BIZBASH CALL SHEET — #155 — Friday, 12.02.11
Compiled today by Chad Kaydo and Jana Schiowitz in New York
Feed the Sheet: [email protected]
Subscribe: http://info.bizbash.com/callsheet.html
* INCOMING *
1. OLYMPICS ROYAL AMBASSADORS: Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry have been named official ambassadors for the 2012 London Olympic Games, which begin July 27. The three will be in charge of producing greater awareness of the games, and encourage the British public to support the Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Access Hollywood:
http://bit.ly/sZZbzv
2. BLACK FRIDAY CHECK-INS: Retailers don't understand Foursquare enough to glean value and drive engagement at big consumer events like Black Friday. Ad Age: "If Foursquare gets its post-mortem, people will no doubt conclude it died from lack of mainstream adoption, but the truth is it died from lack of education. Lack of education from retailers about the value exchange taking place and a drive to connect. Brands like RadioShack, Macy's and American Express have tried to educate people, but it has either been too little or too late for middle America. Generally speaking, consumers just have not learned fast enough how to utilize these tools to their benefit."
http://bit.ly/tpsej5
3. DIGITAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT: A McKinsey report says many brands are still learning how to attract consumers using digital media. The firm polled 792 marketing executives; 81 percent agreed having an effective online presence was either "very" or "extremely" important. Looking four years into the future, 48 percent of the sample thought mobile apps would be crucial and 47 percent expected social media to be key. Warc.com:
http://bit.ly/rF8S4E
4. HOLIDAY PARTY TRENDS: Evite released a list of consumer party trends:
* People planning holiday gatherings are planning ahead, sending online invitation to guests around 20 days in advance.
*The most popular date for a holiday party is Sunday, December 11.
* Evite's average holiday guest list size is up 10 percent.
5. NEW NASCAR MARKETER: The racing association named Kim Brink managing director of brand and consumer marketing. Brink was previously executive director of advertising and sales promotion for Cadillac at General Motors. Ad Age:
http://bit.ly/tUxTG8
* LOCAL NEWS *
BOSTON: The fifth annual Gingerbread Contest and 90th anniversary of Wenham Museum will be displayed December 3-17, including the Gingerbread Express model train layout.
http://bit.ly/Jb98U
CHICAGO: The Fine Arts Building, the Flat Iron Arts Building and Arts Entertainment LLC will host a holiday celebration December 9. The event will feature ten floors of performances—tap dancing, symphony, spoken word, opera, jazz, ballet, theatre recitals, chamber music, modern music, and visual arts.
Entertainment Cruises has three New Year's cruises planned for December 30 to January 1.
Kimpton’s Hotel Allegro bringing back Santa Paws December 10-11. The weekend-long event invites neighborhood pets and hotel guests’ pets to the living room lobby for holiday treats, decor, and photos with Santa.
Olivia Palermo will host a TopShop Holiday party December 6 with snacks from Blue Plate Catering, music from DJ Megan Taylor, makeovers from Kelly Cardenas Salon, and manicures from nail artist Astrowifey.
LAS VEGAS: The three-week engagement of the Cirque du Soleil show "Michael Jackson: the Immortal World Tour" will kick off December 3 with a premiere at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Walking the red carpet prior to the show will be Jackson family members, the Cirque creative team, and other celebrities.
LOS ANGELES: Jeff Margolis, executive producer and director of the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild awards, has announced the event's production team. Kathy Connell will produce. The awards committee includes chair JoBeth Williams, vice-chair Daryl Anderson, and committee members Scott Bakula, Shelley Fabares, and Paul Napier.
Wall Street Journal: "NBCUniversal is planning to expand its Los Angeles theme park with a section devoted to the 'Harry Potter' franchise, according to people familiar with the matter, hoping to repeat the success of a similar attraction at NBCU's Orlando, Florida, resort."
http://on.wsj.com/vkDJVN
The L.A. Times called Wednesday night's Bafta Brittania awards "saucy and sincere," noting that honoree Ben Stiller even poked fun at the group's relative obscurity stateside. "The event, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, had a casual vibe, with both presenters and honorees interspersing their speeches with expletives."
http://lat.ms/swUJMc
MIAMI/SOUTH FLORIDA: On December 3, a pop-up styled after Nur Khan's Electric Room at the Dream South Beach hotel, will host Playboy's late-night Ketel One-sponsored event during Art Basel. The Sacramento Bee:
http://bit.ly/tLBFlI
The Snow Days event returns to Coconut Grove to help kick off the holiday season, December 3 and 10. The event is presented annually by the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District.
NEW YORK: The Winter Antiques Show marks its 58th year January 20-29 at the Park Avenue Armory. This installment will feature 75 exhibitors and specialists in 18th and 19th century folk art paintings, 17th through 19th century American furniture, tribal art, and more.
http://bit.ly/53iqQT
David Chang will continue taking his Momofuku brand global. Last month, he opened his first eatery outside of the U.S. in Sydney and next year, the noodle brand will open in Toronto. Seattlepi.com
http://bit.ly/uoCu80
The New York Botanical Garden's 12th annual Winter Wonderland Ball is December 9 with Saks Fifth Avenue and St. John as the underwriters and additional support by Domaine de Canton and Judith Leiber.
ORLANDO: Disney has cancelled plans to transform a floor of the Contemporary Resort into "health and wellness" suites, as originally announced last April. Orlando Sentinel:
http://thesent.nl/skMbXb
TORONTO: The new Loblaws opened Wednesday in Maple Leaf Gardens, the former home of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The urban grocery store features a maple leaf statue made out of original stadium seats, tables with hockey photo collages, and a red dot in aisle 25 marking center ice. The Star:
http://bit.ly/uZUK9M
WASHINGTON: Talk radio host and Fox News Channel personality Sean Hannity will host a concert series, "Sean Hannity's Holiday Concert Salute to the Troops." The concert will feature marine Michael W. Smith, Oliver North, and Five for Fighting. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund.
http://bit.ly/uMTLSR
YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected].
With contributions from Jenny Berg in Chicago, Alesandra Dubin in Los Angeles, Mitra Sorrells in Orlando, Carla Warrilow in Toronto, and Matthew Mogavero, Jana Schiowitz, Anna Sekula, Courtney Thompson, and Katherine Zoeller in New York.
BizBash Call Sheet is the must-read daily digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.
Feed the Sheet: [email protected]
Subscribe: http://info.bizbash.com/callsheet.html
