ISES NYC Sustainability Summit 2012
Submitted by Drury Design Dynamics
Held at the Rubin Museum of Art, the 2012 ISES NYC Sustainability Summit saw 200 event professionals learn about green resources, hear tips, and identify trends in the industry through workshops and speakers. Drury Design Dynamics designed an immersive, 360-degree perspective of sustainable events—following the newly developed Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) and A.S.T.M. green meetings and events standards—creating seven green-driven “social spaces” and encouraging sponsors and stakeholders to commit to the strategy.
Adobe Max
Submitted by Pix Productions
Some 5,000 designers and developers attended the two-day Adobe Max conference, an event dubbed the Creativity Conference and intended to highlight the computer software company’s brand identity and inspire its audience. To do this, Pix Productions used scenic screen and media design to showcase Adobe’s products and capabilities in several areas. This included a stage enclosed by seven screens, which formed an immersive canvas for video.
Threshold Dollhouse Presented by Target
Submitted by Deutsch
Ad agency Deutsch worked with Target to build a two-story 1,540-square-foot dollhouse in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in 54 hours. For two days, about 19,000 visitors wandered through seven rooms furnished with more than 3,000 products from Target’s Threshold Home collection. The pop-up installation included spaces like a 40- by 20-foot patio with free Wi-Fi and a master bathroom that offered beauty touchups. Items marked with QR codes allowed consumers to instantly scan and purchase items.
“Danny & Aaron Get Married”
Submitted by B. Levine Productions
With a simple design mandate of “Tom Ford” and a desire for the affair to be over-the-top, the same-sex wedding for Hollywood couple Aaron Rosenberg and Danny Rose was executed by B. Levine Productions and EFG PR. The look of the 300-person gathering at Paramount Studios included a palette of black and gold with brown accents, a gold-latticed chuppah, spiral topiaries, and a custom R&R logo. There was even a horse dressed as a unicorn as well as a dance-off for the couple’s first dance.
Data Center Summit 2013
Submitted by Corinthian Events
Corinthian Events partnered with Dayla Arabella to revitalize the Markley Group’s annual Data Center Summit. That included transforming the company’s unfinished storage area with full wall-to-wall carpet, perimeter and individual booth drape, and custom carpets and signage for top-tier sponsors. Corinthian Events also designed and managed online registration for the trade show and executed on-site electronic check-in.
Farmers’ Market-Inspired Corporate Networking Event
Submitted by Blueprint Studios
Blueprint Studios brought engagement to a networking event for a corporate client by creating a high-end gourmet farmers’ market that focused on the locally grown and produced, sustainable, community-sourced food movement. With numerous food stations and seating areas, the open-air event’s decor evoked a festive harvest with vibrant colors and rustic furniture, and guests were invited to browse, taste, and interact with educational kiosks, including one that featured a partial beehive and honeybee colony encased in glass.
Warner Brothers International Television Distribution Gala
Submitted by Warner Brothers Special Events
To fete the TV group's programming during the annual “L.A. screenings” for international buyers, Warner Brothers used unusual sights and sounds to impress some 1,500 guests. The organizers of the gala digitally mapped pyro-centric projections to buildings that surrounded the space set up inside the Warner Brothers Studios lot, lined a coal-walking area with tiki torches, and had an entertainer known as Skyfire perform on an elevated 17- by 40-foot truss frame using electrical currents generated from a 15-foot Tesla coil. They even set fire to an 18-foot voodoo doll.
Charity:Ball 2012
Submitted by Empire Entertainment
To outperform the previous year’s fund-raising take and introduce technology in an engaging way, Charity:Water used R.F.I.D. wristbands at its New York gala in 2012. The concept, conceived and executed by Empire Entertainment, invited guests to pledge funds by moving into designated spaces surrounding the stage. Designed almost like a board game, Charity:Ball’s call-to-action allowed for several levels of donation, starting with sections for $200 and $500, and culminating with $50,000. Elsewhere, attendees could buy helium-filled balloons for a nominal amount, releasing the inflatables into a net that resembled the nonprofit’s Jerry can logo when filled.
DX Intersection
Submitted by the Design Exchange
To reflect the museum’s new style of broad-ranging exhibitions and bid to attract a wider audience, Design Exchange revamped its big fund-raiser. Rechristened DX Intersection, the event used interactive installations and surprise activities to engage guests across the three levels of the museum, including a secret underground dinner party, an auction of pieces made from Ikea products, a chandelier of Black Friday-theme newsprint, and roaming models that sold balloons that, when popped, contained numbers that corresponded to prizes.
