If you've ever really, really wanted to know what it's like to have Anderson Cooper's job—or Lou Dobbs's, for that matter—now's your chance. Inside CNN, a guided, interactive tour and behind-the-scenes look at the cable news station, opened last month in the Time Warner Center. For $15, guests can watch a video presentation and overview of the newsgathering process, peek into working CNN studios, and test
their skills with a TelePrompTer.
Lisa Crawford, manager of Inside CNN, CNN Studio Tours, and Primetime Events, worked with Lydia Anderson of Atlanta-based Maverick Group (the event's executive producer) and New York-based EventStyle to plan Inside CNN's launch party. More than 425 guests filled the second- and third-floor atriums at the Time Warner Center, eating, drinking, and, of course, watching CNN on the myriad monitors that filled the space. But instead of using flat-screen monitors on display stands, monitors were strategically integrated into the event in unconventional ways. EventStyle created sleek black coffee tables with TVs embedded inside, and Brand Marketers created black T-shirts with flat-screen television panels on the front—both of which made looking at the rest of the TVs mounted on the wall a bit boring by comparison.
Caterer Tentation created a menu "that represented the different ethnic foods that are found in New York," EventStyle's Mark Addison said of the miniature knishes and spaghetti with meatballs, vegetable spring rolls, and Cuban-style sandwiches. The hors d'oeuvres were served on trays printed with the red, black, and white Inside CNN logo.
In keeping with that logo, EventStyle created small, wedge-shaped sofas and covered them in red suede and custom designed throw pillows with the Inside CNN logo. Tables were covered in faux suede and decorated with simple lamp-style votives.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes
their skills with a TelePrompTer.
Lisa Crawford, manager of Inside CNN, CNN Studio Tours, and Primetime Events, worked with Lydia Anderson of Atlanta-based Maverick Group (the event's executive producer) and New York-based EventStyle to plan Inside CNN's launch party. More than 425 guests filled the second- and third-floor atriums at the Time Warner Center, eating, drinking, and, of course, watching CNN on the myriad monitors that filled the space. But instead of using flat-screen monitors on display stands, monitors were strategically integrated into the event in unconventional ways. EventStyle created sleek black coffee tables with TVs embedded inside, and Brand Marketers created black T-shirts with flat-screen television panels on the front—both of which made looking at the rest of the TVs mounted on the wall a bit boring by comparison.
Caterer Tentation created a menu "that represented the different ethnic foods that are found in New York," EventStyle's Mark Addison said of the miniature knishes and spaghetti with meatballs, vegetable spring rolls, and Cuban-style sandwiches. The hors d'oeuvres were served on trays printed with the red, black, and white Inside CNN logo.
In keeping with that logo, EventStyle created small, wedge-shaped sofas and covered them in red suede and custom designed throw pillows with the Inside CNN logo. Tables were covered in faux suede and decorated with simple lamp-style votives.
—Erika Rasmusson Janes