October 17, 2017: Why More Ad Agencies Are Launching Experiential Branches, Florida Declares State of Emergency Ahead of White Nationalist Event, Concert Discovery Tool Songkick to Close Operations

1. WHY MORE AD AGENCIES ARE LAUNCHING EXPERIENTIAL BRANCHES: France-based Lagardère Sports and Entertainment and New York-based Berlin Cameron are two of the latest advertising agencies to launch experiential divisions, as more agencies try to connect with consumers in person and make up for drops in traditional spending. Adweek: "The numbers strongly support this trend. According to research from IPG-owned Momentum Worldwide, experiential marketing—such as hosting an event versus distributing an ad—gets 82 percent of participants talking about a brand with others, moves 62 percent to research a brand online, changes the way 65 percent view a brand and—perhaps most importantly—inspires 53 percent to go out and buy a brand at retail. 'As people delete advertising from their lives, brands must remain visible and relevant,' Lagardère Sports and Entertainment chief strategy officer Jonathan Isaac told Adweek.  For that reason, France-based Lagardère is the latest agency diving deeper into immersive projects. Today, it unveiled an experiential and partnership marketing agency called Lagardère Plus, complete with new strategic, creative, digital and analytics capabilities. The launch of Plus stemmed, in part, from Lagardère Sports’ acquisition of London-based agency Brave, which has developed tech-driven campaigns for Amazon Prime, Brown-Forman and Panasonic, among others. ... But Lagardère isn’t the only network new to the world of experiential. WPP creative shop Berlin Cameron announced the launch of a similar offering last week, BCXP, and it already counts Capital One and ABC among its clients." http://bit.ly/2gfzQrx

2. FLORIDA DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AHEAD OF WHITE NATIONALIST EVENT: Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency ahead of an upcoming speech by white nationalist Richard Spencer at the University of Florida. Washington Post: "Scott (R) warned in an executive order that a 'threat of a potential emergency is imminent' in Alachua County, where the public university is located. The order was intended to help with law enforcement agencies’ response to rallies planned for Thursday, the governor said in a news release. University of Florida officials said Monday afternoon that the order was not made in response to any specific heightened threat. Spencer led hundreds of torch-bearing white supremacists, white nationalists and others on a march chanting, 'You will not replace us' and 'Jews will not replace us' at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in August. The group fought briefly with counterprotesters, and violence worsened the following day when a man drove a car into a crowd of people protesting a planned 'Unite the Right' rally, killing a woman and injuring others. In the days afterward, the University of Florida told Spencer he could not hold an event he had planned on campus. After his supporters and a lawyer questioned that decision on First Amendment grounds, the school allowed Spencer to schedule his speech and question-and-answer session for Thursday. University officials have done extensive planning for the event and said they intend to spend $500,000 on security." http://wapo.st/2yqrLZj

3. CONCERT DISCOVERY TOOL SONGKICK TO CLOSE OPERATIONS: Songkick, a ticketing company and concert discovery tool, will close down at the end of the month. The company has been in litigation with Ticketmaster. Variety: “The company, which specialized in selling tickets directly to fans through artists’ websites and fan clubs, will continue its lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation.  The suit includes allegations of antitrust violations and anticompetitive behavior. ‘I’m sad to write that on October 31, Songkick will bow to pressure from Live Nation and Ticketmaster and complete the shutdown of all ticketing operations (including the design and maintenance of artist webpages) we began earlier this year when Ticketmaster and Live Nation effectively blocked our US ticketing business,’ founder and CEO Matt Jones wrote in the letter. … The lawsuit, which also includes the ticketing service Crowdsurge (which merged with Songkick in 2015), claims that Ticketmaster hired one of CrowdSurge’s top executives, Stephen Mead, who hacked into his former employer’s database in order to provide real-time information about its plans. According to the suit, the hacking was so extensive that Ticketmaster was able to see which artists CrowdSurge was hoping to work with, giving Ticketmaster the opportunity to obtain the artists’ business.” http://bit.ly/2zrqvFr

* LOCAL NEWS *

CHICAGO:  The seventh annual BeerHoptacular will take place November 4 at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios. The event will have craft beer tastings from more than 70 breweries. 

LAS VEGAS:  Downtown Beer Festival, Motley Brews’ backyard beer bash, will return to the Clark County Amphitheater on October 21. The event is expected to draw 4,000 guests, and feature nearly 200 craft beers, live musical acts, and culinary offerings. 

LOS ANGELES:  The inaugural Vulture Festival Los Angeles, which will take place November 18-19 at the Hollywood Roosevelt, has announced its lineup, which includes panels, screenings, exclusive cast reunions, a private museum tour, and a live comedy show. Featured guests will include Kerry Washington and the cast of Scandal, plus Natalie Portman, Sarah Silverman, James Franco, Lena Dunham, and more. 

Gwyneth Paltrow will be honored for her commitment to low-income children at “Paul Mitchell Presents the 2017 Baby2Baby Gala” on November 11 at 3Labs. 

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

NEW YORK:  Kicked It In Heels, a nonprofit that educates women—specifically young women and women of color—about breast cancer, will host its fifth annual Kicked It In Heels Benefit on Wednesday at Beautique. The event will be hosted by CNN commentator Angela Rye. 

Performa, an organization that encourages new directions in live performance for the 21st century, will host the Performa 17 Opening Night Gala and Celebration on November 1 at Harlem Parish. The event will honor artist Yoko Ono and Wendy Fisher, president of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. 

New York Cruise Lines, which operates Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises and New York Water Taxi, has appointed Craig Kanarick chief executive officer. 

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

SAN FRANCISCO:  Civil Eats, a nonprofit independent news and commentary site focused on the American food system, will host its second annual benefit November 13 at the Pearl. Civil Eats: http://bit.ly/2xJypbi

ST. LOUIS:  Maritz Global Events has launched the Design Studio, a solution that provides enhanced client services around the company’s experience design methodology.

TORONTO:  Borrel, a Dutch snack bar and restaurant, is slated to open at the Danforth. BlogTO: http://bit.ly/2gdvTDC

WASHINGTON, D.C.:  Slate Wine Bar and Bistro in Glover Park will hold a wine-tasting event Wednesday to benefit the victims of the recent Northern California fires. Hand-selected by restaurant owner Danny Lledó, the evening will include tastes from five different pinot noirs from the Sonoma, California, and Willamette, Oregon, regions. A portion of proceeds from the evening will be donated directly to the North Bay Fire Relief, an aid initiative set up by Senator Mike McGuire, The Press Democrat newspaper, and the RCU Community Fund to assist those affected.

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

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