Hendrick's Gin Voyages Into the Unusual
Submitted by Momentum Worldwide
The promotional marketing tour for Hendrick’s Gin was designed to showcase the brand’s unique properties and entice nightlife influencers as well as creative consumers. So Momentum Worldwide crafted a series of events that had secret rooms, character actors, and unusual offerings like an apothecary shop. At one bar, dubbed the “Monster Box,” a server wearing a fuzzy glove that resembled a monster paw stood behind a small curtain. When guests approached the curtain, the beastly hand poked through holding a drink.
Open Solutions' Community Carnival
Submitted by Exhilarate Events
For Open Solutions’ first company teambuilding event, Exhilarate Events looked to create a program that not only brought together office workers, sales people, and operations managers, but also communicated the banking technology firm’s commitment to corporate social responsibility by involving local community charities in Orlando. The carnival-theme outing had employees as carnies, entertaining 100 special-needs children and their families with free games and prizes. The planners spent no more than $20,000 on the event, which included face painting, costumes, some professional entertainers, and activities like mini golf.
The Container Store Orlando Private Preview Party
Submitted by Puff 'n Stuff Catering
As part of the private preview party for the Container Store in Orlando—an event for 2,000 guests in the central Florida community—Puff ‘n Stuff Catering designed six themed stations and placed them around the venue. Each station was integrated into merchandise displays and designed using only the products available in the store. That included placing colorful macarons in drawers, mini corn dogs with grain mustard aioli in decorative boxes, and assorted dim sum on trays.
Caesars Entertainment's Escape to Total Rewards Launch
Submitted by Caravents
To promote Caesars Entertainment Group’s Escape to Total Rewards program, Caravents was hired by PR and marketing agency PMK-BNC to simultaneously produce four concerts in four cities. Big-name artists including Mariah Carey, Maroon 5, Mary J. Blige, and Cee Lo Green performed for in-person and online audiences, with live satellite feeds broadcasting the performances between the events in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New Orleans, as well as on various Web sites.
Christie at InfoComm 2012
Submitted by Bart Kresa Design
To show off Christie Digital’s mapping technology at InfoComm last year, Bart Kresa Design created a large-scale video experience. Kresa’s team designed a 14-foot-high multitiered pyramid on which four branded projections were displayed. The logo of the display technology company and its brand messaging were intermixed with dynamic animation, while saturated colors and complex image transitions emphasized the capabilities of its latest projector product.
Ferragamo Vara Event
Submitted by Van Wyck & Van Wyck
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of Ferragamo’s iconic Vara shoe, Van Wyck & Van Wyck designed a spring rooftop party filled with vibrant blossoms that kept the feminine character of the brand. Decor elements included a flower stand with bouquets of red and pink peonies, pale and deep pink hydrangeas, and cherry-red tulips, a faux flower-filled press wall, and a lane lined with cherry blossoms. At the end of the night, guests plucked souvenirs from the flower stand.
RBC Canadian Open 2012
Submitted by RBC
The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) employed several green, sustainable practices for its title sponsorship of the 2012 Canadian Open.The effort included enlisting Bullfrog Power to provide clean, renewable energy and green natural gas; neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions from diesel generators through the purchase and retirement of carbon offsets; diverting 71 percent of waste from landfills by collecting recyclables and organics; and reducing reliance on water bottles by placing five water stations across the grounds and selling collapsible containers. Additionally, the RBC team promoted biking to the event and, as a result, more than a thousand bicycles were parked in the racks provided.
Samsung Unpacked Episode 1
Submitted by Barkley Kalpak Agency
For the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 smartphone in New York, Barkley Kalpak Agency built a three-story set that included a custom curved staircase, built-in lighting, and a Mini Cooper mounted on the lower level. Using Radio City Music Hall’s hydraulic and fly-in system as well as a 40-foot-tall, 85-foot-wide projection screen, the producers were able to move in set pieces and present the gadget in a variety of scenarios. The audience saw a dance recital on the Upper West Side, a train station in Shanghai, an airport in Paris, and the drive to a bachelorette party in Miami Beach.
Charity:Ball 2012
Submitted by Empire Entertainment
As a way to make Charity:Ball’s live call-for-donations more accessible to all attendees, Empire Entertainment and Charity:Water redesigned the fund-raiser’s “live auction” experience using R.F.I.D. wristbands. The organizers turned the area around the stage into a giant board game, inviting guests to enter colored sections to pledge specific amounts. Not only did the technology-embedded wristbands recognize which amount a donor was pledging, but the gadgets also sent the information to large screens overhead, allowing the organizers to display a real-time tally as well as thank each donor.
