| EVENT REPORT 04.20.09 3:33 PM |
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Marketers Consider Coachella Too Important to Skip in Lean Times
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 | T-Mobile's late-night hangar party
Photo: Polk Imaging/FilmMagic |
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FROM LOS ANGELES
Ask any marketer with a presence at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and he’ll tell you that the opportunity to promote in the desert during the festival weekend is unmissable and nonnegotiable—even in a downturn. Chalk it up to the sheer concentration of well-connected and enthusiastic music industry folks, fans, and friends captive in the middle of the desert, or to the extreme temperatures and terrain, or to the totally immersive quality of the whole thing—but the attendant brands felt they couldn't afford to be left out, even if this year's economic climate made sponsorship participation and overall budget dollars tougher to wrangle. The festival kicked off on Friday and wrapped Sunday night in Indio.
“This year was really difficult. Sponsors are putting each event under a microscope, and they want to make sure it’s the right type of event for the right R.O.I.,” said Andreas Herr, publisher of Anthem magazine, whose desert party has developed a reputation as the most authentically hedonistic and bacchanalian of the weekend. “But the reason it’s so important for us is that it’s all about contributing to the lifestyle that we cover inside of the magazine. So many people look forward to this event throughout the year. At a time like this, it’s really important to give our fans and our readers something to really look forward to. That one weekend when you can really escape reality and go out there and have fun. It’s our biggest event that we do throughout the year, and we have a lot of fun doing it.”
This year, Anthem’s signature event included a Saturday pool party at a sprawling five-acre ranch property with a three-acre lake. (Herr characterized it this way: “The rough theme is '70s porno ranch meets disco. Does that even make sense? It makes sense to me.”)
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RELATED TOPICS
Coachella, T-Mobile, Anthem Magazine, Levi's, Ray-Ban, Urb Magazine, Filter, Vitaminwater, Goodlife.com, Going Green |
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| EVENT REPORT 02.17.09 12:49 PM |
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S.O.M.E. Gala Garners More Attendees, Continues to Entertain With Loud Music
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 | Buffet tables at the S.O.M.E. Junior Gala
Photo: Pix Phix |
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Young revelers poured into the Corcoran Gallery of Art at 8 p.m. on Friday night for the sixth annual So Others Might Eat Junior Gala, a benefit that raised nearly $100,000 for the community-based organization’s Thea Bowman House, a shelter for homeless and poor families. The young crowd sipped lemon martinis mixed with VitaminWater (an event sponsor) and milled in the foyer and second-floor balcony, where the gallery’s red walls and dramatically lit columns set a Valentine's Day theme.
Despite the rough economy, the organizers sold all 900 tickets (at $85 each). “Tickets sold out faster than ever this year,” said Susan O'Neill & Associates' Leanne Musak, who produced the event. “And we even increased the gala’s size by 100 guests.”
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RELATED TOPICS
So Others Might Eat, Vitaminwater, BuyYourFriendaDrink.com, Roberto Cavalli Liquors |
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| NEWS 07.29.08 8:00 AM |
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With Plenty of Sponsors, Lollapalooza Set to Take Over Chicago This Weekend
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FROM CHICAGO
The current incarnation of Lollapalooza, the brainchild of Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell, along with Austin, Texas-based promoters C3 Presents and the William Morris Agency, will once again set up shop in Chicago's Grant Park this Friday through Sunday. The fourth-annual Chicago-only festival encompasses 120 acts (including Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, and Kanye West) performing on eight sponsored stages, as well as various environments, lounges, and activities scattered throughout the park.
Lollapalooza 2008 incorporates several new elements this year, including Perry's, named for Farrell, an open-air electronica stage featuring live DJ sets each day at 2 p.m., and Lederhosen's Biergarten, a beer hall situated near Buckingham Fountain. Both Green Street (a destination space educating festival-goers about Lolla's eco-friendly initiatives) and Kidzapalooza (featuring a stage, "School of Rock" Jam Tent, a recording studio, and special performances) are returning this year.
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RELATED TOPICS
AT&T, Bud Light, PlayStation, MySpace, Citi, BMI, Blackstone Winery, F.Y.E., Vitaminwater, NowWhat.com, Small Paul, Sweet Leaf Tea, Whole Foods, Lifeway Kefir, Southern Comfort, Metromix.com, Belvedere Vodka, Hard Rock Hotel, Motorola, Bacardi, 42 Below, Cazadores Tequila |
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| EVENT REPORT 05.28.08 4:38 PM |
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Beset With Rain, Crowds, and Sponsors, Sex and the City Premiere Still Sparkles
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FROM NEW YORK
Presenting his movie to a rowdy audience of 2,800 guests inside Radio City Music Hall last night, Sex and the City writer and director Michael Patrick King said, “Sex is back where it belongs—in New York City.” (Cue the screaming and applause.) And one didn’t have to search long for evidence that New York was ready for the HBO show's characters to return. Outside, on the hall’s rain-drenched cross streets, thousands of mostly female fans waited, barging into barricades, cursing cops, and screeching for the droves of celebrity attendees.
The pre-event hype seemed to have a mushroom effect (The Post reported that one woman lost $22,000 in a ticket scam), with thousands coming out for the premiere, including many a crasher donning ode-to-Carrie ensembles. Expecting a huge turnout, studio New Line booked a backup theater in advance for overflow guests (The Daily News said others jilted got vouchers for weekend showings).
Clearly the return of Sex and the City was going to be a spectacle in its hometown. But even the premiere's planners and staffers seemed in awe of the crazed (some might say fanatical), bursting-at-the-seams atmosphere.
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RELATED TOPICS
Sex and the City, New Line Cinema, Mercedes-Benz, Vitaminwater, Swarovski |
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