| NEWS 06.23.09 1:00 PM |
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Facing Severe Sponsorship Drop, Gen Art Brings Back Benefit to Raise Funds
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 | Acura's display at the 2009 Gen Art Film Festival in New York
Photo: Alice and Chris for BizBash |
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Gen Art, the frequent event host that matches up emerging creative talent with corporate sponsors, has seen a 70 percent drop in sponsorship dollars from 2008 to 2009. So after relying on money from marketers to fund both its for-profit event production company and its nonprofit wing during most of its 15-year history, Gen Art has made drastic cutbacks and will put on its first benefit in nearly 10 years this week in New York.
"If the recession had hit three months later, it would have been a completely different story," said Gen Art C.E.O. and founder Ian Gerard, thinking back to last October, "but because it all happened before the 2009 fiscal year came, everyone drastically cut back their marketing budgets from the start."
Those cutbacks affected ongoing initiatives with Gen Art. Despite having yearlong deals in the works, official partners such as Acura, American Express, and Citibank all pulled back. "We're still working with all of those companies," Gerard said. "It's just been at such a reduced amount. It's more event-by-event versus an annual deal across all of our events or a large number of them."
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Gen Art, Citibank, Acura, American Express |
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| TED KRUCKEL 06.19.09 11:21 AM |
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The U.S. Open Is All About Getting Close to Tiger, and the Sponsors
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 | It's a breathtaking view from the first tee at Bethpage State Park, once you get there.
Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images |
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It’s just like standing in the square at St. Peter’s. He’s far away, but unmistakable. There’s his little hat. Everyone is oohing and aahing. And taking cell phone pictures, which is so against the rules. While some may think it sacrilege to compare the Pope to Tiger Woods, for this lifelong, reluctant attendee to both houses of worship, it is exactly the same thing.
Everyone is quiet. Well, quiet except that they’re whispering all the time, always whispering the same things. Here are the top ten musings that everyone is murmuring at the 109th U.S. Open, held at Bethpage State Park on Long Island.
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U.S. Open, United States Golf Association, American Express, Lexus, Tiger Woods, Real Housewives of New York City |
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| NEWS 06.10.09 3:59 PM |
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In the News: 10 Banks Buy Out of TARP Scrutiny, Verizon Comps Taxi Rides in Marketing Stunt
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Companies Under TARP Watch Shrink: Bank holding companies such as American Express, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley no longer have to worry about taxpayer scrutiny when planning corporate meetings and events. They're among the 10 large firms that the Obama administration allowed to repay the federal aid they received during the beginning of the financial crisis. Under the watch of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) for the better part of 2009, the banks' travel expenses, bonuses, and sponsored events came under fire for the perceived misuse of public funds. [NYT]
Walmart Shareholder Meeting Still a Production: An ability to healthily navigate the recession thus far allowed Walmart to keep up appearances at its annual shareholder meeting earlier last week. A crowd of 15,000 gathered at the Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas, bright and early last Friday for a Ben Stiller-hosted show that included performances by Miley Cyrus and recent American Idol winner Kris Allen. [AdAge]
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TARP, American Express, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Walmart, Verizon |
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| NEWS 04.23.09 2:37 PM |
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Fewer Films and Renewed Community Focus Define 2009 Tribeca Film Festival
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The 2009 Tribeca Film Festival officially bowed yesterday with a screening of Woody Allen's latest film, Whatever Works, and an after-party at the Royalton Hotel. This year marks a decidedly low-key iteration of the eight-year-old festival, with just 85 movies premiering. (Previous years have seen as many as 157.) Parties and sponsorships all look to be subdued, as organizers with Tribeca Enterprises emphasize community events and consumer spending downtown.
This year actually finds much of the action taking place in SoHo. The festival continues its relationship with Apple, holding filmmaking events, screenings, and discussion's at its Prince Street retail flagship. Eric Bana, Natalie Portman, and Nia Vardalos are all scheduled to appear during the series. Just a few blocks away, the Chanel store will host a gallery exhibition of this year's featured local artists, whose donated works will again serve as the awards for the festival's winning filmmakers.
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Tribeca Film Festival, American Express, Apple, Chanel, General Motors |
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| EVENT REPORT 11.07.08 4:27 PM |
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Lucky's Shopping Event Returns With Charity Boutique, More Shoppers
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 | Lucky Shops
Photo: BizBash |
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Those eyeing the economic impact on the retail industry may note that consumer spending is down, but the hundreds attending Lucky magazine's Lucky Shops this weekend indicate otherwise. Back again for a fifth year, the publication's annual consumer shopping event at the Metropolitan Pavilion begins today, and this year features more than 70 clothing, beauty, accessories, and home brands selling wares at up to 70 percent off retail prices.
After an impressive turnout at the V.I.P. preview party on Thursday—guests included 30 Rock's Katrina Bowden and various Gossip Girl stars Leighton Meester, Jessica Szohr, and Kelly Rutherford—and more than double the ticket sales of 2007, the three-day consumer show looks to exceed expectations for this year.