Bing SXSW Recharge Lounge
Submitted by NYFF Events
To promote Microsoft’s Bing brand at SXSW, producer NYFF Events married new technology with social media at the Web search engine’s lounge activation. By linking R.F.I.D. bracelets to their Facebook accounts at the Recharge Lounge, guests were able to share their experience and, at challenge stations, earn points that could be redeemed for prizes as well as food and drink from vending machines. The initiative generated nearly 120,000 social media impressions for the brand.
G.E. Renewables at WindPower 2013
Submitted by EP&M International
G.E. Renewables worked with EP&M International at WindPower 2013 to create a highly interactive, two-tiered, 50- by 80-foot booth. The first tier held a refreshment bar as well as meeting space for guests and G.E. sales staff, while the upstairs deck featured a comfortable lounge for more privacy. The booth also had interactive kiosks equipped with e-literature and product information.
Video Tattoo Badges
Submitted by Video Tattoo
Video Tattoo Badges first debuted at IMEX Frankfurt 2012, where the digital pieces for attendees to wear replaced the traditional badges seen at trade shows. The gadgets can broadcast video, photos, and graphics to inform guests about multiple aspects of an event and to identify the wearer. Light and reusable, the new product can display sponsor content as well as notices of schedule changes.
Oscar Collection
Submitted by Marc Friedland Couture Communications
With the help of Evite’s Postmark.com, Marc Friedland Couture Communications and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences produced a digital version of the famed Oscar-winner envelope for a public promotional campaign. Oscar fans were encouraged to use the Academy-sanctioned invitations for their own viewing parties of the Academy Awards. Each invitation was first physically created by hand then digitized for the general public.
Private Summer Party
Submitted by RedBliss
Rafanelli Events hired RedBliss to design an invitation that revealed the private party’s safari theme in a memorable way. The result was a 3-D piece with a cardboard elephant head mounted on zebrawood and details about the affair—including the dress code—etched on a gold plaque underneath.
HBO Girls Premiere Party
Submitted by Capitale
HBO hosted the premiere party for the second season of its hit TV series Girls at Capitale and, to bring the show’s Brooklyn setting to the Manhattan locale as well as provide a photo op, the network built a scale replica of the Brooklyn Bridge—indoors.
Dow Hospitality Experience and Video
Submitted by Jack Morton Worldwide
To position Dow Chemical as an important player in the Olympic Games and articulate the reason behind its sponsorship of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to clients and partners, the company enlisted the help of Jack Morton Worldwide. As part of a hospitality experience, the team turned a ballroom into an immersive environment with a 270-degree video projection transporting guests through the streets of London and into Dow’s relationship with the international sports competition.
Target's “Falling for You”
Submitted by space150
As part of Target’s extensive fall campaign last year, space150 created an online, three-part romantic comedy called Falling for You, which was designed to showcase the new line on-screen for consumers. To illustrate how the video provided content the public could use to shop the retailer’s collection while watching, the Minneapolis-based digital marketing company created a video case study that showed the thought process behind the concept, how it was executed, and the results of the experimental initiative.
The Bently Reserve
Originally the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Bently Reserve combines the site’s rich past with contemporary California style. The former banking hall designed by architect George W. Kelham still has artist Jules Guerin’s lavish mural in the lobby and a grand staircase, but it also offers hidden high-tech features, like iPad-controlled LED lighting. The LEED Silver-certified venue comes equipped with a full kitchen capable of serving large gatherings.
The Bently Reserve
Originally the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, the Bently Reserve combines the site’s rich past with contemporary California style. The former banking hall designed by architect George W. Kelham still has artist Jules Guerin’s lavish mural in the lobby and a grand staircase, but it also offers hidden high-tech features, like iPad-controlled LED lighting. The LEED Silver-certified venue comes equipped with a full kitchen capable of serving large gatherings.
Capitale
Designed by renowned architect Stanford White in 1895, New York’s Capitale boasts a 15,000-square-foot grand ballroom with Corinthian columns, Venetian glass, mosaic marble floors, and 65-foot vaulted ceilings. For more intimate affairs, two 2,000-square-foot spaces are available on the upper levels, while a private chef’s tasting table sits adjacent to the bank’s original iron vault, which now serves as the venue’s liquor and wine cellar. The site has its own LED lighting system as well as an in-house catering department with executive chef Osvaldo Garrido at the helm.
Arcadian
Located on the eighth floor of downtown Toronto’s Hudson’s Bay flagship store, the Arcadian encompasses two venues—the reclaimed Arcadian Court and the contemporary Arcadian Loft. The Arcadian Court, one of Toronto’s oldest ballrooms, features an Art Deco design, with grand arches and light fixtures that mimic the original Lalique crystal chandeliers. The Arcadian Loft offers stainless steel details, grey-stained oak, and loftlike accents. Both spaces are equipped with technology for events and meetings.
