| 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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RELATED TOPICS
Kentucky Derby Festival, McDonald's |
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| NEWS 02.19.09 12:04 PM |
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Fashion Week Sponsors Score Attention With Quieter-Than-Normal Branding
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 | Sony's guerrilla promotion
Photo: Courtesy of Jack Morton Worldwide |
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Much like many shows this week, the current crop of Fashion Week sponsors are adopting a low-key tone with their marketing strategies. While the news that McDonald's was setting up shop inside the tents caused a flurry of media coverage, curiously enough, the multinational chain's signature golden arches are absent from Bryant Park. With the exception of Mattel's pink parade of Barbies, this season's sponsors, including Sony and YKK, have found more subtle ways to grab the attention of attendees.
Almost hidden behind a car from title sponsor Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's corner booth, dubbed McCafé, is appointed with modern furniture in gray, green, and pink hues, and artwork decorates the brown walls. Constantly mobbed throughout the day, the coffee spot is fully staffed with servers and brand representatives eager to furnish visitors with free cups of hot (or iced) brew, as well as to explain the new menu of specialty drinks.
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RELATED TOPICS
Fashion Week, IMG Fashion, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's, YKK, Sony |
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| GUEST QUESTIONS 02.18.09 10:15 AM |
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Fashion Week Attendees Approve of McDonald's Lounge, Stress Importance of Sponsorships
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 | Barbie's display in the tent lobby
Photo: BizBash |
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Fashion Week is well under way, and despite the economic crisis crippling many corporations, IMG's tents at Bryant Park are packed with booths and promotions from various companies. Ranging from McDonald's first appearance to the return of car displays from Mercedes-Benz and a coat check booth by Chambord, the in-tent sponsorships serve to attract the attention of designers and fashion editors, who mostly agree that the branding is keeping the biennial event alive. Here's what they had to say when we asked for their take on all the marketing gimmicks.
"I actually love this little McCafé booth. I'm here working on a story, and I think I'm going to camp out here all week. I rarely have coffee, but I came in and the cappuccino was very good. Will it bring me to McDonald's? I don't know, maybe if I pass by one. At Fashion Week this year, you've got lots of sponsors, and it seems to get bigger and bigger every season."
—Kelly Carter, reporter, People
"I think it's great that this is happening and that this many sponsors are coming to be a part of it. Whatever it took IMG to get them here, thank God, because we need this to boost the economy and get us back on track. As for the McCafé, I don't drink coffee, but if I did, I would be in here drinking my McCoffee and not eating meals every day."
—Kelly Will, Six and the City columnist, Page Six magazine
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RELATED TOPICS
Fashion Week, IMG Fashion, McDonald's, Mattel, Barbie, Mercedes-Benz, Chambord, W Hotels |
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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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