Publicity Stunts

Co-founders and C.E.O.s, Civic Entertainment Group, New York
Claim to fame: Cohn and Ruderfer’s experiential marketing agency, which they established after launching New York City’s marketing and special events division under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, is behind some of the biggest publicity stunts and events for brands like CNN, Kiehl’s, and Southwest Airlines. In addition to projects like an education summit hosted by NBC News and a full-service restaurant and studio hub for CNN during South by Southwest and the 2008 Republican and Democratic National Conventions, Civic Entertainment Group is responsible for a number of HBO promotions. In 2010, that meant flying 250 Pacific War veterans to Washington to attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II memorial as part of the premiere for The Pacific. In September, the company put a  Prohibition-era train back in service to herald the upcoming debut of Boardwalk Empire’s second season.
Big innovation: In looking to create strategic public-private collaborations, Cohn and Ruderfer have found that brands and civic entities can be surprisingly valuable partners. HBO and the U.S. Postal Service collaborated to promote letter-writing and the miniseries John Adams; the campaign allowed consumers to send free postcards and marked post-office receipts and cancellation stamps with the URL of a dedicated Web site.
Typical day: “Busy, busy, busy,” says Ruderfer.
Quick tip: “Be unusually resourceful and uncommonly tenacious,” says Cohn.

The OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa hosted the first Electric Run November 30, a trippy nighttime 5K run/walk set to electronic dance music that saw more than 10,000 participants dressed in glow-in-the-dark costumes surrounded by a million watts of lights.

Plastic red cups played heavily into Saucony's December 4 gathering at the Coppertank Events Center. A satellite event to the Running Event in Austin, the party featured a fence wall that spelled out the brand's name using Solo cups. The installation was meant to evoke a backyard or block-party feel.

At the AIDS Foundation of Chicago's "World of Chocolate" event on November 29, a silent auction let guests bid at different levels and choose a number on a punch board that corresponded to that level. Event staffers dressed as professional boxers would then punch a hole through that number and reveal a corresponding prize.

John Laraio of Mobius8 performed at the Fusion Fashion & Art Show December 6 at LMNT Contemporary Art Space in Miami. Mobius8 is electronica performance art that combines lighting, visual effects, and lasers that morph to the beat of dance music.

At the Miami Beach launch of William John Kennedy’s portraits of Andy Warhol December 7, guests ate roasted Peking duck moo-shoo rolls with hoisin-marinated scallions served in mini take-out boxes adorned with Warhol's portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong. Other Warhol-inspired bites from the Villa by Barton G. included tomato gazpacho served in mini iconic Campbell's soup cans and Kobe beef sliders served on a tray of Coca-Cola bottles.

A branded shuffleboard game at Harper’s Bazaar's ShopBazaar.com pop-up last week at the Buena Vista Building in Miami offered winners free T-shirts, cash prizes, and gift certificates. XA produced the space and its events.

For the season three premiere party for Portlandia, IFC took over New York’s American Museum of Natural History and created quirky displays to match the show’s offbeat portrayal of Portland. The Monday night event included miniature scenes of Portlandians everyday activities in glass terrariums.

The Children's Defense Fund's 22nd annual Beat the Odds award ceremony December 6 honored five Los Angeles high school students who overcame personal obstacles and achieved academic excellence. To incorporate the teenagers into the night's visuals, the organizers used a gallery of black-and-white portraits as the backdrop for the stage at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Art Arellanes produced the event; Revelry handled the scenic production and Richard Taylor provided the lighting design.

An inventive ploy for on-the-spot donations, Charity:Water invited guests at its seventh Charity:Ball in New York to buy helium-filled balloons for $5 a pop. The attendees at the Monday-night event then could release the inflatables in a net shaped like a giant jerry can—an image the nonprofit uses to symbolize its mission of bringing clean water to developing countries.

Bloor Street Entertains, a fund-raiser for CANFAR, took place in several venues on the Toronto street on November 28. Students from Seneca College worked with event producer Spinraduis to design a table with an Elegant Winter theme in the William Ashley china shop. At each place setting, Christmas tree ornaments shaped like glittering presents served as name cards, and guests took home the festive trinkets at the end of the night. Ecostems designed the lush centerpiece.

Following the ING Miami Marathon January 27, Target sponsored a lounge with a 40- by 20-foot wall consisting of more than 12,000 motivational pins. The pins were printed with inspiring words such as "Champion" and helped promote Target's line of C9 by Champion athletic apparel.

With fashion bloggers styling models and nearly half a million people tuning in to a live stream, Cotton Incorporated staged a 24-hour runway show earlier this month in Miami Beach. Produced by Jack Morton Worldwide, the multimedia event was the second edition of the 24-hour runway, a concept intended to show how cotton clothing can transition from day to night. An oversize clock on stage counted the hours as models walked the runway for a full day.