Yellowstone Under Canvas
Located near Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Under Canvas features local wildlife, mountain views, and open meadows. The venue offers a unique and versatile event space including canvas luxury marquee tents, safari tents, and teepees. Outdoor activities are also available, such as white-water rafting, clay shooting, and guided fly-fishing.
Yellowstone Under Canvas
Located near Yellowstone National Park, Yellowstone Under Canvas features local wildlife, mountain views, and open meadows. The venue offers a unique and versatile event space including canvas luxury marquee tents, safari tents, and teepees. Outdoor activities are also available, such as white-water rafting, clay shooting, and guided fly-fishing.
VenueOne
Designed by Event Creative C.E.O. Sean Cannon, VenueOne is a modern event center in Chicago created by event professionals for event professionals. Flexible and equipped with 33,000 square feet of space, the location offers a full inventory of custom-designed lounge furniture and is equipped with an array of technology, including a LED color-changing light system, a built-in sound system, and a seamless plasma wall.
Barnes Foundation
The new Barnes Foundation campus opened last spring on Philadelphia’s iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The two-story 93,000-square-foot site houses a vast art collection, a main venue that holds 500 guests, a 160-seat auditorium, and smaller spaces for intimate gatherings. There’s also a 50-seat café as well as indoor and outdoor gardens. Events at the venue support the institution's underlying educational mission by inviting the community to participate in various programs.
Daniels Spectrum
Located in downtown Toronto’s Regent Park redevelopment, Daniels Spectrum was designed by Diamond & Schmitt Architects and has a mandate to support culturally diverse and inclusive events. The colorful facility features a fully equipped main hall with a 300-seat retractable bleacher system and two retractable walls, an outdoor stage, and a lounge for smaller performances, meetings, and receptions.
Lonesome Valley
Fitted with a view of the southern Appalachian mountains of Cashiers, North Carolina, Lonesome Valley occupies 800 acres of rainforest north of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The venue features a stylish barn, known as Canyon Kitchen, with wood- and zinc-top tables, rope basket and iron light fixtures, and indoor and outdoor stone fireplaces. John Fleer, a chef recognized by the James Beard Foundation, oversees menus for events at Canyon Kitchen, using fresh produce and organic selections from the community gardens and surrounding area.
Skirball Cultural Center
For weddings, the Skirball Cultural Center offers the Taper Courtyard, located in the Santa Monica Mountains. The sleek, modern space designed by architect Moshe Safdie features a reflecting pool, views of the hillside, and a variety of indoor facilities, including a ballroom with custom-made chairs and versatile tableware.
VenueOne
Designed by Event Creative C.E.O. Sean Cannon, VenueOne is a modern event center in Chicago created by event professionals for event professionals. Flexible and equipped with 33,000 square feet of space, the location offers a full inventory of custom-designed lounge furniture and is equipped with an array of technology, including a LED color-changing light system, a built-in sound system, and a seamless plasma wall.
Lonesome Valley
Fitted with a view of the southern Appalachian mountains of Cashiers, North Carolina, Lonesome Valley occupies 800 acres of rainforest north of the Blue Ridge Escarpment. The venue features a stylish barn, known as Canyon Kitchen, with wood- and zinc-top tables, rope basket and iron light fixtures, and indoor and outdoor stone fireplaces. John Fleer, a chef recognized by the James Beard Foundation, oversees menus for events at Canyon Kitchen, using fresh produce and organic selections from the community gardens and surrounding area.
The Fermenting Cellar
Located in Toronto’s iconic Distillery Historic District, the site was originally constructed to house fermenting tanks. The Fermenting Cellar’s heavy timber beams and trusses, vaulted ceilings, and exposed limestone walls give the venue an industrial feel, a look softened by contemporary design elements. The 8,000-square-foot venue holds 600 for receptions.
Malaparte at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Located on the sixth floor of TIFF Bell Lightbox, Malaparte offers a clean and modern look, with silver leaf-covered molding on 15-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The venue has direct access to a rooftop terrace and outdoor amphitheater, which is modeled after the roof of the iconic Villa Malaparte in Capri—where director Jean-Luc Godard shot the film Le Mépris.
High Rooftop Lounge
The High Rooftop Lounge sits atop Hotel Erwin in Venice Beach, providing 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean and the Venice Beach boardwalk. The open-air space, set with comfy couches and banquette seating, offers a menu of cocktails and snacks and has room for 95.
