| EVENT REPORT 10.30.09 12:42 PM |
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Microsoft Introduces Windows 7 With Cute Kid, Product Vignettes
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 | TV commercial star Kylie introduced Microsoft C.E.O. Steve Ballmer at the Windows 7 launch.
Photo: Richard Koek |
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FROM NEW YORK
Given Microsoft's enormous customer base—a January 2009 report put the technology giant's market share at 88 percent—when it launches a product, there's always a certain amount of buzz surrounding it. But rather than replicate the elaborate marketing stunt it produced for the debut of the Windows Vista operating system, Microsoft took a simpler approach to the press event introducing Windows 7. Inside Skylight Thursday, October 22, some 340 journalists, software testers, and executives from hardware manufacturing partners gathered for a six-hour launch that combined art gallery-style exhibits with live demonstrations and product vignettes.
"We wanted to create an event that represented the product and be mindful of the current state of the economy and the broad consumer mindset. So we set a tone that was simple, approachable, and authentic while demonstrating the excitement we all feel for Windows 7," said Windows group marketing manager Ed Chase, who led the planning of the project. To pull it off, Chase collaborated with Pinnacle Exhibits and a crew of other local and West Coast companies.
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Microsoft, Windows, Dell, Samsung |
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| NEWS 10.07.09 2:06 PM |
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In the News: Live 8 Producer Joins World Cup, Microsoft Previews Products With First Open House
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Live 8 Producer Works on World Cup: Since the International Olympic Committee's decision on Friday, talk over the past week has been all about looking to Rio 2016, but the fact remains that 2010, only three months away, has a full schedule of world-stage events. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is one of the biggest, and this week it was announced that world soccer organization FIFA has tapped Kevin Wall to produce the three-hour kickoff concert in Soweto on June 11. An Emmy winner and producer of the Live 8 concerts, Wall and his production firm Control Room will also fund the event privately by securing broadcast rights and other sponsorships. [Bloomberg]
Microsoft Builds Forest for Product Showcase: Microsoft apparently didn't feel that any big announcement was necessary to make its first annual Open House press conference a production-heavy affair. The event, held in New York yesterday, turned the Armory into a surreal, futuristic forest, complete with a tree house, wooden docking stations for new products, and brand ambassadors dressed in elaborate bird costumes. [CNET]
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2016 Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Live 8, Microsoft, Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Prince, Rihanna, Lily Allen, Paris Fashion Week, Disney, The Princess and the Frog |
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| Q & A 07.16.09 9:00 AM |
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Microsoft's Rosalind Murphy Targets New Clients With Female-Focused Events
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 | | Rosalind Murphy |
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FROM NEW YORK
As executive engagement manager at Microsoft’s New York office, Rosalind Murphy is something of a social liaison between her account managers and the Fortune 500 clientele they serve. She produces activities and meetings to develop brand relationships, with guest lists often limited to C.I.O.s and other I.T. executives—not surprising in the tech sector. But Microsoft desires to deepen its business ties, and part of Murphy’s job is to increase her company’s contacts within its client base.
Used to working with male-dominated technology departments, Murphy expanded her brand’s network with a series of quarterly events just for women. In the two years since she introduced the Women’s Executive Forum, she has already established it as a popular event series, buoyed diversity at other Microsoft functions, and increased contacts within clients such as Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Sony.
What sparked Microsoft’s push to seek out more female clients?
We just wanted to reach out to women. The staff at Microsoft is about 75 percent male, and one of the things we found in our accounts was that when you get to the customer base, the chief information officers are also typically men. We wanted to develop other executives, so we made this a push to find people beyond the normal I.T. roles in different areas like marketing and finance. We wanted to seek out the developing female executives, women who might be in director or vice president roles now but are up-and-coming in our client base.
