for the coming months. Here are some highlights.
"After a relatively quiet consumer event season during the first half of 2009, Hollywood & Highland Center anticipates a busy fall and winter to round out the year. We certainly saw an increase in activity during the summer months with our 'Wine, Jazz & Moonlight' summer concert series, and now the entertainment and consumer marketing events are kicking into high gear for the fall season. The uncertainty that brands, studios, and networks were feeling earlier this year seems to be subsiding as we prepare to host the A.F.I. Film Festival and promotional opportunities and events with Disney, a number of Fox properties, and brands including Nike, L’Oreal, Samsung, Subaru, and Maybelline. The center will welcome at least two free outdoor concerts with high-profile artists during the third week of September to kick off our live music offerings, leading up to an unprecedented Hollywood tree lighting celebration on November 28. [We are excited about] the recent opening of Madame Tussauds Wax Museum next door, weekly premieres at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the El Capitan Theatre, the Hollywood Chamber’s Walk of Fame star ceremonies, a new Hard Rock Café opening in 2010, and at least one other major tenant announcement on the horizon, plus the new resident Cirque du Soleil production [at] the Kodak Theatre."
—S. Dwayne Jones, senior director of strategic alliances and special events, Hollywood & Highland Center
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Going Green, Entertainment Tonight, Emmys, Award Season, What a Pair, Target, Asics, Hollywood Life, Paramount, Audi, Oakley, MTV Video Music Awards, American Association of Museums, California Science Center, Warner Brothers, The Invention of Lying, Sherlock Holmes Movie, Macy's Passport, Disney, Fall Preview 2009 |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.20.09 1:19 PM |
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Audi Ends Five-City Promotional Driving Tour in Car-Centric L.A.
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 | Audi's local tour stop
Photo: Courtesy of Audi Driving Experience |
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Los Angeles: home of gridlock, multi-thousand-dollar customizations, and a community of millions who love their cars—or at least can't escape the need for them. To that end, Audi of America partnered with Sonoma, California-based car marketing agency Emotive to promote the new Audi crossover vehicle, Audi Q5, in L.A., the last stop on a tour targeting consumers that launched in April and also visited Washington, Chicago, New York, and Miami.
“What we typically do is drive around the country, go to race tracks every year, and do more performance-based driving. This year, we decided to bring it closer to the city center,” said the tour’s executive producer, Erin Keating.
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Audi |
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| NEWS 05.01.08 6:21 PM |
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Police-Escorted Audis Blitz L.A. for Iron Man Promo
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 | Audi's Iron Man motorcade
Photo: Kevin Parry/WireImage |
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Audi's new R8, which stars alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in Paramount Pictures' and Marvel Studios' Iron Man, took to city streets yesterday in honor of the premiere. A motorcade of 10 police-escorted R8s blitzed the Los Angeles area, departing from Audi's downtown dealership at 11 a.m. and ending at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel at 3, after proceeding through downtown, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, and Brentwood. (The spectacle of the fleet is not likely to be seen again anytime soon: The car has a two-year waiting list for mere mortals.)
Later last evening, a crowd of celebrities arrived at the movie premiere at Grauman’s Chinese in the R8 cars plus a fleet of black Audi Q7 SUVs and A8L sedans. —Alesandra Dubin
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Audi, Iron Man, Marvel Studios, Paramount |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.01.08 5:15 PM |
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Audi, Hyde Offer Refuge From Super Bowl Storm
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 | The 2008 Audi R8 is the focal point of the event layout.
Photo: BizBash |
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FROM SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. After a 20-year absence from the Super Bowl commercial mania, Audi returns this Sunday with a 60-second spot in the first quarter. To add to the marketing push, the brand took over a nine-acre estate in Paradise Valley's upscale hills, offering celebrities and V.I.P.s a place to lounge Wednesday through Saturday. Dubbed the Audi Forum, the program also mixes lots of mini-parties and cosponsors.
"When deciding how we could leverage our television ad, it came up that the Super Bowl certainly attracts our target audience," said Audi business and East Coast communication director Andrew Lipman. The forum concept is not a new one, as Audi has 10 permanent locations worldwide. "Basically, they are brand-experience centers, not traditional showrooms," Lipman said. "The design is sleek, sophisticated, and on par with what we consider Audi to be."
The venue, a traditional Arizona home (complete with terra-cotta shingles and creamy stone walls), went through a massive redesign and build-out. "The objective was to create an Audi-esque space out of a Southwestern home," said Tony Berger of Relevent in New York, who produced the event.
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Super Bowl, Audi, Marquis Jet, Sony |
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| NEWS 01.30.08 4:11 PM |
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Super Bowl XLII: Who's Going Where
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FROM SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. As New York and New England football fans head west, so are the corporate types planning Super Bowl-inspired events. Trading last year's Miami beach locale for a sprawling desert landscape, many planners are calling Arizona a breath of fresh air, with most everyone agreeing that anything is better than Detroit. Here's a rundown of some of the week's biggest to-dos.
Audi is kicking off the week with an invitation-only hole-in-one charity tournament today, with former NFL players and celebrities lining up to win an Audi R8. The auto brand has taken over a nine-acre estate in Arizona's luxe Paradise Valley neighborhood, which will be home to a series of events, including a Kate Hudson-hosted dinner and a Marquis Jet daytime party. Also on-site at the estate is a satellite hub for Los Angeles club Hyde, which will open at 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Relevent's Tony Berger is producing.
Tomorrow, DirecTV stages its second annual Celebrity Beach Bowl, an event that pairs current and former NFLers with celebrities and models in a semi-competitive, semi-comical flag football game. Matt Leinart, Doug Flutie, Pamela Anderson, and David Spade are among the players, with Fall Out Boy performing afterward. The sand-filled event is taking over a corner of the new SouthBridge Waterfront area, which is also home to the bevy of 944 Media goings-on (including nighttime concerts by 50 Cent, Velvet Revolver, and Wyclef Jean, and a less-than-shocking appearance by Paris Hilton).
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Super Bowl, DirecTV, Maxim, Audi, ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Penthouse, Victoria's Secret |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.02.07 12:00 AM |
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Coachella Swells—On and Off Festival Grounds
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 | | Photo: BizBash |
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At the end of the night of April 29, after a long weekend made more memorable by unseasonably relentless desert heat, the sun set on this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, presented by Los Angeles-based Goldenvoice. This was the first year the music fest ballooned to three days, and the annual takeover of Empire Polo Field offered more arty installations and eco-conscious innovations than ever before, giving 60,000 ticket holders each day an experience far more broad than just a packed lineup of bands on five stages from lunchtime to past midnight.
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Goldenvoice, Coachella, Hugo Boss, Anthem Magazine, DKNY Jeans, Jane, Condé Nast, Audi |
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