| NEWS 08.03.09 2:57 PM |
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Women's Tennis Championships Kick Off—After Provocative Ad Blitz
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 | An AEG women's tennis teaser
Photo: Courtesy of AEG |
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The Los Angeles Women's Tennis Championships, presented by Herbalife, kicks off today and runs through August 9 at the Home Depot Center—and many L.A. residents knew they were coming. Weeks ahead of the event, marketers of the event blitzed the city with a campaign of billboards and bus signs with messages like "Do you grunt?" or "Come grunt with us," evoking the sound made by tennis players as they swing. The ads directed people to a Web site promoting the event.
As part of opening day, the World Grunting Championships, also held at the Home Depot Center, will allow participants to attempt their best grunts, which will be judged on creativity, volume, length, and expression. Other events throughout the championship's seven-day run include a career fair, fan giveaways, and a fireworks celebration.
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RELATED TOPICS
Los Angeles Women's Tennis Championships, Herbalife, AEG |
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| NEWS 11.17.08 8:00 AM |
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What to Expect at This Year's Corporate Holiday Parties
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As we close in on holiday party season, a pertinent question on many an employee mind is what the company holiday party will be like—provided there actually is one. In the past month, many businesses have announced massive layoffs, and several, like Viacom, CitiGroup, and American Express Publishing, have canceled their seasonal festivities. But others, such as Yahoo and NewsCorp, are still planning end-of-the-year celebrations.
For those companies going on with holiday parties, event industry vendors note that almost all hosts are scaling back on costs, as well as the number of guests, the amount of food, and the decorations. “In light of recent events, specifically what happened with AIG spending $400,000 on a junket, companies seem leery of indulging in anything not absolutely necessary right now,” says John Ierardi, owner of event production and design firm Event Energizers in New York.
But it’s not all potluck dinners and recycled bar mitzvah decor. Hospitality veterans like Walter Rauscher, the vice president of corporate sales and catering for Ark Restaurants, are still optimistic—although wary—about the current climate in the industry. “9/11 was worse for us for sure. I’m concerned, but positive,” says Rauscher, who has been working in restaurants and hotels in New York since the 1970s. “Frugality will be the new black,” he jokes.
So exactly how are companies handling the parties this year? Here are seven observations based on conversations with planners and suppliers across the industry.
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Corporate Holiday Parties, Herbalife |
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| NEWS 11.12.08 12:08 PM |
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Corporate Holiday Party Forecast: Less Bleak in Los Angeles?
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With the grim news about the overall state of the global economy has come—expectedly—grim news about corporate holiday parties, which many companies have scaled back or cut altogether this year. For instance, in New York, home to many financial institutions and publishing houses, parties fall almost daily. In Los Angeles, although some parties have indeed been axed, the news so far might not be as bad as the national average, despite an economically destructive writers strike that stretched into the calendar year. In town, the overall strategy seems more to be about cutting back than cutting out the annual employee celebration.
Although Paramount canceled its holiday celebration in favor of a tree-lighting ceremony and time off for employees, another major Hollywood studio will go forward with a party for about 3,500, although it's scaling back some decor and rentals. Nutrition product seller Herbalife will host a party produced by Sterling Engagements at Union Station on December 6 for 800 to 900, and has eliminated some of the details like customized casino chips. Heineken's budget for its bash with NMA Entertainment & Marketing at Apple on the same date has not changed from last year.
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Corporate Holiday Parties, Budgets, Herbalife, Heineken |
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| WHO'S DOING WHAT 04.02.08 12:25 PM |
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Ciemny Joins Nonprofit Org CauseForce
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 | CauseForce's David Ciemny
Photo: Angela Ciemny |
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David Ceimny left his post as event manager for Herbalife International of America last week to become director of logistics for CauseForce, where his responsibilities will include recruiting volunteers and selecting routes for the nonprofit’s runs, walks, and rides from its West Hollywood office. —Rosalba Curiel
RELATED TOPICS
CauseForce, Herbalife |
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| EVENT REPORT 03.18.08 4:33 PM |
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Science Center Exhibit Inspires Discovery Ball's Blood and Guts Theme
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 | The ball's after-dinner lounge
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography |
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The California Science Center's big annual fund-raiser, the Discovery Ball, doubles as the kickoff for the museum's blockbuster show du jour. Exhibitions in past years have centered on the science behind superheroes and Star Wars, themes that inspired vice president of food and event services Chris Sion to populate her parties with men in capes and stormtrooper costumes. But those assignments seem like a walk in the proverbial park in the face of this year's challenge: designing an event around the opening of “Body Worlds 3 & the Story of the Heart: the Original Exhibition of Real Human Bodies”—in other words, blood and guts, or rather, plastinated guts.
Fortunately for the 850 guests at the 10th annual ball on Saturday evening, Sion didn't take her inspiration too literally—although she couldn't resist sprinkling the cocktail area with skeletons, big and small. The first portion of the evening had the theme “blueprints to bones,” and as guests arrived in black tie, they herded toward a side entrance opening onto the construction area for the “World of Ecology” exhibition site, phase two of the science center's master plan. Male and female models in yellow hard hats and tool belts pointed guests toward the second-floor Walt Disney Foundation Science Court, where the skeletons held sway.
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RELATED TOPICS
California Science Center, Discovery Ball, Herbalife |
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