| NEWS 09.23.09 2:58 PM |
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Glut of Events This Week—Across Industries—Points to Fall Season Pickup
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Earlier this month, we reported that event professionals expected the fall season to bring back an abundance of events—and if this week in Los Angeles is any indication, business is back big time.
Tonight brings events across all industries, from entertainment (a screening and cast performance of Fame, handled by ELS at the Grove, and the Zombieland premiere, produced by 15/40 Productions at the Chinese Theatre) to retail (Target's U.C.L.A. promotion) to music (the inaugural Ooh La L.A. French music festival, produced by Goldenvoice at the Henry Fonda Theatre through Friday) to charitable causes (pet adoptions, cocktails, and fund-raising at L.A. Dogworks).
The event industry has its own event, ISES's Jam networking and trade show event at the Millenium Biltmore. Participating organizations include ISES Orange County and San Diego, M.P.I. Southern California, Wedding Industry Professionals Association, Association of Bridal Consultants, Set Decorators Society of America, Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International, and others. Expect a flurry of tweeting from the floor.
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RELATED TOPICS
ISES L.A., Susan G. Komen Foundation, Target, U.C.L.A., Macy's, Macy's Passport, Diane von Furstenberg, Amp Energy, Belvedere Vodka, Orange County Style Week, Country Friends, Zombieland, Fame, Ooh La L.A. Festival, Goldenvoice, Variety, Candy Ice, Voices for Children |
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| NEWS 09.04.09 10:27 AM |
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Target to Offer Back-to-School Promo for U.C.L.A. Freshmen
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Labor Day traditionally signals the unofficial end of summer—the last stop before back-to-school season. Come September 23, Target plans to kick off that season with an event for U.C.L.A. freshmen, who the retailer will bring to a local store for after-hours shopping, entertainment, and activities. Members of the class of 2013 will have a chance to board a dedicated express bus that will take them directly to the La Cienega Boulevard store for a private shopping event.
Freshman-appropriate on-site activities will include tailgating-type games, grilling, prizes, DJ Hero competitions, and a live DJ. Coca-Cola will supply product sampling and gift bags. —Alesandra Dubin
RELATED TOPICS
Target, U.C.L.A., Coca-Cola, DJ Hero |
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| NEWS 08.13.09 9:00 AM |
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After Months of Price Slashing, How Will Vendors Negotiate Post-Recession Contracts?
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 | Many planners—like Valerie Wang, who organized a recent event for KCET—have seen vendors sharply reduce prices in the recession.
Photo: Courtesy of KCET |
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As economists point to signs that the recession is beginning to ease, and the event industry looks to the approaching fall season—usually a busy time—planners and vendors are wondering about the recession's long-term effect on prices and negotiations. Many vendors have sharply reduced prices this year in an effort to bring in business in a tough time, with some cutting prices so significantly that their new low figures might suggest a false sense of what's reasonable and sustainable in the marketplace.
“We’ve had vendors offer us prices that are below their cost, simply because they’re trying to keep some cash coming in to stay alive,” said Jeremy Driesen, president of New York-based corporate communications production company Ray Bloch. “That’s a short-term strategy and, particularly in the case of capital-intensive businesses like audiovisual companies, it helps them pay the funding on their debt load. [But] in the long-term, they’d go out of business at those levels. Vendor pricing must firm up since the lowest of the current pricing is unsustainable if vendors want to stay in business.”
Valerie Wang, the planner for Southern California public television network KCET, reported that vendors have offered services at 25 percent of what they would normally charge: One rental vendor reduced its fee from about $4,500 to $1,600 to match another company’s bid in the hopes of winning the business.
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Budgets, KCET, U.C.L.A. |
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| NEWS 03.26.09 10:30 AM |
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Mindful of the Recession, Planners Open Doors to New Vendors
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 | Elton John's Oscar party organizers considered bids from multiple vendors.
Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage |
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Once upon a time—say, roughly prior to the autumn of 2008, when the economy took its dramatic turn—many planners enjoyed a committed relationship with vendors. For annual events, tried-and-true vendors got the job year after year based on demonstrated performance and an understanding of the specific challenges of those projects. But now, in tough financial times, many planners are being forced to look outside the bonds of existing vendor relationships, instead sending out multiple requests for proposals—or at least keeping an open mind to pitches from new vendors—in the hopes of sealing a better deal.
“I am often accused of being overly loyal to my vendors, [but] I have sincerely come to enjoy the peace of mind that [they] give me when I ask them to assist us with a large event. They know what I like, have proven themselves, and instill confidence that all will go smoothly,” said California Science Center vice president of food and event services Chris Sion. “That being said, this is the perfect time for the savvy vendor to offer goods or services at a discounted introductory price."
For this year’s Discovery Ball at the museum, Sion had a reduced budget, and was consequently more open to cost-saving ideas. "I listened to sales pitches more carefully when [vendors] dropped a too-good-to-be-true price," Sion said. "It’s a win-win situation because if all works out well, I wouldn’t hesitate to include them on my vendor list for future events, and I did not have to risk as much to try them out in a year when every dollar counts. A good deal was definitely a driving factor in vendor selection more than usual during this economy.” Paying special attention to deals when they were offered up led Sion to include six new vendors at this year’s ball.
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Budgets, Elton John AIDS Foundation, Discovery Ball, U.C.L.A., Warner Brothers, Chivas Regal |
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| TOP 100 EVENTS 02.16.09 8:00 AM |
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Southern California's Top Benefits 2009
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 | The Los Angeles Philharmonic
Photo: Mathew Imaging |
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1. Carousel of Hope
Barbara Davis’s fund-raiser is known for attracting celebrities and raising big bucks—more than $80 million since its inception in 1982. Last year’s ball at the Beverly Hilton honored Pauletta and Denzel Washington, and included performances by the Jonas Brothers and Josh Groban.
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Southern California's Top 100 Events, Tommy Hilfiger, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, U.C.L.A., Bon Appétit, Chrysalis, DesignCare, U.S.C. Libraries, Doheny Library Preservation Fund, Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation, Concern Foundation, Fulfillment Fund, Tiger Woods Foundation |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.06.08 6:55 PM |
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Gucci-Sponsored Hammer Museum Gala Raises Record $1.2 Million
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A sold-out crowd of 528 dinner guests took to the Hammer Museum's picturesque courtyard last night for the annual Gala in the Garden. This year, the fete brought in a record $1.2 million for the UCLA museum—an increase over last year's $1 million, and considerably more than the first event six years ago, which brought in $125,000. The museum's development director, Jennifer Wells Green, and manager of development events, David Morehouse, oversaw the program. Jennifer and Tobey Maguire and Lauren and Benedikt Taschen co-chaired.
Gucci was the sponsor and an influence on the design. "The color palette was very rich—oranges and ambers. It had that very rich, tactile, Gucci thing going on," said the museum's acting director of communications, Sarah Stifler.
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U.C.L.A., Hammer Museum, Gucci |
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