Summer screenings for the USA Network and Target's Read Across America campaign press event were among the winners of the 2011 BizBash New York Event Style Awards, announced Wednesday at a ceremony following our annual expo at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Here's a look at the winning work.
Best Catering at an Event
Target Read Across America Campaign Press Event
Submitted by Creative Edge Parties
When Target hosted the National Education Association's annual Read Across America event at the New York Public Library, Creative Edge Parties created menus, buffet stations, platters, and containers to match the Dr. Seuss theme, serving a menu of breakfast bites that included green eggs and ham sandwiches, brioche French toast sticks that looked like bookmarks, and mountains of blueberry pancakes and whipped cream inspired by Oh, the Places You'll Go!
Best Corporate or Association Event Concept (Budget Under $50,000)
Park Here Pop-Up Park
Submitted by Openhouse Gallery
The pop-up transformed the Openhouse Gallery into an open-to-the-public park, driving traffic to the space while building brand awareness. The concept behind the experience was to create a place for people to unwind during winter in New York. Items including 5,000 square feet of artificial lawn, custom forest murals, light boxes, a dozen park benches, and a seesaw helped to create the transformative park environment. Local vendors provided lunch menu items.
Best Corporation or Association Event Concept (Budget Over $50,000)
Innovation for All Incentive Program
Submitted by Event Spectrum Inc.
For this four-day incentive program event for top-performing automotive dealers and their guests, attendees experienced a private fashion show at Saks Fifth Avenue, a keynote presentation by Peter Sheahan, and a customized “amazing race” team-building event through Central Park. The team event included surprises along the way, including dog walkers sporting corporate branded T-shirts and a branded ice cream truck where the president and senior executives served treats to excited team members. The event concluded with a gala at 620 Fifth Garden & Loft. Event Spectrum also set up a flash mob to amaze guests where “touring spectators” delivered a high-energy surprise performance.
Best Entertainment Program
Foo Fighters Garage Tour Presented by BlackBerry
Submitted by MAC Presents
BlackBerry sought a music platform to differentiate the launch of its PlayBook tablet from the competition. The promotion gave eight fans, in eight different markets, the opportunity to have Foo Fighters play a 60-minute set in their own garage. Marketing tactics including MTV promotions, Facebook and Twitter announcements from the band, radio spots, and press releases were used to drive traffic to the program’s micro-site.
Best Invitation Design
National Stationery Show
Submitted by Hannah Handmade
The invitation was designed to introduce the show to a target audience of top event planners who may not have attended previously, and to entice them to attend the show as well as educational sessions and parties. The colorful invitation was delivered in a handmade fuchsia pink satin box, embellished with Swarovski crystals. Inside, an acrylic invitation sat on a feather boa with a book featuring printing, engraving, and paper in the lid.
Best Lighting Design
USA Network Upfront
Submitted by Bentley Meeker Lighting & Staging Inc.
Bentley Meeker collaborated closely with XA, the Experiential Agency to transform Koch Theater into a club like space with wall projections exhibiting various characters from the USA lineup throughout the evening. Inside the main tent, stage design was adorned with six LED video columns and a large main projection screen. The after-party featured an overhead cubed centerpiece onto which were changing projections of USA characters and swirling turquoise patterns of light.
Best New Product
iMingle
Submitted by Foto Novelty Inc.
iMingle takes pictures of guests and allows them to write their message on a touch screen. Guests get to sign their names, write a message to the hosts, or create artwork. When they are finished, the pictures are printed and also wirelessly sent to a plasma screen for other guests to see. Guests also receive a framed copy, and hosts get a CD with all of the photos.
Best New Venue
Bowlmor Lanes Midtown
Submitted by Bowlmor Lanes
Located in the former New York Times building in Times Square, the 90,000-square-foot Bowlmor Lanes Midtown has seven bowling lounges, with themes representing time periods and places in New York City. For events, the bowling venue has two private rooms and Stadium grill, a four-level sports bar with stadium seating, and a 50-foot media wall.
Best Nonprofit Event Concept
AOLers Kick Off Shoes and Kick Back
Submitted by AOL
As part of AOL's support of Toms Shoes’ One Day Without Shoes campaign, the company challenged all employees at the New York headquarters to take off their shoes and take part in pedicures by Spa Chicks, barefoot photo stations, and a concert by Ingrid Michaelson in honor of Toms Shoes. For lunch, employees made sandwiches for themselves and local food banks. More than 750 sandwiches were donated to Yorkville Common Pantry.
Best Overall Event Decor (Budget Under $50,000)
Piaget Limelight Garden Party
Submitted by Shiraz Events
For the North American debut of the 2011 collection, Shiraz Events transformed the Piaget boutique into a garden paradise where guests could see the new line. A larger cocktail party followed the editors’ preview, where walls were draped with large-scale decals depicting a green leafy background studded with sparkling pieces from Piaget’s jewelry collection. Moss installations were inserted as backdrops for the jewelry, and atop several display cases, ornate metal birdcages were filled with greenery and petite silver-sprayed stuffed birds.
Best Overall Event Decor (Budget Over $50,000)
HBO’s Boardwalk Empire Premiere Party
Submitted by Invision Events
Invision Events director Robert D'Alessandro created a series of inspirational, detailed settings to reflect the seaside boardwalk atmosphere of Atlantic City at Rockefeller Plaza for the event. Guests were greeted by a flapper-attired cigarette girl with red carnations to pin on lapels. Throughout the evening, attendees meandered among sequined bistros, matching black-and-white-striped umbrella tables, vintage bar signage and posters, and luxe Hollywood-style pavilions.
Best PR Stunt or Guerrilla Marketing Campaign
USA Network Summer Screenings
Submitted by XA, the Experiential Agency
To generate buzz for two of USA’s new shows and draw attention to the four returning productions, XA designed and produced a series of public outdoor screenings at the Hudson River Park’s Pier 46. The picnic-ready setup on the waterfront offered free food and drinks, musical entertainment, lounge furniture, and a 35-foot screen. Items from the Entertainment Weekly and Häagen-Dazs partnership were also incorporated into the event—the magazine's Best of Summer issue was placed on tables and the ice cream brand's newly launched sundae cones were served from portable carts.
Best Staging and Set Design
"Afterhours Dioramas" at Creative Time Gala Benefit
Submitted by We Came in Peace
The theme for this year’s Creative Time annual silent auction and gala event was “Afterhours.” We Came in Peace drew inspiration from the ’80s nightclub scene to transform the Highline Stages into two living dioramas, each encompassing 60 square feet, complete with a glassed opening for peering inside. Guests were invited inside to become a part of each diorama’s story, which developed into an interpretive group love-in (in the ladies lounge) and a raging food fight (in the suburban kitchen).
Best Use of Technology
YouTube Play: Live at the Guggenheim
Submitted by Obscura Digital
Throughout the evening, Obscura Digital projected videos onto a large screen in the rotunda and onto the Guggenheim Museum’s facade, facing Fifth Avenue. A real-time 3D and video playback system was employed to trigger and alter media throughout the event. Live performances were also featured with Obscura’s synchronized audio visualizations. The external projections facilitated an experience for those who were outside the museum.
