April 11, 2017: Twitter Debuts New Way for Brands to Engage With Viewers During Live Broadcasts, Oscars Ban Movie-Promoting Lunches, Expedia to Offer VR Hotel Tours

1. TWITTER DEBUTS NEW WAY FOR BRANDS TO ENGAGE WITH VIEWERS DURING LIVE BROADCASTS: When brands broadcast live on Twitter via Periscope, fans can let them know they're enjoying the content by tapping a little heart. Now, brands will be able to create "custom hearts" for a particular live event stream. TechCrunch: "The customizations can be used alone or combined with pre-roll ads in brand sponsorships of broadcasts, says Twitter. The first campaign to feature custom hearts already went live, with NBC Universal being the debut client. The studio used its own graphics in a marketing campaign for its new movie, 'The Fate of the Furious,' which includes an integrated 'F8' custom heart for fans to tap on. The custom hearts appear alongside the multi-colored hearts that are typically shown – and that variation could induce users to tap more frequently, perhaps, translating into some sort of 'increased engagement' metric for the brand advertisers to tout. But brands don’t exactly have free reign to create their graphics through some sort of self-serve system, we understand. Twitter tells us that the customizations are instead designed in partnership with the brand before going live. That means Twitter won’t have to vet and approve submissions—an area where it got into trouble before, during the U.S. presidential campaigns. ... Twitter declined to speak about the cost for the customizations, however, when asked. The custom hearts can be seen on live and on-demand Periscope videos, regardless of whether that video is viewed on Periscope or Twitter." http://tcrn.ch/2or4TGn

2. OSCARS BAN MOVIE-PROMOTING LUNCHES: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released a number of new rules last week, including one that bans lunches and dinners that promote eligible films. New York Post: "But some voters were more focused on a further crackdown on what they can be fed at parties promoting films. Rule 1(b) 'prohibits any lunches or dinners intended to promote an eligible film for nomination,' but says 'reasonable food and beverage' can be served 'at screenings' or 'adjacent' to them. One insider told us that last year at a 'tea and cookies' reception following the screening of one indie film, when the Academy Awards’ New York director strolled by, 60 voters turned and jokingly yelled, 'We’re starving!'" http://pge.sx/2o06ks3

3. EXPEDIA TO OFFER VR HOTEL TOURS: Expedia will soon allow its users to tour potential hotels with a new virtual-reality feature. Mashable: "The travel giant is working on offering virtual reality versions of its listings, as more people have access to VR gear at home. 'If you're going to make the decision of [booking] a cruise, wouldn't it be cool if you could check out the ship [virtually] before you spend that much money?' Arthur Chapin, Expedia's Senior Vice President, Product and Design, said during a demo at the Expedia office in Singapore. VR could change the way people make their booking decisions, allowing users to virtually step into a hotel room and view its features, he said at the company's new innovation lab facility. And VR isn't the only technology Expedia is looking into. The travel company's also looking into smart voice devices like Amazon's Echo to see how they could be used to help in the travel booking process. 'I think voice is something that will become a part of how people interact with travel,' said Mr Chapin. 'So we're continuing to experiment with voice, and chatbots—not only on the consumer side but also on the partner side, so our hotel [clients] can interact with us through such chats.' Expedia, which spent more than $1 billion investing in technology last year, says it is crucial to do so because it would otherwise be 'very hard to keep up.'" http://on.mash.to/2oki37r

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  The 16th annual Taste of River North will take place July 21-23 in Ward Park.

LOS ANGELES:  InterContinental Hotels Group and Greenland U.S.A. have announced the opening of the Hotel Indigo's first hotel in Los Angeles—the 350-room, 18-story flagship Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown hotel, located at 899 Francisco Street in the new 6.3-acre mixed-use Metropolis development.

La La Land in Concert will take place May 26-27 at Hollywood Bowl. The film's composer, Justin Hurwitz, will conduct a 100-piece orchestra, choir, and jazz ensemble.

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA:  Chef Dee, DJ Khaled's personal chef, will open southern-style restaurant and catering venture Empty Plates in Miami's Little River on Friday. South Florida Business Journal: http://bit.ly/2p0380H

NEW YORK:  Tribeca and AT&T have partnered to launch AT&T Presents: Untold Stories, a new film initiative in which AT&T will provide funding of as much as $1 million for one filmmaker to bring their project to life. Tribeca Film Institute will curate a live pitch event on April 18, where five filmmakers will present their story ideas, budgets, and film scripts to a Greenlight committee.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's inaugural Big Climb NYC fund-raiser will take place April 23 in Times Square.

Food Tank, a nonprofit aimed at building a more sustainable food system, has partnered with cast members from Broadway's Mamma Mia to host Garjana, a dance workout charity event on April 26 at the Highline Ballroom.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

ORLANDO/CENTRAL FLORIDA:  Global Pet Expo, held in late March at the Orange County Convention Center, was the largest in the show's history with 6,761 buyers—a 9.5 percent increase over 2016. The event used 343,700 net square feet of exhibit space, nearly 24,000 feet more than in 2016.

SAN FRANCISCO:  Metallica, the Who, Gorillaz, Lorde, and more will headline the 10th annual Outside Lands music festival, which takes place August 11-13 at Golden Gate Park.

TORONTO:  Canada has launched a bid to host 10 games during the 2026 World Cup of Soccer. Toronto Star: http://bit.ly/2okhavv

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  The Newseum will host “The President and the Press: The First Amendment in the First 100 Days,” a half-day forum examining the Trump administration’s relationship with the press, on Wednesday. 

Event software company Social Tables has appointed Fabio Rosati to its board of directors as independent board director. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

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With contributions from Alesandra Dubin and Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Jill Menze, and Ian Zelaya in New York.

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