| THE SCOUT 12.22.08 7:00 AM |
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How to Recreate a Reality Show for a Group
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 | The Top Chef-inspired teambuilding event
Photo: Courtesy of Smartt Entertainment Inc. |
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Reality television hasn't fizzled out yet, and many competition-based shows have maintained—and expanded on—a dedicated following. San Diego-based Smartt Entertainment Inc. recently introduced two packages that draw from the success of these shows, and they're available worldwide.
The "Dancing Under the Stars" package can bring in judges, professional dancers, celebrities, and contestants from So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars to perform in a variety of styles, from waltz to hip hop. Smartt Entertainment can customize the program's length and choose the performers to fit big and small budgets. They'll also bring in world-champion dancers to complement TV contestants. Rates vary and generally start around $10,000. Programs could be presented purely as entertainment or become a bit more interactive by involving key executives in the dances, for example.
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RELATED TOPICS
So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, Bravo, Top Chef |
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| BEST OF 2008 11.24.08 8:00 AM |
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Scripting Reality
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In television, like fashion, you’re either in or you’re out, and staying relevant in the still-evolving medium is not as easy as it once was. Internal marketers need to approach their existing and potential audiences from every direction, and for Bravo director of digital marketing and events Valerie Brown, that task hinges on creating signature moments to herald the premieres of new and existing series.
First in a Series: Brown joined the network in 2004, on the eve of an extensive rebranding initiative. That effort included the launch of Project Runway, the first series she worked on closely, collaborating with producers Magical Elves and IMG Fashion to run the front of the house for the contestants’ Bryant Park fashion shows. In the four years since, Bravo has grown each year, posting record ratings in 2007 and then again in the second quarter of 2008.
Expanding Lineup: Brown became team director in 2006, working with Bravo senior vice president of marketing Ellen Stone. She recently produced a competition to find a new cast member for gym reality show Work Out, a dating advice seminar with the star of The Millionaire Matchmaker, and dance classes at Crunch gyms nationwide to promote Step It Up and Dance. “As you grow, budgets become more accessible, but at the same time, you have to maintain profitability,” says Brown. “We pick anchor events to invest in and to put on a large platform. When you have the breadth of programming we have, you have to make strategic decisions.”
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RELATED TOPICS
Bravo, Project Runway, Work Out, Millionaire Matchmaker, Step It Up and Dance, Shear Genius, Top Chef |
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| EVENT REPORT 10.29.08 10:00 AM |
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Top Chef Embraces New York With Borough-Themed Lunch at Grand Central
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 | Fans lining up for "Taste of the Five Boroughs"
Photo: Alison Whittington for BizBash |
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Local fans of Bravo's culinary competition Top Chef seem eager for the show to finally land in New York next month, so on Monday afternoon Bravo and NYC & Company kicked off the season a few weeks early. Paying tribute to the city with a modestly priced edible tour through a miniaturized New York in Grand Central Station's Vanderbilt Hall, “Taste of the Five Boroughs” let foodies spend their lunch hour meeting the show’s cast and sampling meals from local eateries like Craft, Buddakan, and Perilla.
Even in these tight-pocketed times, New York’s most expensive cuisine is never entirely out of reach. Each $30 ticket bought mini-meals from the 20 participating restaurants, and all proceeds went to New York’s City Harvest. The event, under the direction of Bravo director of digital marketing and events Valerie Brown and NYC & Company, capitalized on the critical mass of buzz the new season has in New York.
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RELATED TOPICS
Top Chef, Bravo |
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| NEWS 05.13.08 2:21 PM |
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Media Buyers' Diaries: NBC's Presentation Is Cool, But Not Educational
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 | | A cell-phone photo of one media buyer posing with an American Gladiator |
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With all the discussion around this year's upfronts—how are they different? are they extinct?—we've decided to get direct reactions from the week's target audience: media buyers. We found several buyers from different agencies, with varying job levels, who agreed to check in with us throughout the week and share their honest opinions of the previous day's events. Two of them stopped by the NBC Universal presentation yesterday. (They want to stay anonymous, so our buyers are going by names from their favorite TV shows.)
"Rudy Huxtable" is a 28-year-old broadcast department supervisor at Optimedia International US Inc., a subsidiary of the Publicis Groupe, where she has worked for the past two years. A six-year industry veteran, Huxtable represents a variety of clients, including one multimillion-dollar "big fish." This is her fifth year at the upfronts.
"We got to 30 Rock at 5:30 yesterday, and it was a little confusing at first because there were no signs of where to go. But then a security guard directed us up to the mezzanine level, which is where the tour started. I was definitely confused at first. It was totally sensory overload, with fun-house decor, tons of TVs, mirrors, and really loud noises.
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RELATED TOPICS
Upfront Week, Upfronts, Media Buyers' Diaries, NBC, Heroes, The Office, American Gladiators, Saturday Night Live, SciFi Channel, Top Chef, Super Bowl, The Real Houswives of New York, MTV, Tonight Show, ABC, CBS, Fox |
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| EVENT REPORT 04.07.08 10:05 AM |
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Food & Wine Puts Top Chefs Back in the Kitchen
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 | Sotohiro Kosugi's tasting station
Photo: Jessica Torossian for BizBash |
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Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs event has always centered around tasting stations where past and present award-winning chefs prepare and serve a signature dish. Even though additional passed hors d’oeuvres make the rounds (Mood Food catered the last nine incarnations), most people attend the event to queue up for food straight from the chefs.
For the 20th anniversary event, held Thursday night at Espace, Food & Wine dropped the additional catering and put 20 of the list's big-name alumni to work (Daniel Boulud, Gray Kunz, and Tom Colicchio among them), not only manning the tasting stations but also making all of the evening’s passed food. “We wanted to keep the space as open and food-focused as possible because we’ve never showcased so many chefs on one night," said Shanette Vega, the magazine’s promotions manager, who was in charge of the event.
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RELATED TOPICS
Beringer, Food & Wine Magazine, Top Chef, MTV |
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| EVENT REPORT 03.31.08 10:00 AM |
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Common Threads Festival Lures Celebrity Chefs
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 | Chef stations featured elegant food presentations.
Photo: Lee Hoagland |
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FROM CHICAGO
Chef Art Smith has friends in high (or highly gourmet) places. This much was evident at the third annual Common Threads' World Festival, held on March 17 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Attended by food-world celebrities ranging from Padma Lakshmi to Rocco DiSpirito and Paula Deen, the fund-raiser produced some culinary star power.
Founded by Smith four years ago, Common Threads educates underprivileged children about nutrition and international cuisine. The charity’s chef advisory board is made up of names from respected—and ethnically diverse—Chicago restaurants. Once a week, a chef from the board leads an in-classroom cooking demo for children 8 to 12 years old.
When creating a concept for Common Threads’ annual fund-raiser, “We tried to mimic what we do in the classroom by creating this world festival walk-around,” said Common Threads executive director Linda Novick O’Keefe. To that end, she employed staggered food stations. “Each chef is asked to represent a different country through food,” she explained. For its first two years, Common Threads' World Festival was held at the Chicago Cultural Center; this year, it was held at the M.C.A.
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RELATED TOPICS
Common Threads, Top Chef, John Legend |
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