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Lucky Magazine, Condé Nast, Robin Hood Foundation, Benefit Cosmetics, Nintendo, American Express, Chevy, Garnier |
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| NEWS 09.17.08 3:38 PM |
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Vanity Fair Takes Over Madison Avenue for Book Launch
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Vanity Fair kicked off its “Campaign New York” Monday night at Barney's New York with a cocktail party and signing of the magazine’s new collection of photography, Vanity Fair: The Portraits, A Century of Iconic Images. The promotional campaign turns the Upper East Side into a free museum of sorts for the next 10 days, with photos from the book on display in 98 shops on Madison Avenue.
On the inspiration for the interactive advertisement, vice president and publisher of Vanity Fair Edward Menicheschi told Women’s Wear Daily, “We wondered what we could do that would be different and make a real statement. Then we thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we could turn New York into a gallery space?”
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Vanity Fair, American Express |
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| NEWS 08.20.08 8:00 AM |
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Prepping for Fashion Week: What's Scheduled for September
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 | A shot from Fashion Week in February
Photo: Keith Sirchio for BizBash |
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Fashion Week may still be weeks away—the rag trade's biannual event starts September 5 and runs through to September 12—but save-the-dates are already coming in, as is news of who's doing what for the week.
Among the emails in our inbox was the release that a fairly new management tool will be utilized at several shows this season—the implementation of which will hopefully make for a much more efficient check-in process (that and Diane von Furstenberg's plea to designers to start their shows on time). Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, and Zac Posen are just a few of the designers to use Events GPS, a technology that uses bar codes, scanners, and color-coded virtual seating charts.
Perhaps the biggest to do of the season will be Calvin Klein Inc.'s 40th anniversary party, for which the company has hired architect John Pawson to design a three-story temporary structure in a parking lot in west Chelsea. According to DNR, guests will be able to walk onto an unfinished section of the High Line from the roof of this building. Calvin Klein is donating an unspecified sum to the Friends of the High Line.
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Fashion Week, IMG Fashion, Mercedes-Benz, American Express |
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| NEWS 04.29.08 5:02 PM |
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AmEx Adds Hospitality Lounge With Programming to Tribeca Festival
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 | Tina Fey at the Insider Center
Photo: Marion Curtis/Starpix |
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The Tribeca Film Festival's founding sponsor, American Express, added a new facet to this year's festivities: an entertainment and hospitality lounge dubbed the Insider Center. Taking over the Union Square Ballroom for nine days, the program is a place for filmmakers and card members to gather in the heart of the festival’s northern hub.
“It was originally a celebration of the neighborhood, and now it’s just a renewed commitment to the human spirit of filmmaking and storytelling,” said Jessica Igoe, director of global sponsorship marketing at American Express, of the festival. “We’ve signed on for five more years.” Each year the AmEx teams spends roughly six months preparing for the festival, always with the goal of bringing something new to the table.
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Tribeca Film Festival, American Express |
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| EVENT INTELLIGENCE 04.11.08 10:30 AM |
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Building Buzz With Videos: IMG's Fashion Week Series
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 | A model getting primped in one of IMG's behind-the-scenes Fashion Week videos.
Photo: Courtesy of IMG Fashion |
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This story is part of our series on building event buzz with online videos.
Not every successful online video is made by event attendees with handheld cameras. Marketers who realize the potential of Web video for enhancing an event experience are also producing professional, high-quality videos to complement their events.
In 2007, IMG Fashion launched a YouTube channel to display videos from Fashion Week events throughout the world. Each video is a one- to four-minute clip focused on a specific runway show, collection, or after-party, featuring interviews with designers and celebrity attendees. Produced and edited by IMG and Smashbox Studios, the videos capture both the glamour of the runway shows and the frenetic energy behind the scenes.
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Building Buzz With Online Videos, YouTube, IMG, IMG Fashion, Fashion Week, Imitation of Christ, American Express |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.20.08 12:14 PM |
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TNT, Wrigley's, Playboy Flock to NBA All-Star Weekend
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 | Common performed at ESPN the Magazine's party.
Photo: Steve Kashishian |
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Dubbed by "a mini Super Bowl" by more than one planner, the NBA All-Star Game and its surrounding festivities descended upon New Orleans last weekend, bringing along an entourage of piggybacking events. Catering to the bevy of athletes in town (who weren’t nearly as stressed as, say, the Giants or the Patriots were in Arizona), planners from entities such as Playboy, ESPN the Magazine, and Wrigley’s enticed with big-name performances, high-profile guests, and intimate late-night parties.
Turner Sports vice president of event marketing Janet Abbazia bucked the Super Bowl's trend of booking rappers, instead booking Barenaked Ladies to perform at the annual NBA on TNT Celebration Party, held at House of Blues on Saturday. “We always look at our audience, and while the NBA demographic may be different, the people attending our event are businesspeople covering a wide range of ages, so we tried to find a band that appealed to everyone,” she said, adding that the event grew this year, hosting some 1,600 guests (compared with last year’s 1,200).
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N.B.A., Playboy, ESPN the Magazine, Jordan Brand, Nike, Crown Royal, Wrigley's Doublemint, Miller Beer, Old Spice, Gatorade, American Express, BET Networks |
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