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Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Sony |
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| EVENT REPORT 06.04.09 6:38 PM |
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E3's Eye-Popping Exhibits Employ Lots of Video and LED Technology
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 | Ubisoft's exhibit at E3
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography |
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Welcome to E3, where the men vastly outnumber the women and more languages can be overheard than you might expect at the Tom Bradley international terminal at LAX. Produced by IDG World Expo and owned by the Entertainment Software Association, E3—short for Electronic Entertainment Expo—kicked off Tuesday and wrapped today in the Los Angeles Convention Center’s south and west halls.
This year's show marked a huge leap forward in scope from last year's event, which had a different format that drew a significantly smaller crowd of mostly buyers. As of Thursday morning, 41,000 people from 78 countries had walked the show floor to see 216 exhibitors making hardware and software announcements of importance to the gaming world. "The booths are back in a big way," said a PR rep for the show.
Some exhibits exceeded more typical trade show booths in size by a factor of ten, and many were outfitted with eye-popping technology and decor. (Organizers noted that the installations that typically would have a 10-day load-in period were installed in the show's tighter four-day load-in time.) Here’s a sample of the memorable setups.
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E3, Ubisoft, Nintendo, Bethesda Software, Gamespot, Warner Brothers Interactive, MTV Games, EA, Square Enix, Disney Interactive, Alienware, Microsoft, Dell |
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| NEWS 10.24.08 12:46 PM |
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Perez Hilton Continues to Expand his Brand at CMJ Music Marathon
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 | N.E.R.D. at "One Night in Austin" in March
Photo: Rahar/Photopass |
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FROM NEW YORK
The 2008 CMJ Music Marathon—a music industry staple that claims responsibility for launching the careers of artists as diverse as Eminem, Green Day, and Arcade Fire—concludes its five-day run this Saturday. Now in its 28th year, CMJ has grown from its under-the-radar roots to draw increasing attention from the public and marketers. More high-profile parties are popping up, including one hosted by blogger Perez Hilton tonight at the HighLine Ballroom.
“One Night in New York City” features performances by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Semi Precious Weapons, and Lady Gaga, but it’s not the first concert thrown by Perez Hilton. With the help of producers at BMF Media Group, Hilton took the event template to a showcase at Austin’s South by Southwest in March and an after-party for Toronto’s Much Music Awards in June.
“This is a passion project for me,” Hilton told us via e-mail. “I love music and it’s definitely a thrill to be able to organize these very special events and share some of my favorite artists with my readers. I’ve recently been getting involved in many aspects of the music industry and hope to continue that in a bigger way next year. It’s a perfect fit for my brand.”
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CMJ Music Marathon, Perez Hilton, One Night in New York, Microsoft, Zune, South by Southwest |
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| EVENT REPORT 08.19.08 10:31 AM |
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Valets Turn Guests Away at Pinkitude Launch at Zune's L.A. Pop-Up
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 | The Pinkitude clothing line launch
Photo: BizBash |
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Guests at Thursday night’s Pinkitude clothing line launch party had the opportunity to peruse new merchandise from MGM’s consumer products division, as well as Microsoft’s Zune L.A. pop-up property—that is, if they were lucky enough to find a parking spot. Less than 45 minutes after the event started, valets turned guests away, advising them to find a space on the already-packed streets, or to travel 220 feet down Beverly Boulevard to try their luck at Jar restaurant, where an irate attendant refused to accommodate anyone who wasn’t dining at the venue.
Those who made it inside found the Zune space (which launched this summer with plans for a three-year run) awash in pink lighting and decorated with pink paw-print gobos, a nod to MGM’s Pink Panther character, who inspired the Pinkitude line of clothing and accessories. Mega Marketing and Media’s Yvonne Leung, who worked with MGM executive director of worldwide retail development Warren Schorr, had to submit a formal bid to hold the event at the venue, which operates as an office space for Microsoft executives during the day, and hosts about five to six events every month.