Vertigo Sky Lounge
Occupying the 26th floor of the Dana Hotel and Spa, the Vertigo Sky Lounge features floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook Chicago’s River North neighborhood. The sleek 150-seat patio has a stainless steel fire pit and boxwood-paneled walls with a 12-foot aluminum “V.” A V.I.P. area features a blackboard wall and a 20-foot bar.
Milk Studios Penthouse
Located atop the photography studio’s New York facility, the Milk Studios Penthouse offers panoramic views of the surrounding area and a wood-decked space decorated with custom teak furniture and a rare Japanese purple bonsai tree. The flexible 3,000-square-foot site, which has been used for product launches, fund-raisers, and other soirees, holds as many as 250 guests.
Malaparte at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Located on the sixth floor of TIFF Bell Lightbox, Malaparte offers a clean and modern look, with silver leaf-covered molding on 15-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. The venue has direct access to a rooftop terrace and outdoor amphitheater, which is modeled after the roof of the iconic Villa Malaparte in Capri—where director Jean-Luc Godard shot the film Le Mépris.
11. Keep a Child Alive's 10th annual Black Ball was held at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom in November. The charity organization's creative director Earle Sebastian and creative producer Natalie Galazka collaborated with Empire Entertainment on the evening's clean, elegant look, which included silver lanterns and arrangements of proteas on the dinner tables.
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Immediately following the show, the Recording Academy’s official after-party took over a space the size of three football fields within the Los Angeles Convention Center. Among the team of producers for the Recording Academy was Branden Chapman, who said: "With more than 600 catering and service staff, 400 production team members, 200 security agents, 60 dancers and acrobats, five featured performances, and hundreds of hours of planning, it is a daunting yet rewarding task to mount the largest and most complex awards show after-party annually.” Angel City Designs executed the event's Roaring '20s design and decor.
Oversize Deco-style artwork covered the walls and gave the massive space a more intimate feel.
Lettering to spell out the Nielsen brand name decked a wall of greenery as an arrivals photo backdrop.
Billboard hosted multiple events during Grammy week: At its London West Hollywood after-party with Citi and Bud Light Platinum, produced by Mac Presents, the event's hashtag was unmissable from the moment of arrival. A custom photo booth in the event's rooftop party space also allowed guests to take a series of photos to create an animated GIF they could easily share to their social networks; the GIFs were displayed on a water wall behind the pool to add an interactive visual component and increase chatter around the #billboardparty hashtag. And Stoelt Productions produced the Billboard Power 100 pre-Grammy event for the trade at the Emerson Theatre earlier in the week.
In Toronto, C2 Catering Couture serves sugar bubbles filled with chocolate mousse and a fortune cookie. The dessert is served alongside a hammer to crack open the sphere.
At the Sunday-night event, faux industrial beams added major visual drama to tent ceilings. The design of the bash was inspired by the ultimate New York loft, according to producer 15/40 Productions.
MobileCause began in 2006 as a text-to-give system, with billing handled by cell phone carriers. In June 2012, the company added mobile pledging, which allows users to send a text message to make a donation and then click through on their phones to pay with a credit card. Donors can also add a message, which is displayed on the “donation thermometer” in real time at the event. Donors instantly receive a text message response that thanks them for the donation and provides a link to click through to input credit card information. The mobile site also provides a “remember me” option, which allows the organization to save the donor's information and use it for future communication. For those who opt not to pay at the event, MobileCause provides call center staff who contact each donor a few days later to fulfill the payment over the phone. Pricing ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 for consulting services, plus a transaction fee of 50 cents and between 5 percent and 7.25 percent per donation.
BidPal offers two options for mobile bidding at an event. The original system, which the company has offered since 2009, is run on a closed Wi-Fi network and attendees log in using their smartphone or an iPod Touch provided by BidPal. Last year the company also began offering a cellular–based system due to the increase in smartphone usage and improvement in cellular signals within venues. Later this year BidPal will offer a hybrid solution that provides both cellular and Wi-Fi access at one event. BidPal can be used for general donations as well as bidding on auction items, with instant “outbid” alerts, and pledges can be displayed on a leaderboard. Users can check out directly on their mobile device. Planners can also use BidPal’s event management functions, including single-ticket and table sales, donor thank-yous, and post-event reports that provide data such as which items had the most interest and when most bidding took place. Pricing is based on a combination of a booking fee and an event fee.
Two Oceans Wine hosted a relaunch party at Polson Pier's Solarium in Toronto on June 18. Organized by Your Brand Integrated Marketing Communications, the event had a bar with a 30-foot moving projection that showcased moving water and the wine brand's logo.
