| EVENT REPORT 11.02.09 2:30 PM |
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Auto Show's Exhibit Floor Reduced, Discount Ticket Sales Increase 45 Percent
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 | Saab's exhibit space displaying its 2010 Saab 9-5
Photo: BizBash |
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Yesterday the South Florida International Auto Show wrapped up its 10-day exhibition, which began on October 23, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The 39th annual show's total square footage shrank by about 40,000 square feet—to approximately 350,000 square feet—from last year, and organizers saw an increase of nearly 45 percent in discount ticket sales.
"Historically, about 20 to 25 percent of people [attending the show] use a discount ticket," said Richard Baker, president of the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association, which organizes the trade show every year. "This year more than 65 percent of people are using our $2-off ticket. They're going out of their way to get it."
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RELATED TOPICS
South Florida Automobile Dealers Association, McDonald's, Nissan, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Jaguar, Saab, BMW, Volvo, Ronald McDonald House, State Farm, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida |
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| EVENT REPORT 07.21.09 4:38 PM |
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Olympics-Theme Gala Fetes 25th Anniversary of 1984 L.A. Games
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FROM LOS ANGELES
It was a grand 1980s theme party—but not the kind with sky-high bangs, legwarmers, and jelly bracelets. On Saturday night, the Coliseum was the backdrop for a gala commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1984 Olympic Games, which were held in Los Angeles for 16 days that summer, when the U.S.A. led all nations with 174 medals, including 83 golds.
The Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games and the Los Angeles Sports Council, spearheaded by David Simon, president of both groups, cosponsored the event. David Wolper, the producer of the 1984 Games' opening and closing ceremonies, created the show, and Mark Flaisher produced it. Sportscasters Keith Jackson and Jim Lampley served as M.C.s for the event, and Warren Tach was the technical director. "[Wolper] asked me to produce the show on his behalf, which was a huge honor," said Flaisher, who only had a few weeks to put the project together.
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RELATED TOPICS
Olympic Games, Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games, Los Angeles Sports Council, U.S.C. |
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| Q & A 06.04.09 12:10 PM |
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McDonald's Sofia Therios on the National Launch of McCafé Coffee Drinks
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 | The McDonald's McCafé lounge at New York Fashion Week
Photo: AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams |
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FROM CHICAGO
In May, McDonald's embarked on the nationwide launch of a coffee-centered brand extension called McCafé. With a marketing program rumored to cost about $100 million, the company is promoting its new line of espresso-based drinks through "advertising, promotion, electronic and digital efforts, merchandising in our restaurants, and events," said to Sofia Therios, director of marketing for McDonald's USA. Amid speculation that the economic climate—in which even Starbucks is losing its footing—makes for risky timing for the McCafé launch, we spoke to Therios about how she is using events and other experiential components to promote new products, how the company is adapting its marketing to different regions, and how successful the launch has been thus far.
Why is now the right time for the McCafé launch?
It always starts with the consumer. If you start with the consumer, and focus on what consumers are looking for, the answer is right there. We have a wonderful business research [and] consumer insight team and we talk to our customers regularly. We also have the benefit of our restaurants, which let us communicate with consumers and understand what they're looking for at the restaurant level on a day to day basis. These are products that our customers want [right now].
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McDonald's, Fashion Week |
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| Q & A 03.05.09 12:14 PM |
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Mike Berry Finds New Ways to Collaborate With Sponsors and Cut Costs at the Kentucky Derby Festival
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 | Kentucky Derby Festival's Mike Berry
Photo: Courtesy of Mike Berry |
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As president and C.E.O. of the Kentucky Derby Festival—the Louisville-based nonprofit organization that oversees two weeks of events leading up to the famous horse race at Churchill Downs every May—Mike Berry handles planning and logistics for some 70 annual events, which range from concerts to a marathon and the Great Steamboat Race. The months leading up to the festival’s kickoff event, a fireworks spectacular known as Thunder Over Louisville that draws an average of 750,000 onlookers, are particularly hectic for Berry and his team. On a rare moment of calm this past Friday afternoon, Berry talked with us about the inner workings of one of the largest community festivals in the country, and how its sponsorships and partnerships are changing.
How do you keep the annual events associated with the Kentucky Derby Festival fresh each year?
We have a process called "events and review" that involves taking a portion of the events and reviewing them by committee each year. Each one gets reviewed about every five years, and we get anonymous reviewers to go to the events and fill out forms. Was the signage adequate? Were merchandise and concessions available? This also gives us an historical reference because they record what the temperature was that day, the crowd size, and other details specific to that particular year. We also change the theme of the festival each year. That means the look of all the printed materials changes, as well as some of the interactive activities at some of the events.
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Kentucky Derby Festival, McDonald's |
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| NEWS 02.09.09 2:39 PM |
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McDonald's to Hit Fashion Week, National Blitz Planned for May
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On Friday, editors, retailers, and other attendees might be surprised by an unlikely sponsor inside the New York Fashion Week tents. Joining companies such as Mercedes-Benz and M.A.C. Cosmetics will be fast food chain McDonald's, which plans to preview its new selection of specialty coffees with a café-inspired lounge in the lobby of the Bryant Park structure. Moreover, McDonald's is also sponsoring the Duckie Brown show, which is scheduled for this Friday at 1 p.m.
But that's not the end for McDonald's upcoming marketing efforts. In May, the corporation will kick off a national ad campaign for McCafé, the fancy new array of coffee drinks. According to Crain's, the bold blitz represents a $1 billion investment and the chain's most significant menu expansion in 30 years. Although business analysts are apprehensive about launching pricey products in this economic climate, the promotion could lead to an additional $1 billion in sales revenue. —Jenny Berg & Anna Sekula
RELATED TOPICS
McDonald's, Fashion Week, Mercedes-Benz, Duckie Brown |
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