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Susan G. Komen Foundation, MGM, Microsoft, Pop-Ups, Zune |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.18.08 1:42 PM |
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Microsoft Taps Welsh Singer, Local Eatery for E3
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 | Microsoft's media presentation at E3
Photo: Nadine Froger Photography |
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Microsoft hosted a press briefing and series of post-conference events at this year’s E3 Media and Business Summit, which kept the invitation-only formula it adopted last year. But Microsoft ditched Barker Hanger and Santa Monica hotels as show venues—perhaps because of the widely reported trouble attendees experienced while traveling between spots—and returned to its previous location, the Los Angeles Convention Center. Zed Ink's Julia Zarro worked with Microsoft group manager of global events Mark Harper to attract media attendees to the technology company’s events.
Prior to the conference, which began on Monday and wrapped yesterday, Zed Ink targeted international and domestic media with multipurpose invitations attached to lanyards; the backs of invitations featured scannable barcodes that granted guests access to Microsoft’s press briefing, while a swiveling wheel on the front of each revealed useful information about local restaurants and hotels.
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Microsoft, Xbox, E3 |
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| FRESH FACE 11.26.07 12:27 PM |
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Boutique Baker Takes Small-Scale Approach
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 | Genevieve Ostrander in her Delilah Bakery.
Photo: Love Ablan for BizBash |
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A New Calling: After 12 years as an in-house beauty publicist for such companies as Hard Candy, Urban Decay, and Bliss Spa (for which she helped organize the San Francisco launch), Genevieve Ostrander felt restless. “I thought there was probably something out there that was better suited for me,” she says. While she was uncertain about what to pursue, the decision seemed obvious to friends who had seen the cookbook-obsessed Ostrander pass out holiday pies and other desserts after weekends devoted to baking. They convinced Ostrander to sell her homemade goods to acquaintances, a move that eventually led the self-taught cook to open Delilah Bakery in January to keep up with demand.
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Microsoft, Children's Defense Fund |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.18.07 4:02 PM |
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E3 Scales Back at New Venues
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 | E3 attendees tested video games at the software showcase at Barker Hangar.
Photo: Courtesy of E3 Media and Business Summit |
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The Entertainment Software Agency’s newly downsized E3 Media and Business Summit—formerly known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo—debuted in Santa Monica last week from July 11 to 13 with a series of radical changes to the 12-year-old gaming convention. The ESA contracted show management to IDG World Expo C.E.O. Mary Dolaher, who acted as show producer and helped the agency reach its goal of creating a more intimate and businesslike environment.
Organizers scaled back the now invitation-only event from 70,000 to 3,000 attendees—consisting of select media, retailers, and financial analysts—and from 400 to 38 exhibitors. The need for a smaller space prompted the show's move from its previous home, the Los Angeles Convention Center, to the Barker Hangar and a series of Santa Monica hotels including the Viceroy and Fairmont Miramar. Buses shuttled attendees from hotel to hotel for press conferences and appointment-based in-suite meetings with game company executives, as well as to the software showcase at the hangar, where they could test video games. For their own press conferences, gaming giants Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo elected to tap into other venues, such as the Santa Monica High School amphitheater, which hosted Microsoft’s briefing.
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E3, Xbox, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.25.07 4:01 PM |
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Microsoft Builds Army Environs for War-Game Party
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 | | Photo: Nadine Froger Photography |
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Paris Hilton may not be in jail yet, but she got a taste of its, er, stripped decor at Microsoft's launch party for the public beta test of its much-anticipated Halo 3. The celebrity-driven party at Quixote Studios on May 15 featured army-style decor that gave the room a dark, deconstructed look and a rugged feel.
Chain link and salvaged military gear from producer and designer Zed Ink served as decor, while much of the ambient light came from the flickering glow of the game on dozens of flat-screen monitors throughout the raw venue. "The game is the star of this party," said Microsoft senior global event manager Mark Harper, in from Redmond, Washington. Zed Ink's Erin Hearne added, "We were trying to bring the game into a three-dimensional
light. It's a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world."
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Microsoft |
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